By Sylvia Costantini | Project Leader
February 20th was a very special day for the children at the Murakaza school. After weeks of hard work, the school uniforms were finally ready for all the students. This was an occasion to celebrate!
I was lucky enough to be there to witness it all, as the “uniform party” was conveniently timed for my visit. The look on the children’s face when they received their very own uniform was priceless.
That was just the beginning though, thanks to kind donations from the French Consulate of Bujumbura and the Café Gourmand, which has been supporting the project for quite some time, the children also received some food.
And it wouldn’t be a real party without confetti and some dancing and singing. Who knew the cheap confetti bought at the Chinese supermarket would be such a hit! My ears are still ringing from all the excitement and joy.
See for yourself: VIDEO
Distributing food to over 200 children in a short amount of time is quite a task which required all hands on desk. I started with cutting the baguette, but Francoise pointed out that my parts weren’t equal: “You can’t do this, she said. Some will have a smaller piece, that’s not fair.” I thought she might be exaggerating a little, but when I realised how hungry the children were and how grateful they were for that piece of bread, I understood that a few bites make a big difference when you haven’t had a proper meal in a few days.
Hunger is a huge problem at Murakaza, and many of the children don’t eat even one meal per day. The teachers can tell immediately: they can spot a child who isn’t properly fed by how they behave in class. They will be tired, half asleep during class and incapable of playing around with the others during the breaks. Sometimes, they can’t even find the strength to go back home and the staff have to find a little something for them to have enough energy for the journey home.
To tackle this problem, we’re launching a “Food Bank” micro project which will allow Murakaza to provide a daily snack made of fortified porridge (consisting of flour and all the vitamins and minerals the children need). Rather incredibly, this project will cost just £24 per child per year. You can donate to this microproject HERE.
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By Sylvia Costantini | CEO
By Sylvia Costantini | Chief Executive Officer
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