This project will provide a daily snack of fortified porridge (containing all the vitamins and minerals which children need) for the 200 students at the Murakaza School in Bujumbura, Burundi. Many of these children are severely malnourished and often come to school famished. As teachers know, you can't learn on an empty stomach. This project - which will cost just 24 GBP ($33.50) per child per year - will provide each child with the guarantee of a nutrient-packed snack to tackle the day.
Burundi was already one of the poorest and least developed countries on Earth, before the economy deteriorated as a result of political turmoil after a disputed election in 2015. Due to fragile economy, hunger and malnutrition are widespread. There are 200 children at Murakaza School, and many of them are severely undernourished. It impacts their physical and mental development, it stunts their growth and it robs them of their future.
The Food Bank Project - conceived by Francoise , our project leader in Burundi - will tackle malnutrition directly by providing the children with a daily meal of fortified porridge, which is both healthy and nutritious as well as cost effective. This project will solve multiple problems in the short run: allowing the children to perform better in school, lowering their chances of falling ill, and ensuring their physical and cognitive development is not impeded by malnutrition.
The impact of this project will be far reaching and widespread. Not only will the 200 pupils at Murakaza School benefit; their families will too, since the guarantee of a daily meal will leave their parents (many of whom live in extreme poverty) with one less mouth to feed. By decreasing the number of children who have to drop out of school to work and help put food on the table, literacy rates will increase, which increases the long-term outlook for Burundi's economy.
