There is a popular Haitian proverb that says ‘Sak vid pa kanpe’, which means an empty sack cannot stand. The “sack” in this proverb is reflective of a sack of flour, from which bread is made. Imagine a sack full of flour standing upright. Just as the sack is kept upright by the flour inside, so we are supported and kept alive by what is made with that flour – bread. Without bread and sustenance, a person cannot stand.
According to USAID, “Food insecurity is a long-standing challenge in Haiti. Even before the 2010 earthquake, Haiti suffered from one of the heaviest burdens of hunger and malnutrition in the Western Hemisphere: 40 percent of households were undernourished, and 30 percent of children suffered from chronic malnutrition.”
One strategy that World Wide Village has adopted for dealing with this alarming rate of malnutrition in children, is providing school lunches at each of our schools. It is not uncommon for children in Haiti to miss meals because of poverty. The hot meal at school is often the only daily meal a child receives.
Providing school lunches in Haiti has been shown to increase school attendance and increase passing rates at all grade levels. Thanks to so many of you, World Wide Village has been able to provide lunches at each of our schools through our student sponsorship program. A child who receives a school lunch each day and has a full stomach can learn and thrive and reach their full potential.
Recently, it has become more and more difficult to feed the 1000+ students in the WWV supported schools. As inflation rises, so does the cost of basic food, such as rice and beans. This spring World Wide Village is raising funds to create a centralized kitchen where all food will be prepared. Purchasing and preparing food in bulk will help save money and allow for more nutritious food selections for children who might not eat daily at home. The centralized kitchen will also allow World Wide Village to explore the option of expanding the lunch program to include summer meals and meals for the elderly.
Learn more on the WWV “Spring Forward into Sustainability” fundraiser, including information on the cost of setting up a centralized kitchen and how you can be involved. Thank you for helping fill often-empty bellies.