Home-grown School Feeding: Game-changer for Cameroon’s School Children

It is 7am in Ngangasaou, a small village some 45 km away from Ngaoundere town, capital of Cameroon’s Adamawa region. Ten-year-old Aisha is rushing to school on the outskirts of Ngaoundere. She is following her brother because she knows she can have a bite or two.

Aisha is taking steps towards reaching her dream of becoming a lawyer.

When she talks about why she loves going to class, the meal served at lunchtime in her government-run primary school emerges as a vital incentive.

“I love the kossam and dakare (local yogurt and cassava cereal) that we eat at school…and I will be sad if they stop giving us food at school because the food is better here and keeps us strong throughout the day,” says young Aisha. “I will not stay on for the afternoon lessons if I am hungry.”

In Cameroon, the WFP has been supporting over 52,300 primary school children through its school feeding programme which is out to ensure that pupils receive nutritious food, as they as they go to school.

According to the Adamawa WFP field office Boss, Constance Kobola, “Well-designed school feeding programmes have demonstrated high returns in four important areas: education, nutrition, social protection and local agriculture all of which translate into human capital growth and sustainable development.”

She adds, “A sound primary education today could make Aisha a law graduate tomorrow. But more than 60 million other children in Africa live in extreme poverty, without access to school feeding programmes.”

“I accepted Aisha goes to school like her brothers because I know she will receive a hot meal even better than what she eats here at home,” Aisha’s mum, Habiba Musa indicates.

“Aisha used to stay home so she can accompany me to farm and harvest vegetables and sweet potatoes. I was training her to be a good housewife while her brother goes to school not knowing education is good for both boys and girls,” she continues.

To teachers like Thimote Issa, Head Teacher of Government School Ngangaou, the home school feeding program is a transformative moment in the lives of most parents and children.

“During the period of transhumance, half of the pupils are away simply because they help their parent in displacing cattle but this year the classrooms are full and even little girls who have never been to school are being enrolled,” he said.

Food Insecure Households by Region

The regions of the Grand North, which have historically been exposed to issues related to food availability, access and utilization, remain the most food insecure:
The Far North (33.7%), followed by Adamawa (15.4%) and North (15.3%).

Food insecurity has various effects especially on women and rural adolescent girls, given that this category of persons is the key to unlocking the full potential of agricultural development in poor countries and ensuring food security for children.

Challenges of School Children

A third of Cameroon’s children younger than five suffer from malnutrition.

Hunger and poverty are widespread, and many families cannot afford to send their children to school.

School attendance is low, especially among girls, many of whom are forced to enter early marriages as a way to earn the resources needed to feed their families.

WFP, a Stitch in Time

WFP has been working on the Food for Education program in Cameroon and since 2022 in the Adamawa, with the school canteen project.

“The program is more than just a food distribution project: we take a multi-sectorial approach, working in partnership with local leaders to improve school attendance and literacy, reduce hunger and strengthen the capacity of local communities to become more self-reliant. The program promotes health and hygiene, community-grown food and parent engagement by delivering daily school meals and building community gardens, improving school infrastructure and educating communities about the value of education,” reiterates Constance Kobola.

Rekiatu Musa Jingi

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