How school meals are helping children like Kithma* stay in school and providing relief to families like hers.
Kithma* (names changed) is a 10-year-old girl from a rural community in the Monaragala district, Sri Lanka. She lives with her father, Shantha*, her mother, Nishani*, and brother and sister, Sahan*, 14 and Lihini*, 5. They live in a small mud house, consisting of only two small rooms, housed with a tin sheet roof, which isn’t very secure. Their family has access to electricity but don’t have water, which means they must depend on their family members who live close-by to provide clean water to their home. Shantha* is a daily wage worker and sole breadwinner of the family, while Nishani* stays at home to take care of Kithma* and her siblings.
Kithma* dreams of becoming a teacher one day, telling us how she loves to play pretend school with her friends, and at home with her little sister. Though she may seem shy at first, we discovered that Kithma* is quite the performer as she told us how she likes to volunteer to sing songs at school. She’s also got a bit of a sweet tooth, as she loves to eat cake with icing.
I want to become a teacher one day, especially in a subject I love, like Sinhala. I try to teach my little sister what I can, but she’s too restless since she’s still small. - Kithma*, 9, Sri Lanka
There are a few classrooms in my school where there are small libraries. My friends and I go and borrow books sometimes and read during our free periods in school. - Kithma*, 9, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has been contending with nutrition issues for an extended period, a challenge that has been further compounded by the pandemic and economic hardships. The situation has particularly worsened concerning the accessibility and affordability of nutritious, well-balanced meals. Families like Kithma’s* struggle to make ends meet, especially in the midst of the economic crisis, as they don’t have a stable income. Kithma’s* father is only able to earn a daily wage if there is work, which has been very infrequent since last year. He struggles to provide adequate food for his children and the family often don’t have three meals a day - and even if they do, they lack nutritious foods such as proteins.
Amidst these difficulties that families face, Save the Children’s 'Food for Education and Child Nutrition’ programme emerged as a supportive initiative, aligning with the government's endeavours to sustain the national school meal programme. Save the Children’s project aims to ensure the continuation of this programme by providing essential commodities that are rich in proteins and other essential nutrients. It plays a crucial role in ensuring children are able to have well-balanced meals, as well as enhance their attentiveness and ability to focus in school.
Kithma* is visibly smaller in comparison to other children her age and has faced difficulties with her studies. There have been instances when she had to skip school as her parents couldn’t prepare a meal for her. Having missed school, she fell behind in lessons and found it difficult to catch up on the work. She also isn’t able to ask her parents for help with her homework since both Shantha* and Nishani* can’t read or write.
Sometimes, my mother has to borrow from neighbors or the shop nearby to pack a lunch for me to eat afterschool when I have extra classes after school.
Kithma attends a school that is part of the government’s school meal programme, which is supported by Save the Children’s ‘Food for Education and Child Nutrition’ programme. She receives a morning meal, which includes 4 key ingredients from our programme, which are: Alaskan canned pink salmon, yellow split peas, fortified rice and fortified vegetable oil. Kithma* says that she loves coming to school now as she looks forward to the morning meal. While she is falling behind in school, this meal has not only helped her attend school more regularly, but has also helped her focus during her lessons and catch up on her school work. Kithma* loves coming to school to play with her friends and read books in her school library, supported by the programmes Literacy Boost intervention.
Kithma*, with her family, in their home in the Monaragala District, Sri Lanka. Credit: Sejani Wilegoda/Save the Children.
Kithma’s* family is grateful, as the morning meal and literacy boost intervention is helping her catch up in school. It provides the family with a sense of relief, as at least one of their children is guaranteed of a well-balanced, protein rich meal, especially in the midst of soaring food prices, which the family cannot afford.
There are days when we don’t have food to cook a meal for our children, and while there are other students in the class that share their food, we have had to keep our children back from school on some of these days. Once they started providing the school meal in the morning, we were happy to send Kithma* to school, as she would receive a meal without fail. This not only ensured she receives a well-balanced meal but has also helped her concentrate better in class. Although they are small steps, we see how she is able to learn better in class now. - Shantha*, Kithma's* father
