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School Feeding Programme Making a Difference at Dzuwa Primary School
This school was affected by a high rate of absenteeism and school dropout. Out of the four hundred, only a handful reported for classes. And those who reported performed poorly simply because learners could not learn effectively on empty stomachs. The families of most students in Dzuwa community are so poor that they cannot afford breakfast for their kids on daily basis, and so the kids go to school without eating anything. As a result, many kids chose to stop going to school altogether. They preferred working in other people's fields and get a bowl of maize flour instead of going to school and learning on empty stomachs. The effect that this situation had in the lives of these young ones could not be overemphasized. The future of these kids was being ruined. Their dreams to become educated and responsible citizens who would make a difference in the community were being shattered. Something had to be done to alleviate this problem. After wide consultations, Joy to the World Ministries Inc. decided to introduce a feeding program. The aim of this program was twofold. First, to act as an incentive to the kids so that they could come to school, and secondly, to provide nutritious food to the kids hence boosting their health which is ideal for learning. The proposed food was in a form of cereal made from corn and soya. Today, the story is different. The once starving kids of Dzuwa Primary school have now every reason to smile. On every school day, the kids lineup to get a ration of a highly nutritious porridge made from soya and corn flour. The levels of absenteeism and drop out have dramatically been reduced. The performance of the kids is remarkable. A standard seven pupil, Gapawo Karonje says there has been a great change in their academic lives since the porogramme started. "Our major challenge was lack of food as our parents could not afford to feed us adequately, but with the food that we are having here at school, we are fully geared in our quest for academic excellence," she says. The same words are echoed by Mr. Ngwenya, one of the teachers at Dzuwa Primary School who says that he has witnessed a dramatic improvement in terms of class performance and enrollment. He says a lot of kids are reporting for classes. Their performance is also picking up and he attributes this to the School feeding programme that JTW introduced at the school. One community member, Mr. Numeri Chuma appreciates the role JTW is playing in uplifting the status of education at Dzuwa Primary School. "The gesture by JTW cannot be looked down upon as it will go a long way assisting our kids. It will also ease the challenge many parents have been facing in sourcing food for their school going kids because now the food is readily available," appreciates Chuma. But how did JTW implement this program? According to Mrs. Chimzimu, one of the JTW missionaries who played a leading role in developing this programme says that, first JTW had to mobilize the community to let them know about the ministry's idea. The community embraced it. To start with, the pupils were asked to contribute 8 kilograms of corn each which amounted to 37 bags weighing 50 kilograms each. After further discussions with the community, it was agreed that the community should provide land and labor. " As a ministry, we do not want to do everything for the community, we want the community to learn to do things for themselves, we do not want them to be dependent on other people but to depend on themselves, and know that they can make a difference in their lives" says Mrs Chinzimu. 350 acres were provided on which soya and corn were cultivated. The results were 61 bags of corn and 4 bags of soya weighing 50kgs each. The community of Dzuwa comprises 15 villages. Women from these villages take turns to cook and serve the porridge to the pupils on each school day. It is an undisputed fact that JTW's efforts to uplift education standards in Dzuwa community are truly becoming a fruitful venture.
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