CONTENTS mid-day meal   training   village data sheets   CATAD group

September / October 2001

Mid-day meal for school children

Conflict and war are causing malnutrition and poverty.

Malnutrition among school children affects their performance in school, slows their individual development and results in reduced chances in life: Children pass out during classes, their concentration and study progress are poor, their physical growth and mental development are constrained.

The mid-day meal programme for school children (Kola Kantha, Illai Kanchi) was initiated and first implemented in September 1999 by the principal of St Mary's College, Trincomalee as a pilot project of IFSP. This was very successful and IFSP expanded the programme to 40 schools by now in 7 DS Divisions. More than 4,000 students are getting their regular mid-day meal. (October 2002 49 schools and about 7000 children.)

What is the mid-day meal? It is a supplementary meal between breakfast and lunch. It consists of either red rice, coconut, sugar, vegetable and green leaves or a mixture of chick peas and coconut and green leaves or other gram in combination with red rice and green leaves.

IFSP decided to give preference to villages and schools which are meeting the following criteria:

High degree of poverty and conflict affectedness (village data sheets classify villages in poverty codes 1-5, whereby code 5 represents worst conflict affected and poorest villages; Technical Paper 10). Schools with low student attendance and high drop out rates. Schools with a low nutritional status (determined through a nutrition assessment). Villages where participatory needs assessment was done (Technical Paper 6 pdf 987KB and mid-day meal map).

The average direct costs for one child are about Rs. 4 to Rs. 5 per day or Rs. 80 to Rs. 100 per month. It should be possible to mobilise this amount from the parents themselves, once they are convinced of the benefit of the mid-day meal for their children. In addition to the direct costs IFSP makes basic cooking utensils available.

When signing the mid-day meal agreement the parents, principal and the school development society (SDS) agree to certain procedures. Depending on the poverty code the parents or SDS contribution is fixed as follows:· Phase 1 (initial phase) 10% contribution (green leaves, fire wood, etc.)· Phase 2 (established phase)  25% contribution (food items or cash)· Phase 3 (advanced phase) 50% contribution (food items or cash)· Phase 4 (ownership phase) 100% contribution (full local contribution).Villages with poverty code 5 start in phase 1, villages with poverty code 4 start in phase 2, and so on. A monthly report by the principal is expected.

The main findings of the mid-day meal evaluation were very positive (Technical Paper 12). The programme is well accepted. Children reported that their hunger during lessons is reduced and that they have more energy and interest; they learn about food, nutrition, health and hygiene. Teachers stated that children are more active, they can concentrate better and learning is much easier for them. Increased attendance has been noted. Before the mid-day meal was introduced children came to school sometimes only 3 days a week, now they come 5 days a week. Even the number of children enrolled in school has been increased. Some schools show exhibitions in relation to the mid-day meal and integrate it into the curriculum. School societies are interested in school gardening and they have mobilised some of the parents to provide material and help to establish gardens. The principals reported that parents who are helping with the purchase of the food items do this by bus or bike once a week. For shopping they need about 3 hrs. One major problem in the uncleared areas is to bring the food items through the military check posts. In cooperation with the institutions in charge a solution for this problem should be found soon. To make the programme sustainable beyond IFSP better integration in the district development plans and interest from the official partners (e.g. DoA, DoE, DoH) are needed. Nevertheless, at the moment the mid- day meal is a positive contribution to the availability, access and direct use and utilisation of food to school children in Trincomalee district.

pdf 90 KB   Technical Paper 7 Mid-day Meal for School Children
pdf 168 KB  Technical Paper 12 Mid-day meal Evaluation
pdf 1,818 KB  Technical Paper 23 A different Way of Community Mobilisation
                     Mid-day meal drama photo documentation
 

Training in nutrition and food security                                      top

Dr G. Gnanagunalan, DPDHS Trincomalee, Mrs R. M. Singarayer and Mr T. C. Emmanuel from IFSP and Mrs Ranaweera from Ministry of Plan Implementation participated in a two weeks intensive course on Nutrition and Food Security at the German Foundation for International Development in Feldafing, near Munich in Germany in June. After returning to Sri Lanka they shared their experience with their colleagues in Trincomalee through a presentation.

Village data sheets - Trincomalee district poverty profile     top

The second updated edition of the village data sheets (Technical Paper 10) is released. To allow a more precise support for people who are affected by the conflict and who face structural food deficits IFSP has established a poverty profile for all 571 villages of Trincomalee district. The village data sheets are designed to be used by government institutions as well as non-government organisations. A poverty ranking of villages allows to initiate local projects, encouraging people to actively participate and to contribute and to introduce impact monitoring.
The vulnerability map shows the degree of war affectedness, social deprivation and food deficit.

Second CATAD group in Trincomalee                                      top

The first IFSP-CATAD project 1999 (Food Security and Conflict) was a success. This year another group is doing a three months study about "Livelihoods in Complex Emergencies". The IFSP- CATAD Project 2001 is a collaboration between IFSP and the Centre for Advanced Training in Agricultural Development, (CATAD) from Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. The study is funded by IFSP with financial assistance from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). A joint Sri Lankan-German interdisciplinary team investigates socio-economic coping strategies, trends of land use and the implications for food security.

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