A school meal stopped Faith from becoming a child bride
The drought had stretched on for too long. The ground was dry. The harvests failed. At home, there were days when there was nothing to eat.
15-year-old Faith would go to school on an empty stomach. She would try to stay present to listen and learn. But, hunger sat with her through every lesson. Her body weakened. Her mind drifted. The blackboard became a blur.
“One lesson, then another… and you feel too weak to continue,” says Faith.
After school, there was no rest. Faith would go out to cut trees, turning them into charcoal to sell, anything to help her family find the next meal.
“We go to cut trees so that we can get food… sometimes we would force ourselves to cut trees while feeling hungry,” she says.
Hunger kept narrowing the choices she had each day.
Like many girls in her community, she was at risk of leaving school and being married off too soon, not because she wanted to, but because it would ease the burden on her family.
Her dream of becoming a teacher almost slipped away. Until the day, a school meals programme was introduced in her school.
A warm plate of maize and beans for each student. Every school day meant one guaranteed meal.
“I come to school because now at lunch time I will get food. If you stay home there is no food,” says Faith.
The school meals gives her a reason.
To never miss school.
The school meals gives her strength.
To keep learning and to make her dreams come true to support her parents and give back to her community.
“I promise to educate myself to get work and be able to support my parents,” she says.
In Zambia, food insecurity has worsened by climate shocks and poverty. Many families survive on subsistence farming and children like Faith often arrive at school without having eaten - tired, distracted and too hungry to learn.
Provide School Meals. Keep Children in School. $90 provides 5 children with one month of school meals. With your support we seek to provide 1,000 children in Cambodia and Zambia with school meals.
