By Barry W. Krowne | Director
Three Knock Directors were in Moshi, Tanzania from December 22, 2013 through January 25, 2014. On January 6, 2014 they made a site visit to Longuo Primary School.
The school has about 435 students. It is a government run school, not private. It has inadequate funding for school books and supplies. Parents are required to pay a school fee for each student to attend. Although the fee is nominal in amount, the school is in a poor rural area and the school fee is often a barrier for student attendance.
Knock provides a daily meal at school for every student. The providing of a daily meal has increased school attendance. The providing of the meal has allowed the amount of the school fee to be lowered, thereby reducing the issue of the fee as a barrier to attendance. The providing of a meal has increased participation and attention in the classrooms, per the teachers' reports.
Knock Foundation provides a school lunch program at another school and that school's Head Mistress has reported that the parents' full payment of the school fees has increased from 60+ percent to about 80+ percent. We believe Longuo is also experiencing a similar benefit. The increase in the number/amount of school fees means the school is collecting and has available more money for student needs. This enhances the teaching environment and improves student performance.
The school lunch program has created two jobs - a cook and a security guard. These jobs are at a fair wage and would not otherwise exist. The food for the school lunch program is purchased from local farmers, providing them with a stable and fair price market for some of their crops.
Overall, the school lunch program at Longuo is improving the overall educational experience for its students. This will serve to help break the cycle of poverty. The program provides some ancillary economic benefits to the local community, as well.
Our site visit, seeing the children getting fed and the teachers' reports were all favorable. Based on the success of the program and with the generosity of donors, the Longuo School Lunch Program has been funded for the entire 2014 school year.
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