Feeding programme uplifts Mangwe schools

Tjingababili Primary School in Matabeleland South’s Mangwe District has become a magnet for children from outside its catchment area after introducing a feeding scheme to alleviate the devastating impact of the El Nino-induced drought.

Christopher Mguni, the school’s headmaster, said they initiated the feeding scheme last year following a spike in absenteeism and generally poor performance by poorly nourished pupils.

The school’s feeding programme was boosted when the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE), working with UNICEF, included it in the European Union-funded Enhanced Resilience for Vulnerable Households in Zimbabwe (ERVHIZ) project. The project is being rolled out in districts such as Insiza, Matobo, Gwanda, Plumtree, Mangwe, and Bulilima.

The government of Germany also provides financial support through the Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) Development Bank.

ERVHIZ is anchored on integrating water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), agriculture, and nutrition to boost community and household resilience in the face of a complex humanitarian crisis in the Province that is being worsened by one of the worst droughts to hit Southern Africa.

Mguni said they have used the financial support to set up a solarised water scheme, a nutrition garden, a small livestock project, a shed where pupils are served meals, and buy food stocks.

“The programme has assisted us a lot because we have developed this school, and our children are excited about the feeding programme,” he said.

“We used to have up to 80 pupils or more absent at any given time, but with the feeding programme, you find that there is no longer absenteeism, and pupils are always active even as they participate in sporting activities.”

“Our enrolment is now up to 480 from 472 last year as we are getting more children from other schools wanting to come here.” 

“The pass rate last year was 55 per cent, a testament to the positive changes brought about by the feeding programme.”

Well-nourished

Mguni paid tribute to the local community for supporting the school feeding programme as parents provided firewood and take turns to prepare provided firewood and took turns preparing food for the pupils.

He said such interventions were critical in a district where poverty levels are high, and harvests have been poor due to consecutive droughts. Tjingababili Primary School is among six schools in Mangwe District wheresuccessiveMangwe District schools enrolled in the ERVHIZ programme.

“This area is prone and drought-prone, and parents are struggling to put food on the table,” Mguni added. “But if you look at our pupils, you will see they are well nourished.”

Laura Mijoni, a Grade 7 pupil at Tjingababili Primary School, said getting lunch motivated her to excel in class and sports.

“We always look forward to the daily meals as they are well prepared,” Mijoni said. “After class, we do sports, and even when we get home, we still have the energy to go and fetch water.”

Success story

Taungana Ndoro, the MoPSE head of communication, said the Tjingababili Primary School feeding programme was one of the nationwide initiative's success stories.

“I am thrilled to share the remarkable progress we have made in rolling out the nationwide school feeding programme, with Tjingababili Primary School in Mangwe District of Matabeleland South Province being a case in point,” Ndoro said.

“In collaboration with our developmental partner UNICEF, the Government has set an initial target of reaching three million pupils with this transformative initiative.”

“The response from our stakeholders has been overwhelmingly positive, as they have expressed profound gratitude for this programme.”

“They recognise that by ensuring our pupils have access to nutritious meals, we are not only improving their overall health and well-being but also incentivising school attendance and reducing absenteeism.”

He said the Ministry was working tirelessly to maintain a consistent and adequate food supply for all the participating schools to ensure the seamless implementation of the programme.

Ndoro said the Government wanted to expand the recording to record the recording programme's reach to reduce the effects of the El Nino-induced drought that saw many households failing to record very poor harvests during the just-ended agriculture season.

“We have adopted a phased approach, focusing first on the most vulnerable primary schools in rural and remote areas of the country,” he added.

“By providing a daily hot meal, we have witnessed a remarkable boost in pupil motivation and class attendance.”

“We have also extended the programme to primary schools in peri-urban and high-density urban areas to ensure no child is left behind.”

Home-grown feeding schemes

Schools are encouraged to establish home-grown feeding schemes by using nutritional gardens and orchards to ensure the sustainability of the feeding programme.

“As we continue to make strides in this transformative endeavour, I am confident that we are not only improving the academic outcomes of our pupils but also cultivating a healthier, more engaged, and empowered generation of young Zimbabweans,” Ndoro said.

UNICEF is focusing on the intersection of social protection programmes, nutrition, food systems, WASH, and education interventions that prioritise child centred climate investments that are essential to safeguard the health and well-being of children in Zimbabwe.

The country experiences the effects of climate change through cyclical droughts, floods, and extreme weather events caused by the increasingly frequent and intense El Nino and La Nina climate phenomena.

Zimbabwe is confronting the challenges created by El Nio while also dealing with public health emergencies related to cholera and polio.