Malawi NGOs Launch School Meal Program to Combat Rural Hunger

To launch their feeding programs, each participating school received two bags of fertiliser, 10 kilograms of maize seed, and 40 kilograms of soybeans.

Kavisopo school receiving bags of fertilizer and soya seeds

MZIMBA, Malawi - Two nonprofit organizations have initiated a sustainable school feeding program in northern Malawi's Mzimba district, providing agricultural supplies to help local schools grow food for student meals, writes Alinafe Sambo.

The partnership between Ulalo and Shine Malawi aims to address widespread hunger affecting student performance in rural schools.

"We are here to ensure that our communities receive full support for food sustainability, so our kids can have porridge every day in school," said Stalin Mughandira, Executive Director of Shine Malawi.

Four schools in the Mpherembe and Chindi traditional authorities received starter packages including fertiliser, maize seed, and soybeans to establish self-sustaining meal programs.

Local leader Inkosana Chinombo Jere welcomed the initiative at Kavisopo School.

"We were seeing other schools providing porridge to their students, but ours was not one of them," he said.

The program includes child protection measures to prevent early marriages and abuse that can interfere with education, according to Chisomo Sezi, Education Sponsorship Coordinator for Shine Malawi.

To launch their feeding programs, each participating school received two bags of fertiliser, 10 kilograms of maize seed, and 40 kilograms of soybeans.

---