The most exciting development for Siraba School and for our organization has been the launch of a school lunch program in early April. We received a generous gift from donors Drs. Mary and Dave Zamierowski that enabled us to move forward on a dream we’ve had since Siraba School first opened. Having Koro bring nutritious snacks each week (which she is still doing) was a good first step. But we knew that so many students came to school hungry, and returned from their lunch break still hungry.
Dagabo is a very poor village. During the few months of the rainy season, when farm crops of maize are plentiful, families can afford a wider range of food, but for the majority of the year the staple diet is millet, or sometimes rice, flavored with onions and sometimes with a tomato. Inadequate childhood nutrition has a significant impact on Siraba School students. Hunger makes concentration difficult, physical and brain development slower, absenteeism higher.
Now we are able to provide a nutritious lunch several days each week. Koro worked with the Dagabo Mothers Group to develop a meal plan that meets our guidelines (filling, healthy, includes protein and vegetables), with ingredients that can be readily purchased and that the Mothers are comfortable cooking. Koro consulted with a restauranteur friend in Bamako to help determine quantities to feed Siraba School students, preschool students, and our graduates in nearby Piébougou who come home for lunch. The Mothers elected a group who manage purchasing at the market in Ouéléssébougou, and who share responsibility for cooking. Some funding was used for the Dagabo School Committee to build both a storage building for bulk items (that can also be used for school and Hawa Clinic storage) and a covered area referred to as the “canteen” for the students to eat under, out of the sun.
Cooking is done under the shade of a large Shea tree near the school (a location selected by the Mothers). Koro purchased enormous cooking pots, bowls, huge spoons & other cooking utensils, plus bowls and utensils for each child. Large logs are arranged in a star shape, not in a pile as we tend to do, with the pot directly on top, and as the logs burn they are pushed in towards the center.
We were lucky to sample 2 lunches while we were in Dagabo – pasta with a huge assortment of vegetables (carrots, tomato, peppers, onions, cabbage, and some extraordinarily flavorful celery), and another meal of cooked beans (they looked like black eyed peas) with a very flavorful sauté of vegetables on top. Both were delicious – Boi asked for thirds!
We are working to measure the impact of the lunch program. We know that it will help, we could see the malnutrition and hunger in the students, but we are actively seeking ways to objectively measure the impact over the long term. Koro and Assanatou are weighing and measuring the students using guidelines from the World Health Organization, and will continue tracking at regular intervals. Grades and test scores will be an indicator, and we expect to see an improvement over time. Improved attendance is another measure – and Mr. Samaké, the school director, told us he has already seen that impact in the few weeks since the program started! Absenteeism had been a problem, particularly for students who walk to Siraba School from surrounding villages. But in the last several weeks only 2 students have been absent, and both for very legitimate reasons!
Every aspect of this program is making a big difference in Dagabo – for the mothers who have an opportunity to earn some funds for their families, for the teachers who already see improvement in their classrooms, and most of all for the students. We saw and heard so much happiness specifically about this program. In our meetings with the School Committee, with the teachers and Director, and with the Dagabo Mothers Group – the first thing that each wanted to talk about was the lunch program and their joy and gratitude. The mothers told us that they are so happy to cook for their children, to know that they have enough food, and also that they are having fun cooking together!
We are so thankful to our global Villagers for your generosity and support, and are delighted with the increasing impact that The Siraba School Village can have on this small part of Mali.
