With funding from COH (Convoy of Hope), WIU is implementing the Child Feeding Initiative (CFI), which targets children in Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Lower Primary classes. The aim is to improve attendance, retention, and learning in schools. The project also enhances nutrition and child health, decreasing morbidity for ECD and lower primary school learners. The initiative aims to provide nutritional support to 9,944 children, with additional phases targeting 8,433 and 8,658 children, respectively. The program focuses on several key components, including the procurement of food items, preparation of hot meals, training programs, expansion of school gardens, and routine monitoring and evaluation.
The Children Feeding Initiative intervention has over time contributed to improved nutrition and child health, increased learning and concentration in the classroom and decreased morbidity for learners in the project area. School feeding particularly helps girls, orphans and vulnerable children and HIV-affected minors to get into school and stay there, thereby enhancing enrolment and reducing absenteeism.
Additionally, training programs are implemented to educate project staff, volunteer cooks, school management committees, and parents on nutrition, health, and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) standards. These programs aim to enhance the community’s capacity to support the initiative’s goals. Expanding school gardens to seven additional schools in Palorinya and Imvepi is crucial in the nutritional support strategy. These gardens provide supplementary food for the feeding program, with activities such as hiring tractors, training volunteer farmers, and providing necessary tools and seeds.
The project is being implemented in Palorinya, Imvepi, Rhino Camp, and Kiryandongo Refugee Settlements in the West Nile Region of Uganda.