On Tuesday 27 February 2024, Caritas Freetown’s Executive Director, Rev. Fr. Peter Konteh, supports The Kiera Chaplin Desert Flower feeding programme at Number 2 River, Western Area Rural, Freetown sponsored by Hungary Helps. The programme aims to provide food and drink provisions such as bread, rice, and water for the school-going pupils, to improve the overall nutrition of primary school-aged children (1 years old – 6 years old) to further enhance the overall health, wellbeing, and support of the school children’s academic performance.
Principal of The Kiera Chaplin Desert Flower school, Mr. Alusiane Y Fornah, expressed his deep gratitude for the provisions provided by Hungary Helps, he says “We the members of staff in this school are very happy, this is creating great impact for the children, before this intervention our children would attend classes hungry affecting their focus.”
Sister Agatha, Supervisor for the school-based feeding programme expressed the importance of this transformational change and how it will positively impact the children at The Kiera Chaplin Desert Flower School she states, “I remember a vivid memory from last year where we saw the effects of the scarcity in provisions for children in this area, with the assistance of Hungary Helps it has made a huge difference.”
Many low-income households in rural areas have limited access to nutritious food types due to factors such as cost of living. It is an unfortunate reality for many school-aged children from these backgrounds to attend classes hungry, some of these households suffering from food insecurity, malnutrition and hunger aim to combat this through rice cultivation and other means.
In response, the school-based feeding programme aims to promote sustainable and agricultural practices by sourcing food provisions locally and engaging in eco-friendly initiatives. The direct impact of this programme will be highly effective, with use of The Home Grown Feeding (HGSF) model impacting more than 400 of the most vulnerable in-school pupils at the school. Overall, this initiative will be impactful for the children involved in combating hunger, malnourishment and food insecurity aiding in the effective engagement of children within the education system.
