In the Summer of last year Comfort International launched a joint venture with long term partners and friends in Rwanda, Good News International (GNI). It was a bold and ambitious undertaking to fight hunger in some of the poorest areas of Rwanda, where Comfort International has been working since 1999. The project was made up of two arms; one funding school meals in the area of Bisesero and one providing a nutritious breakfast for nursery children at the highest risk of malnutrition. You can read more about our feeding projects here. We have been hearing just how much your donations have been changing lives through these feeding projects and are delighted to share the results with you.
Nursery Nutrition Project
Bisesero was the only area of Rwanda to form an official resistance against the genocide in
1994. Historically, in this area, Tutsi children were bullied and excluded from schooling. As a predominantly agricultural area, many of the
children were encouraged to stay home and help on the family farm. We wanted to help encourage children to go to school and providing nursery meals is a big part of this. The nursery prepares a nutritious porridge in the morning which helps the children to stay healthier, grow stronger and study better.
We found that after 5 months of Comfort International support to provide school meals, out of 73 children enrolled in the nutrition programme, there are no longer any children on the programme showing severe signs of malnutrition, and the number of children showing any signs of malnutrition has been drastically reduced. The nursery expects that, if this trend continues, then by the end of the school year there should be no children showing any signs of malnutrition.
School Feeding Programme
The Rwandan government subsidises school meals for children, but families are still required to pay a fee set by the school, which can be as low as about £2. However, in an incredibly rural and poor part of the country, Bisesero, some families cannot afford this monthly expense for some or any of their children. Comfort International support has been paying for school meals for children, so they don’t need to worry about where their next meal is coming from.
At the start of the year, our partners at Good News International in Rwanda, who facilitate this project, took some baseline data from 40 children enrolled on the project. We went back after these children were supported to receive school meals for one term and the results were astounding.
These projects have been incredibly successful at helping transform lives throughout Rwanda. Comfort International is continually striving to reach those most in need through our partner organisations. Due to the success of these projects, we will be rolling out funding to provide nutritional support throughout a number of projects, including Street Kids Rescue Projects in Rwanda, DRC and Burundi, Children of Liberty (ex-child soldiers), the nutritional wing at Central Hospital Rusayu, DRC and child support in South Sudan, as well as continuing to support nursery nutrition at Birara Nursery and School Feeding Projects. You can find out about these projects by checking out our website or getting in touch with us. All of these will help us continue to fight child hunger in some of the world’s poorest countries. If your donation has been specifically designated, 100% of the funds will go to that project. If your donation is undesignated, it will be used where it is most needed.
a little can change a life
