A community effort for the common good

Rodgers Njovu and his family live in Chiyewe village in Zambia’s Eastern Province. The village is set in a beautiful landscape, with rolling hills covered in green shrubbery and distant views across the plain. It’s also close to Taonga Primary School, where three of his children attend and Mary’s Meals is serving fortified porridge to all pupils every school day. Despite its picturesque setting, the people who live in this rural area face many challenges including persistent hunger and food insecurity.

Rodgers explains that his family survives on farming soybeans, maize, and tobacco. They also supplement their income by making bricks. Unpredictable weather has made earning an income and providing for his family incredibly challenging. The meals his children receive at school go much further than satisfying their hunger while they learn, as he explains:

“We have had terrible rain patterns over the past few years which have made things very hard for families like ours. I can see the children rush to school because they know there is food there, and I am so grateful to Mary’s Meals for this.

“This program has helped a lot of households locally like ours. When we cannot make ends meet in terms of food, the school steps in. We have been helped. The children can concentrate, and they become educated. As we speak, I know of local young people who have gone to secondary school and university, and others who are performing well because of the Mary’s Meals school feeding program.

“The program has brought food for us. It makes us happy. It is helping us to reduce poverty.” For Rodgers, putting the community front and centre in the everyday running of the program is key to its success. Rodgers remembers that in the early days, locals had some initial hesitations and questions such as what type of food the children would eat and where it would come from. However, it didn’t take long for them to get on board, and when feeding started, the community was delighted. Rodgers sometimes lends a hand with the daily program activities when his wife is unable to volunteer:

“When my wife and I heard about the program, she volunteered to help with cooking at the school. If she can’t go, I have also been trained to help, so in times when she is busy or overwhelmed with work, I go to cook for the learners myself. I have seen and understood the importance of the program and I encourage other parents in the community to volunteer because it benefits all our children."

Rodgers says he and his wife will be able to support their family with what little they have, as they know their children will eat when they go to school. He hopes that the program will continue for years to come, helping to reduce poverty in many households and supporting children as they progress through school, building the foundations for a future free from poverty.