Category: Operational Support

Tags: education, africaneducation, solar, alternativeenergy, solaroven, PromoteAfrica, development, economicdevelopment

The Omuthitu Feeding Project is a unique pilot program in the Omusati region of Namibia. The project aims to increase primary school enrollment and performance levels by developing a school-feeding program using food grown by students on school property and then cooked using solar ovens. Research suggests that school feeding programs, in addition to improving child welfare and nutrition, can increase school enrollment rates. This is due to the fact that, in Namibia, the school day ends at 1:00PM, which removes the schools responsibility to feed lunch to learners. In Ongandjera, it is estimated that 40% of school age children have lost at least one of their parents to HIV/AIDS. Additionally, due to financial constraints, many of these learners miss at least one meal a day. Ensuring a free or subsidized lunch at school provides a strong incentive for parents to send their children to school, and it will help learners with their academic performance, as they will have renewed energy and enthusiasm to study. The project started when a US Peace Corp volunteer at the school began using a donated solar oven to make bread to sell to teachers. Since then, the community has formed a volunteer feeding program committee comprised of 35 school parents. In a school of 300 students, nearly half of whom are orphans, this number of parents represents over half the children at the school. Clearly, the community's level of involvement thus far has been extremely encouraging. To date, the school has acquired three solar ovens and some foundational supplies to begin constructing a school kitchen. However, in order to scale up the project into a school-wide feeding program, more investments are necessary. These include 2 new solar ovens, pots, pans, poles (for the kitchen), wiring (fence to surround the garden for security purposes) and initial seeds will have to be purchased. To donate directly to this project, please go to www.PromoteAfrica.Org. 100% of your tax-deductible contribution will go directly to Omuthitu Combined School.

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