Will there be food at school this year?
Through our “Back to School” campaign, we can provide the one meal a day that gives children strength to learn. I’d like to share a few stories of children in urgent need.
Mateo lives in the Dominican Republic and is just starting kindergarten, but instead of looking forward to his first school year, he sits with an empty bowl, wondering if there will be food today. Like many children, he brings his own bowl to school, hoping it will be filled. Hunger is already threatening to keep him from the classroom, just as it has for so many other children.
His Aunt Rosa, pictured below with her daughter Sofia, knows this reality all too well. As a girl, Rosa left school too soon, not because she lacked the will to learn, but because hunger made it impossible. Now she is raising Sofia and caring for Mateo as if he were her own son, determined they will not face the same loss
But hunger is relentless. For parents who struggle to provide even one meal a day, sending a child to school can feel impossible. Children who arrive hungry cannot focus, they fall behind, and many eventually drop out. Without food, the chance for an education and the hope of breaking free from poverty slips away.
A daily meal at school changes everything. It gives a child the strength to focus on lessons, the energy to play at recess, and the dignity of knowing they will not go hungry. Parents are more likely to keep their children in school when they know food is provided. One plate of food opens the door to an education and a better future. Rosa told us, “What keeps me awake at night is wondering if the children will have enough to eat tomorrow.” She never wants Mateo or Sofia to face the same loss she did. And with your help, they will not have to.
Kenya
In Siaya, Kenya, a young girl named Amina sits with an empty bowl. She waits, not knowing if there will be food today. Amina is being cared for by her grandmother, who is often sick and struggles to provide. With drought and rising food costs, even one meal a day has become difficult to find. Many children like Amina walk long distances to school with nothing to eat, arriving too weak to focus. Without meals, they fall behind and many eventually drop out. For most, the food they receive at school is the only meal they will eat that day, the one thing that allows them to stay in school and keep learning.
Haiti
The same struggle is unfolding in Pignon, Haiti, where a boy named Jonas recently arrived with his mother after fleeing violence in the city. They came with nothing but the clothes on their backs, hoping to find safety and food. Like many families, they were welcomed into the community, but schools are struggling to keep up with the growing number of displaced children. Through our program partners in Pignon, Jonas has a place in class, but meals are running short. Without food, children like him go hungry, lose focus, and risk being pulled out of school. A simple meal can mean the difference between dropping out and the chance to stay in school with hope for the future. Haiti has been forgotten by much of the world, but we cannot turn away.
