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Breakfast School Empowerment initiative, a non-governmental organisation, has unveiled a pilot project to feed primary school pupils once in a week with free nutritious meals at Udumu- ju -gboko, in Aniocha north council of Delta State.
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The school feeding programme was launched by the founder, Maureen Bonds in February. Addressing journalists in Asaba, the country representative, Mr. Obiora Isichei, said the idea was to address the growing number of out-of-school children, and tackle malnutrition among Nigerian children.
He said: “Bonds took decisive measures by launching the scheme to fight the impact of poverty and its attendant consequences on children.
“We are here to tackle many issues confronting education, especially among pupils of primary school age, and the need to improve their daily nutrition intake to enable them to focus more,” he stated.
He also said the programme was designed to target vulnerable Nigerians, including youths and children, adding that the main objective is to address the challenges of malnutrition among school pupils for optimal benefits.
Apart from boosting pupils’ nutrition, the scheme was aimed at promoting the local economy, as the food is produced and purchased from local farmers and vendors to create a long value chain. Isichei said they are not just looking for school breakfast alone, but looking into health as well.
“As we speak, we are feeding an average of 450 children every week, with the potential of that number increasing as we expand the feeding process probably in the next months.
“Based on the impact of the programme – attracting children to school, ensuring they are healthy, the children of the poor and vulnerable are attending school, it is necessary that the programme is sustained.
Although the scheme has been experiencing some challenges, we have been able to raise the bar without any donations from outsiders,” he stressed.
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