It's Hard to Learn When You're Hungry!

HATW has continued to support Muko school to provide much needed food to street children in Bugarama, Rwanda. This invaluable support is now providing 328 street children with two meals a day, seven days a week. This support enables these disadvantaged children to be fed, attend school and gain an education. The project has been a huge success and has expanded from originally supporting 150 children to 328 children by word of mouth, as more and more street children hear about the benefits of this project and turn up at the school.

The lunches provided at Muko school are nutritious and made using locally available produce, such as rice, maize flour, beans, cassava, cabbage, maize, and eggplant. The food is delivered regularly to the school and is stored on the premises with fresh meals cooked every day. The provision of meals to the 328 street children not only supports their nutritional health and wellbeing, but also prevents them from returning to the streets and having to beg, scavenge and revert to petty crime to feed themselves. Providing two meals a day has also increased school attendance and concentration levels among the children, leading to improved academic performance. Providing an education to these children also offers hope and a way out of poverty and exploitation. Your donation is enabling the school to provide invaluable support to these street children that also fosters a sense of ‘belonging’ for children without families or other support systems. This will help support their social development and provide a sense of normality.

Below is a story of a child who has benefitted from this project.

Sylvan was living on the streets before receiving help from Muko school. Life on the streets was difficult and he could only survive by turning to petty crime to survive. However, Sylvan is now receiving invaluable support from Muko School and is provided with two meals a day and an education. He does not have to worry about food and can now concentrate on his studies and this encourages him to work hard so he does not have to live on the streets again. Sylvan says, “I aspire to be the best leader for my country, to support others in the way I have been supported.”

Muko school has also established school gardens and is growing fresh and nutritious vegetables to supplement the meals. HATW is also promoting training in sustainable agriculture to project leaders. This year, HATW is supporting a teacher, Jean Damascene from Muko school to participate in a course delivered in partnership with Marshal Papworth in the UK. The course teaches sustainable farming practices, which will provide him with skills and knowledge to better develop the school garden.

Due to your generous support, these 328 children can now look forward to brighter future – thank you!

Kasensa is a community-based project that supports people in the surrounding compounds in Monze, Zambia. It is run by caregivers who live in these compounds signposting vulnerable youngsters to Kasensa. The project coordinators of Kasensa are Elitarial and Gladys, both Zambians who oversee work at this project on a voluntary basis.

Kasensa currently has 106 beneficiaries on the monthly feeding programme. Hands Around the World is supporting this programme in two ways, paying for the monthly food distribution, and equipping a kitchen to be used as a functional space. Much of the building at Kasensa is developing as and when funding is secured from their supporters. The main building is built but some of the interiors are not finished – the plan is to have an office, kitchen, and storeroom so food can be bought and securely stored when prices are good. Washrooms are built, a security wall has recently been finished, and plans are in place to develop a garden to grow food.

Below are two stories of children who benefit from support from this project.

Gift, shown above, is 11 years old and in Grade 2 at school. He has lived with his grandparents in Freedom A, one of the densely populated compounds, since the demise of his parents. His grandfather is a wheelbarrow pusher in town and his grandmother does menial jobs here and there to support the family. There are seven of them in the family.

He was adopted onto the Kasensa programme in 2022 and has since been a beneficiary. He is supported with school requirements, uniform, shoes, stationery, and books at the beginning of school calendar. Additionally, he gets mealie meal monthly.

The mealie meal that he receives from Kasensa really helps the family to at least have a meal. The mealie meal lasts for roughly eight days. Whilst it may not be enough in itself, it has a great impact on his family as it relieves them of the pressure of fending for the family in those few days and gives them more time to scout for more food. The impact Kasensa has on this family is visible and they remain grateful for the food given to them.

Shown below is Christine. She is 16 years old and in Grade 7 at school. She stays with her father after the death of her mother. The family had four members, and Kasensa has been supporting Christine for about five years now.

The family receives mealie meal and extra food monthly. This is a special case in that the father’s health is poor and he cannot sufficiently provide for his family. Kasensa took the initiative of adding extra food to the mealie meal they receive. The extra food that is received has really been a great help and a relief to the family at a time when Christine’s father is experiencing health problems.

Thank you so much for your support for Hands Around the World’s lunches project; your generosity helps children like Gift and Christine and others struggling to secure sufficient food. With your support, we are able to help reduce hunger and improve nutritional health for many children and their families facing food shortages and hunger.