After many years of below-average rainfall, southern Madagascar is experiencing a severe drought, which has left more than one million people food insecure. The poverty is due to the heavy dependence on annual rainfall. The lack of rainfall is one of the main factors behind the devastating food crisis in this part of Madagascar. Livestock farming is the main source of livelihood for the majority of the population, followed by agriculture, which is uncertain due to the lack of rain. Consequently, the local population faces serious food problems, which among other effects, leads to poor school performance among students.
Betroka is a town located in a remote area of Southern Madagascar. The area is prone to periods of prolonged drought, and this led to severe malnutrition due to the impossibility to cultivate lands and the economic vulnerability of the area.
AIM OF THE PROJECT
The project is a relief program to be implemented in the St. Vincent de Paul Secondary School in Betroka to improve the precarious children’s physical health due to malnutrition. The Lycée Privé Saint Vincent de Paul is one of the Marist Schools run by the Marist Brothers of Madagascar. The school is attended by students between the ages of 10 and 20, boys and girls.
The project objective is to improve students’ health conditions and performance by providing a meal per day for 200 students in the most vulnerable conditions. This project help get children into school and help them stay there, increasing enrollment and reducing absenteeism. Once children are in the classroom, this program can contribute to their learning by avoiding hunger and fainting due to malnutrition and enhancing cognitive abilities.
The project aims to reduce the malnutrition of these students to help them achieve better school performance. The main result is to improve their health, academic performance, and quality of education. The students concerned will also improve their school attendance rate during the year.
THE PROJECT IN BRIEF:
The main objective of this project is to improve the well-being and academic performance of the selected students by providing them with nutritious meals through a school-based feeding program to ensure that all school-aged children have access to school meals and are healthy and ready to learn.
THE PROJECT IN NUMBERS:
Beneficiari: 200 students, selected from the most vulnerable families, will receive one meal per school day providing nutritious foods to alleviate hunger and reduce micronutrient deficiency.