Food and the chance of an education in Zambia
A volunteer cook, headteacher and pupils in Eastern Zambia talk about how Mary’s Meals is providing a lifeline amid drought and crop failure.
Published onMary’s Meals has been serving school meals to children in Zambia since 2014. We are currently providing more than 450,000 children across the country with daily meals in school through the help of dedicated volunteer cooks.
In this article, we hear directly from learners, a volunteer cook and a headteacher from three schools in Eastern Zambia on how drought and crop failure has resulted in families not having enough food to feed their children. Amid this crisis, we also hear how Mary’s Meals is serving nutritious daily meals to children in these schools, providing a lifeline to their communities.
“We don’t have the money to plant seeds”
Mary’s Meals first started feeding at Mpomwa Primary School in 2014, as one of the first schools to join our feeding programme in the country. Children come willingly to the school knowing they will get food and the chance of an education.
Selemani Nkakomba from a nearby farm says: “Parents often search for a school serving Mary’s Meals. The children like coming to school because of the food, which really helps our communities.”
“Last year, we were able to sell our chickens and cattle in order to be able to buy food. This year, when we planted maize, soya beans and tobacco on our farms, only the tobacco survived, the rest withered because the rains didn’t come. Now, we have nothing left to sell and don’t have the money to plant seeds.”
Iredy Shumba is a volunteer at the school, helping to cook and serve porridge to the children. She says: “Life is very tough, but what keeps us going is the hope of a better life for our children and that they will then help their families. The children are happy to wake up early and get to school knowing they will get food at school.”
“I don’t have food every day”
Mary is a learner at Katapila Primary School and lives with her family nearby. She says: “The main challenges I face are around food and school supplies. I don’t have food every day, and on those days, there is nothing you can do except sit and wait until you have access to food again. When things are very hard, I try to find work after school and on non-school days. Having porridge at school really helps as I can come to school, have food and learn.”
John lives 40 minutes’ walk from the school. There are eight in the family and his parents don’t have formal jobs. He says: “When we don’t have food we just stay at home because we don’t have the energy to do anything. Education is good because I will be able to lead a different life. My dream [is to have] a house and a family, with enough food to eat.”
“Porridge keeps the children healthy and able to learn”
Daka Chiwamila is headteacher of Nkhuzyeni Primary School. He says: “We see the effects of hunger every day at school. The situation is dire, the drought affects everyone. At break time all the children rush to get porridge because they are hungry. And you see children hanging around the kitchen afterwards in case there are scraps to be had.”
“Porridge keeps the children healthy and able to learn. It also reduces absenteeism. Before we had porridge, children would enrol at the start of the school year but then disappear, now they stay because there is food. We also achieve better results because attendance is regular, and the learners perform better in their exams.”
“Having Mary’s Meals is a real partnership between the school, the Parent Teacher Association and the community, which collects firewood, fetches water and cooks the porridge. The partnership model is very important to making it work.”
Amid the food shortages and hunger in Zambia, daily school meals served by Mary’s Meals are giving children the energy to learn and the opportunity for a better future.
It costs just £19.15, €22, $25.20 USD or $31.70 CAD to provide a child with school meals for an entire school year. Mary’s Meals is currently serving nutritious daily meals to more than 1.5 million children in schools across Southern Africa. Now, more than ever, your support is needed to spread the word about our work and the emergency in the region. With your support, we can reach many thousands more children waiting for our daily meals.
Mazuba Ignatius Mwiinga is our Head of Growth and Communications for Mary’s Meals Zambia. He oversees the growth and communications functions at Mary's Meals Zambia. Read another article by Mazuba on "Drought pushes families to the brink in Zambia".