Food for Thought
Last year, Nyaka finished third out of all schools in the district with the results of its P-7 students’ Primary Leaving Examinations (PLEs). The only two school schools that placed higher are private boarding schools. Not too shabby for a school who serves only the area’s most vulnerable children.
I’ve asked most of the teachers, as well as the Headmaster at Nyaka, to tell me why they think Nyaka students have been so successful. The overwhelming majority of them said that the food and nutrition program at Nyaka is a large contributor to student success. With the exception of private boarding schools, other schools in Uganda, both public and private, do not offer meals to their students. During their hour-long lunch break, many children walk home for food, while others carry small pails of food to school and eat there.
Nyaka recognizes the impact that healthy, nutritious meals can have on students’ performance, both in and out of school. All students here receive a mid-morning breakfast which consists of maize porridge and yellow bananas or mandazis (doughnut-like bread rolls). The school also provides lunch for the older students who stay all day long (P-1 and P-2 students return home at 1p.m. each day). All of the food is prepared here in the school kitchen. It’s quite a process to prepare meals for more than two hundred children each day without electricity, but when the breakfast and lunch bells ring, the food is always ready.
For some of the children, the food they receive at Nyaka is the only substantial food they receive all day. I watch them make their line as they wait to receive their meals. There are never complaints. They gladly take their bowls and plates filled with rice, beans, potatoes, posho, or matooke. Sometimes, I think back to my students in Brownsville who would throw away entire trays of food or full cartons of milk because “they didn’t like it.” They complained if the cafeteria was out of Hot Cheetos or ice cream bars. I know that it’s different. It’s not their fault that they are growing up in a culture of waste and pickiness. We all throw away huge amounts of food, and even if we wanted to send it to “the starving kids in Africa,” it’s just not a reality. It is a good reminder for all of us, though. A little food for thought, if you will. Here are a couple pictures of students enjoying breakfast!
Mmmmmmmm!!!!
On another note, I have to write something about some of the small acts of kindness that I see here. Each day during Morning Prayer, I watch Teacher Alice weave through the rows of students. She always starts with the older children and gradually makes her way to the little ones. With the kind touch of a mukaaka, she straightens collars that are wrinkly, ties bows on dresses that are left hanging at the sides, and buttons the backs of dresses that are left open. Every morning, the same routine. I know that all of the children here dress themselves. Most of them don’t have someone at home who checks to see if their uniforms are clean, or if they have dirt underneath their fingernails, or if they’ve washed their faces. Many of the students begin their walk to school when it is still dark outside. Getting to school on time is more important than what they look like. They shyly smile as Teacher Alice gently fixes their clothes without saying a word. I bet that it feels good to have someone take care of them.
Each day brings with it new moments that remind me of how lucky I am to be here. Whether it is a child interlocking his small fingers in mine as we walk to class or a young girl taking my hand and gently putting it up to her cheek, I am so often moved by the sweetness of the children here. More to come soon!
U-ganda love it! 