Growing Healthy Food & Healthy Children in Ghana

In rural Ghana, quite a number of children spend time idle at home or with their parents on their farms rather than in school. The importance of formal education has still not dawned on most parents within Beposo community in the Atwima Mponua District despite the nationwide push for primary education.

Esther and Simon have been married for seven years and have four children; Eric, Paul, Akwasi and Monica aged 5, 4, 3 and 1.5 years respectively. They are subsistence farmers growing maize, cassava, and plantain in Beposo.

Eric is in kindergarten (KG) 2 at Beposo D/A Basic School while Paul is in KG1 at Beposo Islamic Basic School. For unexplained reasons, Akwasi does not attend school and suffers from malnourishment, loneliness and lack of necessary parental care.

Akwasi wanted to be in school just like his elder brothers, Eric and Paul, but unfortunately, he was left alone in the house and sometimes wandered through the Beposo community while his parents worked on their farms. There were times his elder brother, Paul, would sacrifice going to school to keep him company. Akwasi would occasionally sneak in and join his brother Paul in the KG1 classroom despite the displeasure of the teachers since he was not enrolled. Yet each time he went to school, he was sure of a nutritious cup of QPM porridge.

In February 2015, SHI intervened and Akwasi was enrolled at Beposo Islamic Basic School. He is happy going to school to learn and making friends. His teachers tell SHI he never misses school and one of the things he enjoys is the QPM porridge.

Thanks to four months of eating a nutritious daily meal of QPM porridge at the school feeding program, Akwasi has shown significant improvement in his health and confidence.                

Esther and Simon have openly expressed their appreciations to SHI, especially, the staff in charge of the quality protein maize feeding program for renewing their thoughts and restoring their confidence in their son Akwasi (“Yaw” for short). They have awakened to the fact that Yaw is not different from the other children and with the needed parental care and guidance he will grow to become a responsible adult to take care of them in their old age. Akwasi has since received a school uniform and a backpack and the family is happier than before.

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