March 22, 2021
Stories
After the war in Iraq, many Iraqi families have found it hard to go back to their routine daily life they were used to. Many things changed in their life, one of them is sending their children back to schools. CCR implemented the project of National School Feeding to encourage the children enroll at schools, which in return rises the percentage of literacy, and provides them with nutritious food that boosts their bodies with energy.
In partnership with the local organization Public Aid Organization, CCR could reach students of 65 schools in which the former could distribute meals containing cheese, bread, water and juice bottles, and fruit. Some schools’ headmasters stated that there was a significant increase in the number of students who attended their classes after there was meals’ distribution.
‘I prefer to go to school when they give us a meal to eat!’
Due to the war and all the displacement it caused, many families lost all their savings and could not afford it to send their children back to schools with nutritious meals which can boost their bodies with energy to keep them awake and focused in classes. The meals’ distributions in schools enabled some families to finally save some money and spend them on other things they needed; this could help them alleviate poverty.
Also, the children were trained on several hygiene practices, such as handwashing before and after eating, cleaning under nails, washing fruit and vegetables. This also reduced the possibility of having diseases at schools, which allowed more students to attend the classes. All of this resulted in behavioral changes and raised awareness around hygiene and healthy eating habits in the children’s behavior.
Staying healthy is vital for proper growth and development of their mind and body. Children require enough energy to spend the entire day in school and focus in the classroom and activities.
By the end of the project, a total number of 10,445 school children were reached with the hygiene promotion sessions, in which all of the 65 schools were covered given the fact that the total of 671 sessions were conducted in those schools including the distribution of brochures for handwashing, cleaning under nails, benefits of dates and personal hygiene.
