School canteens stirring school performance and reducing dropouts in Nyanza-Lac commune

World Vision Burundi through “Komezawige project” that is funded by Education Cannot Wait donor is providing hot meals through school canteens to school children in Makamba province, South of Burundi.

The support is bringing back hope to boys and girls who were finding it hard to have meals at lunch time in their homes. It is also contributing to improving school performance and enhancing school retention.  

Esther, 13, a young school girl who is in grade 6 at a local school in Nyanza-Lac commune, Makamba province appreciates the benefits that a school canteen implemented in her school since October 2023 has brought to her.

“I could spend one or 2 days per week without having lunch. Nowadays, I have my lunch at school and then when I go back home, I feel energized to revise my lessons”, says Esther whose other 3 siblings benefit from the school canteen at the same school.

Esther says that the food she is given is delicious and of sufficient quantity. Asked about what is her contribution to make the canteen continue running, “we are only asked to bring firewood”, she joyfully replies.

Francine, a mother of 5, shares that since the school canteen is running children are staying home; which could not happen in the past as they took a stroll in the neighborhood to look for whatever they could find on their way to calm their hunger.

“In our neighborhood, we have families that cannot provide meals adequately to their children, which has a negative impact to school performance of our children”, says Francine whose children would sleep in classes as a result of hunger. “I feel good as my children stay home after classes and revise what they have learnt at school”, Francine adds.

Parents of school children are asked to come on rotational basis to prepare food for their children, “it is my modest contribution to the success of this school canteen programme”, says Francine.

According to Honoré Nkurunziza, a headmaster at the school, dropouts are reducing and school performance improving thanks to the school canteen.

“We will evaluate its impact well at the end of the school year”, Honoré says.

Esther’s school is hosting 1,300 school children.

Parents say that hot meals offered to their children are enabling them not think so much about the food at the lunch time for their children and think mainly to school materials.

In Burundi, despite free education system in basic and post basic schools, parents lack the means to provide their children with school supplies.

According to surveys carried out by the Institut National de la Statistique (formerly ISTEEBU), the most affected areas with dropouts are provinces that socio-economic conditions are poor.

In Makamba province, school canteens are being implemented in two communes of Kayogoro and Nyanza-Lac in 14 schools and hence benefiting to approximately to 18,000 school children.