Tjingababili Primary School in Matabeleland South’s Mangwe District has become a magnet for children from outside its catchment area after introducing a feeding scheme to alleviate the devastating impact of the El Nino-induced drought.
Christopher Mguni, the school’s headmaster, said they initiated the feeding scheme last year following a spike in absenteeism and generally poor performance by poorly nourished pupils.
The school’s feeding programme was boosted when the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE), working with UNICEF, included it in the European Union-funded Enhanced Resilience for Vulnerable Households in Zimbabwe (ERVHIZ) project. The project is being rolled out in districts such as Insiza, Matobo, Gwanda, Plumtree, Mangwe, and Bulilima.
The government of Germany also provides financial support through the Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) Development Bank.
ERVHIZ is anchored on integrating water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), agriculture, and nutrition to boost community and household resilience in the face of a complex humanitarian crisis in the Province that is being worsened by one of the worst droughts to hit Southern Africa.
Mguni said they have used the financial support to set up a solarised water scheme, a nutrition garden, a small livestock project, a shed where pupils are served meals, and buy food stocks.
“The programme has assisted us a lot because we have developed this school, and our children are excited about the feeding programme,” he said.
“We used to have up to 80 pupils or more absent at any given time, but with the feeding programme, you find that there is no longer absenteeism, and pupils are always active even as they participate in sporting activities.”
“Our enrolment is now up to 480 from 472 last year as we are getting more children from other schools wanting to come here.”
“The pass rate last year was 55 per cent, a testament to the positive changes brought about by the feeding programme.”
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