School feeding programme starts
Meal time. Pupils of Kanyankwanzi Primary School in Kabale District take porridge at break time on Monday. PHOTO BY ROBERT MUHEREZA
What you need to know:
- The Bugongi Upper Primary School head teacher, Mr Henry Mayanja, said the programme has reduced the cases of absenteeism and that enrolment has increased from 240 to 270 pupils.
- The district education officer, Mr Kenneth Sabiiti Baabo, said his department welcomes support from the community organisations aimed at maintaining and sustaining pupils in school.
KABALE. Mpambara Cox Foundation, a community-based organisation in Kabale District, has launched a programme aimed at serving porridge to primary school pupils in the area during break time.
The acting programmes coordinator, Mr Enos Tweteise, on Monday said the programme has been launched in Kanyankwanzi and Bugongi Upper primary schools.
Mr Tweteise said their research showed that majority of pupils go to school early in the morning without eating or drinking anything while others do not even pack food for lunch.
As a result, he said, they study half a day and subsequently drop out of school after finding it difficult to study on an empty stomach.
“We launched this programme on September 20 in the two schools with the objective of motivating the vulnerable children to have good health while at school and be able to concentrate on their studies with a target of enabling them complete primary education. We hope the programme will help in keeping the targeted 600 pupils in schools until they complete primary education,” said Mr Tweteise.
He added that plans are underway to roll out the programme to other schools if their partners in the US avail more funds.
Mr Tweteise also said besides feeding the pupils, the organisation is supporting mothers of the vulnerable pupils with interest-free soft loans to empower them to start up small businesses to be able to raise money required for buying household items.
He added that the organisation has also recruited agricultural extension workers to help in establishing school gardens in Kabale Preparatory, Ndorwa , Kanyankwanzi and Bugongi Upper primary schools.
This, he said, is aimed at equipping the pupils with gardening skills besides producing food, especially vegetables, for supplementing their diet.
The Bugongi Upper Primary School head teacher, Mr Henry Mayanja, said the programme has reduced the cases of absenteeism and that enrolment has increased from 240 to 270 pupils.
The district education officer, Mr Kenneth Sabiiti Baabo, said his department welcomes support from the community organisations aimed at maintaining and sustaining pupils in school.
