FEEDING FUTURES: ONE LUNCH A DAY TO MAKE THEM STAY

Addressing school drop-out rates and food insecurity in Bénin

Flore, Rebecca and Estelle helped us address an ongoing mystery: where were schoolchildren disappearing to in the afternoons? Why were schools suddenly emptying out? Mystery solved: children eagerly walked home for lunch, an average of 4 to 6 kilometers. But, lacking energy due to incomplete meals and long walks, they did not return to school afterwards. Flore is a 10-year-old girl from the village of Logohoué, in Houéyogbé Region. As the project kicked off, she received school supplies for the year from the Fondation Paul Gérin-Lajoie's partner on the ground - a school bag, some notebooks, pens and geometry instruments. Flore wishes the “Cantines scolaires” meal program a long life, hoping her younger brothers and sisters also benefit from warm daily lunches and stay in school. Like Rebecca (10 years old) and Estelle (11 years old), in the village of Akokponawa in Bopa Region, she was proud to be involved in the project and vowed to work hard to pass her end-of-year exams.

Background

In Bopa and Houéyogbé (Bénin), a significant number of households are considered food insecure - up to 59% of families in Bopa and 34% in Houeyogbé [World Food Programme, 2017]. In recent years, the effects of climate change, natural disasters, conflicts in neighboring countries, such as Nigeria and Mali, and the COVID-19 pandemic have worsened the regional food insecurity crisis, specifically in South-West Bénin. As a result, families are often unable to offer their children consistent access to sufficient food to ensure they grow to their full potential. Food insecurity and insufficient nutritional intake are major causes of both weak school performance and dropout rates (14,4% in Bopa and 13,4% in Houéyogbé) [Government of Bénin, 2012]. A metric known as learning-adjusted years of schooling (LAYS), which combines both quantity and quality of education received, demonstrates that improving the health of schoolchildren has as much of an impact on learning as qualified teachers or efficient classroom practices [World Bank, 2018]. This is where our GOOD DEED comes in, offering a cost-effective solution to improve schoolchildren's health and learning conditions.

The good deed

The Fondation Paul Gérin-Lajoie's mission is to provide quality education to all. In Bopa and Houéyogbé (Bénin), this means supporting children's health so their entire focus can be on learning and growing to their full potential. “Cantines scolaires” is a school meal program which offers 1,080 students in four schools a daily lunch made from local harvest. Complementing the nutritional intake of food insecure children will result in improved health, learning conditions and performance, and encourage better school attendance, especially amongst girls and other vulnerable groups. This will also have significant positive effects on the well-being of families, by reducing financial pressure. At the community level, the school meal program will benefit mobilization and solidarity, as well as economic well-being through stimulation of local economies and job creation.