Feed a Guatemalan child-Improve grade 6 completion

Summary

Mil Milagros partners with six schools and communities in Solola, the poorest state of Guatemala, to ensure that children graduate from sixth grade healthy, literate, and prepared to continue their education. This project will help fund nutritious lunches for 1,000 children each school day. Mil Milagros trains the children's mothers and grandmothers to prepare the lunches.

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

Only 40% of children in Guatemala finish sixth grade, according to USAID. When children are hungry, it is difficult for them to learn; by feeding them at school, they come to school, stay in school and learn. This project allows children to receive nutritious meals each school day, which means they can be more productive as students and community members.

How will this project solve this problem?

Mil Milagros builds local capacity by teaching 400 mother and grandmother volunteers to use local foods to prepare nutritious lunches. This project ensures that the children are fed nutritious lunches each school day by funding the purchase of local foods and cooking instruction for the mothers. The children bring firewood for the stoves and their own dishes to school. The strategy works: in 2012, 98% of the children supported by Mil Milagros graduated from sixth grade.

Potential Long Term Impact

Providing lunches at school to ensure that the children receive proper nutrition leads to many other outcomes: better school attendance, graduation from sixth grade, literacy, better job opportunities, and ultimately, less poverty. One thousand children will become healthy, well-nourished, and educated, and 400 mothers and grandmothers will gain valuable nutrition and cooking skills.

Project Message

The truth is that we are very happy to prepare food for the children - they truly need it. There was no food in the schools before, so the children graciously receive their lunches.
- Dona Tomasa, Mil Milagros Mothers' Board of Directors Leader