Breakfast for Kindergarten schoolgirls in Pakistan

We provide breakfast to students of Kindergarten at a low-income public school in Karachi, Pakistan. The daily menu changes according to cost, availability of items and season, but typically includes some combination of the following: Bread, Butter, Jam, Eggs, Cakes, Biscuits, Fresh Fruits, Raw Vegetables, Fruit Salad, Chicken etc. Milk is a fixed part of the menu. In winter, children are given Chicken Corn Soup.

After a recent medical camp was held at the school where all Kindergarten children were examined by a team of doctors from Aga Khan Hospital, the top private hospital in the city, the breakfast menu was enhanced to add wheat porridge vegetable and chicken following the recommendations of the doctors.

This month, we would like to share with you some comments of students from the 3rd grade, who were the first class in our school with whom we piloted the breakfast program: 

Misbah, Class 3C

"I studied in KG-1, Section C. I liked the breakfast at our school, which included Custard, Milk, Boiled Egg, Biscuits, Cake and lots more. I always did my breakfast at school. There were fruits too - Oranges which were already peeled, but I loved to peel fresh bananas myself before eating them! When it started, I didn’t like to drink milk, specially every day, but soon after I become used to it!

Nimra, Class 3A

"I studied in class KG-2, Section A. Sometimes I had my breakfast at home and sometimes at school. There were lots of different things in breakfast like Noodles, Milk, Boiled Egg, Biscuits etc. but biscuits with Milk were my favorite. I think this facility should be provided to other students also."

The parents are very satisfied with the Breakfast Programme and have reported that it has created a healthy habit of breakfast at home on non-school days too. We thank you for your support and hope that you will continue donating to the programme to help us enrich the lives of our students.

Links:

• Our website

A very warm hello from the students of Kindergarten at SMB Fatima Jinnah Government Girls School in Karachi. This August, our students returned from their summer vacations and we were once again greeted with smiles at the top of the day in the Breakfast Room. A total of 226 students from the two sections of Kindergarten start their school day with a breakfast meal. The menu this autumn term includes milk every day, in addition to some combination of bread, jam, butter, noodles, sandwiches and seasonal fruits. 

This breakfast is a great incentive for the students, many of whom come from low-income families, to come to school and it has demonstrated an improvement in their health. The Breakfast Period is also a great time for us to organically introduce students to ideas of hygiene, health and nutrition. 

As you may know, Pakistan is one of two countries where the crippling polio virus remains endemic. The issue is a sensitive one, with polio workers facing uncooperative attitudes and serious security threats. Earlier this month, the polio vaccine was administered to the students of Kindergarten, thanks to an initiative led by the Town Health Officer. A total of 117 students - those under the age of 5 - were given the drops of the polio vaccine by two Lady Health Visitors, with the support of our Health Room nurse Haji Bibi and the staff of the Kindergarten. 

We thank you once again for your support and hope you will continue to contribute towards bringing better nutrition to our kindergarten students.

Links:

• Our website