ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

¡°School meals were one of the reasons I would send my children to school,¡± says Nach, a potter and rice farmer in rural Kampong Chhnang province in Cambodia. ¡°Each morning, my kids would pack their own dish and spoon so they could enjoy their breakfast at school. Sometimes, they even bring back a little for me!¡±

People with disabilities day: ¡®I want to become an engineer¡¯

A schoolboy in Aleppo grows closer to his dream one snack at a time, with support from the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

Knowing her children were receiving school meals relieved some of Nach¡¯s financial stress and also made her more confident that they were getting the nutrition they needed to learn effectively. ¡°School meals are important for children¡¯s development and help them study better,¡± she says.

Her 11-year-old son Mouy Mai, has fond memories of his morning routine back when schools were still open ¨C evidence of the importance of the school feeding programme, supported by Cambodia¡¯s Ministry of Education, the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ (WFP) and the Korean International Co-operation Agency (KOICA).

¡°First, I would help do some cleaning in the classroom once I got to the school, then I¡¯d have breakfast with my friends, and then say hello to my teacher,¡± he says, shyly, while sitting in his small family home with his mother and little sister. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to go back to school and learn again and meet my friends.¡±

School closures are just one of many ways in which COVID has adversely affected the family. ¡°My income dropped from 20,000 riels a day to only 5,000 riels [around US$1],¡± says Nach. ¡°That¡¯s not enough to support us, I have many children.¡±

Nach lost her lower arm to cancer 20 years ago: ¡°Making a living was much easier before that.¡± She says that it can be a struggle to feed her family sometimes, especially now that her school-age children don¡¯t get at least one meal a day at school.

It was with such families in mind that ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳approached the Ministry of Education and KOICA when it was confirmed that schools would close for a long period because of COVID safety precautions. A programme of take-home rations would ensure that families would continue to receive essential food supplies - including 25kg of rice, canned fish, beans and vegetable oil - to use in their own homes, even though their children could not attend school. There have now been five rounds of take-home ration distributions. With the recent re-opening of schools in September, they may well be the last.

Nach says: ¡°Without this extra support, I would have struggled a lot as I have so many family members ¡­  it lowers our expenses, and I can buy vegetables and cook good food for my children.¡±

She welcomes the re-opening of schools. ¡°I want my kids to go to school regularly. I hope they will be well-educated and achieve what they want.¡±

Learn more about WFP's work in Cambodia