School Feeding Program for Disadvantaged Students from Rural Communities in Nepal

https://www.ina.org.au

School feeding programs contribute to alleviating short-term hunger in schoolchildren, which increases their ability to concentrate and learn while they are at school (Shalini, Murthy, Shalini, Dinesh, Shivaraj, Suryanarayana, 2014). Such
programs also increase student enrolment, attendance, and retention rates (Aliyar, Gelli & Hamdani, 2015). Jointly, these factors contribute to better academic outcomes and improved child health.

Most Nepalis are employed in agriculture, but small landholdings and low productivity keep many farmers at subsistence levels (Global Health Index, 2020). Malnutrition remains as a serious concern to child survival, growth and development, and it leads to child disease and death (Paudel,2020). According to “The Borgen Project”, chronic hunger can prevent students from making the most of formal education, no matter how hard they try to ignore its effects. The sad truth is that hunger can have physical and psychological effects on young people which makes
learning substantially difficult. Similarly, according to National Education Association hungry students have lower math scores, and are more likely to repeat a grade, come to school late, or miss school entirely.

This project will provide midday meals, cooked by the parents using locally available ingredients, for 234 students (134 girls) from one primary school in Chaurjahari Municipality. The goal is to improve the health, school attendance and educational achievement of the students.