The World Food Programme (WFP) is feeding scores of school children in Jordan in an attempt to stop hunger from being a barrier to learning.
The programme cooperates with local charities and housewives, who come together to create fresh and nutritious meals for children all around the kingdom.
“The school meal programme targets poverty pockets in all 12 governorates of the Kingdom. Through this project we targeted all the charities that have a kitchen and are within these impoverished areas, and that include schools within the national meal programme,” said Amina Asfour, head of the school meal programme.
The WFP together with the Jordanian government aims to reach up to 320,000 school children in the most vulnerable and food insecure areas by the end of 2016.
By engaging the local community, the programme provides women with employment and therefore a steady income.
One participant, Nisreen Dalo, said finding meaningful work has made her a happier person.
“It (the programme) has supported us financially. I didn’t work before this, and now I am helping out my family. This also improves my mood, coming to work everyday makes me happy, especially knowing that I am packing healthy meals which have been overseen by doctors and professionals for the children. One of these meals might reach one of our own kids, so it makes us happy to think that the children will enjoy the meals,” said Dalo, who has three children to support.
The WFP not only aims to keep the children healthy, but to also encourage them to stay in school.
Head of Education for the Ministry of Education, Khawla Abu Heja, said regular meals enables the children to focus on their studies rather than their stomachs, and improves their cognitive abilities.
“The school meal programme was initiated for several reasons, one of which is important for the ministry of education, to prevent children dropping out of schools due to the poverty in the area. This programme is carried out in cooperation with the World Food Programme and it focuses on schools in less fortunate areas,” Heja said.
The school meal program also ensures that Syrian refugees living in Jordan are included, so as to make them feel welcome in the kingdom.
The World Food Programme provides school meals to more than 20 million children every year.
As a result of the Syrian conflict, refugees account for almost 10 percent of the kingdom’s population, placing significant pressure on resources at one of the most economically challenging times for the country.
