Soft porridge fuels school attandance

Teachers say the soft porridge provided to disadvantaged children at primary schools has become a beacon of hope, playing a crucial role in improved school attendance.

The porridge is given to the children as part of the Namibian School Feeding Programme, which was started by the World Food Programme in 1991 and taken over by the government between 1996 and 1997. It particularly targets orphans and vulnerable children.

Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture spokesperson Sem Shino on Tuesday said roughly N$5.7 million was budgeted for the programme for the 2024/25 financial year, benefiting 1 514 primary schools.

The soft porridge, typically made with maize meal, is prepared by school staff, parents or volunteers from the community.

At Tsintsabis Combined School in the Guinas constituency, principal Martin Antindi says the bowls of soft porridge offered to pupils during the morning break have become more than meals.

“It is a lifeline, as the majority of the children are from underprivileged households where sometimes, there is no provision of meals,” he says.

He says of 945 pupils, with the exception of 131 accommodated in the hostel, 814 benefit from the feeding programme, as the majority of the Tsintsabis community is socially and economically challenged.

“Most of the parents are unemployed and economically challenged, so insufficient food at home poses a problem. What attracts most of the pupils is the porridge prepared here at school. Not having it is a problem. . . So we always make sure we have procured enough from our regional office for us to prepare soft porridge,” he says.

The head of department at Green Leaves Primary School in the Okahandja Park informal settlement in Windhoek, Sofia Haipinge, says half of their pupils, about 800, benefit from the programme.

“The school is located in an area where many parents are economically challenged, so as a school we always ensure the availability of the porridge to ensure our children have something to eat,” she says.

Meanwhile, Wilhelm Samuel, the principal of Cuba Primary School in the Havana informal settlement in Windhoek, says that although the porridge is meant for orphans and vulnerable children, it has become a need for every child and all pupils are welcome.

The school has 1 329 pupils.

“As a school, we make it is our responsibility to ensure we mitigate our children’s social conditions through the provision of stationery, [sanitary] pads and food, especially through the school feeding programme,” Samuel says.