School-feeding programme helps the whole family

Mpudu Mulende scrapes every last bit of the nutritious soya porridge from his plate. There is no food at home, and this one meal a day he gets at school is all the six-year old can rely on. His parents were lucky: his school is one of 249 in drought-hit southern Malawi that are part of a UN World Food Programme (WFP) initiative that keeps 200,000 children in class by feeding them. There is a further incentive for parents to keep their children in school, despite the pressure to pull them out to help a struggling household: 18 consecutive days of attendance each month earns a home ration of 12.5 kg of maize-meal, the staple food. "While our enrolment figures have gone up, the enrolment figures in the neighbouring schools not under the programme have dropped," noted Mulende's headmaster, Lloyd Mashoni. Malawi's subsistence farmers, who struggle to make ends meet at the best of times, have suffered the worst drought in a decade, compounded by the late delivery of subsidised seeds and fertiliser. Close to five million people will be in need of food aid between now and March next year. "We can see the impact of the failure of the maize crops around us - parents are asking us for more food. They have resorted to eating cassava - even the banana crop has not done well," said Mashoni. His school near Tekerani village, about 98 km from Malawi's commercial capital, Blantyre, lies in the hilly Thyolo district, which is among the seven worst-affected districts in the country. There is no maize available in the local markets - only tomatoes, green bananas and mangoes. Mashoni's school has started a kitchen garden with the help of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation to support the upkeep of the school and its poorest pupils. "We sold some of our produce - tomatoes, cabbage, maize and mustard seed - which has helped us buy sports uniforms for our students; the rest we gave to needy students," said deputy head Patricia Dzumbira. Ruth Master, another six-year-old, skips along to join the growing queue of children waiting for their daily bowl of soya porridge. "Many ask for more, but we cannot give them more; we have to feed them tomorrow as well - we have limited resources," said Mashoni. With the help of volunteering parents, the school prepares six 25 kg bags of soya blend every day. Last year it had an almost 100 percent pass rate for its Grade 8 exams. As Mashoni observed, "With some food in this situation of drought, at least these children have a chance."