Nutrition
According to the World Food Programme Rwanda is “a small, landlocked country with a population of 12 million people growing at 2.4 percent annually, Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa. Since the 1994 genocide, the Government of Rwanda has recorded significant achievements in poverty reduction, gender equality, environmental sustainability, food production, education and public health, in line with the Millennium Development Goals.
However, 38.2 percent of the population continues to live below the poverty line and almost one fifth is food insecure. Levels of stunting among young children remain very high, at 35 percent.”
A survey among Hagari families in 2014 showed that 20% ate once every two to four days and did not know where their next meal would come from. An additional 60% ate one meal a day, while only 20% of the families ate two meals or more a day. In order to support our student’s learning we found it was important to provide breakfast and lunch. The cost of lunch is covered in the Student Partnership fees. However, we raise additional funds in order to feed the children breakfast as well. If you would like to contribute to that you can do so on the DONATE page.
In the future we hope to have small gardens that the children can tend to as a learning opportunity and to use our greenhouses to expose the children to a variety of healthy food that is not normally found in their diet.