Last Thursday I made a visit to Ongandjera, a tiny village in northern Namibia, to meet with community leaders and see if there’s any way that we can get their idea off the ground. They have a plan to increase school enrollment and performance levels by developing a school-feeding program. Food will grown by students on school property and cooked using solar ovens. What we found is shown below, but in short, I was blown away by the community’s involvement and enthusiasm for an effort that requires such minimal funding and holds such significant promise. The communal environment, where students study, work in the fields, eat food that they grow themselves using solar ovens, etc.—reminded me of a monastery I visited on holiday in South Korea last year, yet this is a tiny, disadvantaged village school in rural Namibia.
Research suggests that school feeding programs, in addition to improving child welfare and nutrition, can increase school enrollment rates. This is due to the fact that, in Namibia, the school day ends at 1:00PM, which removes the school’s responsibility to feed lunch to learners. In Ongandjera, it is estimated that 40% of school age children have lost at least one of their parents to HIV/AIDS. Additionally, due to financial constraints, many of these learners miss at least one meal a day. Ensuring a free or subsidized lunch at school provides a strong incentive for parents to send their children to school, and it will help learners with their academic performance, as they will have renewed energy and enthusiasm to study.
Omuthitu Combined School Feeding Program Directors
The project started when a US Peace Corps volunteer at the school began using a donated solar oven to make bread to sell to teachers. Since then, the community has formed a volunteer feeding program committee comprised of 35 school parents. In a school of 300 students, nearly half of whom are orphans, this number of parents represents over half the children at the school. Clearly, the community’s level of involvement thus far has been extremely encouraging.
The soon to be garden (funds permitting)
To date, the school has acquired three solar ovens and some foundational supplies to begin constructing a school kitchen. However, in order to scale up the project into a school-wide feeding program, more investments are necessary. These include 2 new solar ovens, pots, pans, poles (for the kitchen), wiring (fence to surround the garden for security purposes) and initial seeds will have to be purchased. To donate directly to this project, please go to www.PromoteAfrica.Org. 100% of your tax-deductible contribution will go directly to Omuthitu Combined School.
