In many parts of the world, including Zambia, hunger remains a daily reality for millions of people. Children are among the most vulnerable, as their growing bodies require sufficient nutrients for physical and cognitive development. Unfortunately, many of our friends in the Makululu slum area, suffer from malnutrition. Not to mention the children living on the streets.
Eating breakfast is rare. Only the wealthy can afford them. Children usually come to school with an empty stomach and often have several kilometres to travel one way. Often the only meal they eat during the day is a school lunch provided by school feeding programs. Fainting during lessons is therefore not uncommon, and the reason is often hunger and exhaustion. Most parents cannot afford to provide their children with wholesome and nutritious meals. They themselves often eat once a day, just before going to bed.
On the streets it is even worse. For homeless children every day is a struggle for survival. They start the day by looking for something to eat. Then, they grab casual jobs like selling plastic bags to earn money for food. They also search through rubbish bins, hoping to find leftovers from the nearby Hungry Lion. If they are lucky, they will not go to sleep hungry.
This reality is heartbreaking. Hunger and thirst are among the basic needs that are essential to function. We satisfy these by providing our children in Ciloto with three meals a day. We strive to ensure that meals are composed in such a way that they provide the necessary nutrients and vitamins for our children to develop properly. Our menu therefore includes not only Zambian nshima as a staple of every meal, but also meat, fish, eggs, fruits and vegetables. Recently, we have also been strongly developing our farm in order to be able to feed our community ourselves in the future. Together with the boys, we cultivate the land, build fish ponds and raise animals such as pigs, chickens and goats.
The average daily cost of the three meals we provide for a boy in Ciloto is about 50 Zambian Kwacha, or US$2. Sometimes it takes so little to give someone the chance to live in dignity. Donate US$2 so that a child does not go to bed hungry. We have around 70 boys staying with us.
