Working through the UN to feed Rwanda's hunger for knowledge

18 June 2009

Ten-year-old Florence arrives at her school in Murama with an empty stomach. So does 8-year-old Alloys, who says there is no food at his home to eat.

Their stories are not unique at this Rwandan primary school, where many of the 1,170 students who come to class each morning arrive hungry.

Almost every child in Rwanda enrolls in primary school, but nearly half drop
out before the end of sixth grade - the rate is even higher for girls.

To help retain students in Rwandan schools, United Nations agencies have streamlined their efforts into the 'Delivering as One UN' reform programme and combined efforts with the Rwandan government to help create more child-friendly schools. Fifty-three have been built so far, with around 250 more to come by 2012.

Enabling children to learn

The Child-Friendly Schools Initiative wanted to tackle hunger as a first priority. “If children have food in their stomach, they are better students. They can concentrate better,” says Jean Pierre Sinibagiwe, Headmaster of Murama Secondary School. “It is essential to provide food to students at
school.”

To help Sinibagiwe and his students achieve a lower dropout rate, the initiative brought together UNICEF and the World Food Program (WFP) to use their expertise to tackle the problem.

One incentive that keeps students in school is the free meal of maize and beans, provided daily by the WFP. “I don’t eat the same food at home,” says 12-year-old David Isina. “What we eat here is better.”

Sustainable schools

To make the school systems self-sustaining, the UN also helps the faculty and local communities raise pigs to generate income. They sell about six small pigs a month, each fetching a price of 8,000 Rwf (US$15)

The animals are not the community’s only chance to help sustain the school. The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) provides agricultural programs to teach communities how to raise their own crops. Donated seeds provide additional vegetables to improve the diet of children.

UNICEF and UNESCO are also working together, respectively, on supporting teacher training, and ensuring schools cater for the interest of young girls - only 37.9% of the children who completed primary education in 2006 were girls.

Finally, UNICEF works with the Rwandan government to build clean classrooms, latrines and infrastructure. Through these efforts, the UN has overseen the construction of water and sanitation facilities in 22 primary schools and one refugee camp.