Gava Mukulya: Food is the Source of Energy
How Action in Africa is giving kids in Uganda a healthy diet
There is a Luganda Proverb that goes, Gava mukulya; the closest English translation is that “Food is the source of energy.” A child in Uganda is likely to come to school without the hope of having a single meal the whole day—it’s so common that one of the main causes of school dropout in Uganda is food insecurity. To address the education needs of children in Nakuwadde, Action in Africa runs a comprehensive nutrition program in partnership with Primary and Pre-primary schools in the community.
Our Primary Partnership Program supports primary schools to improve the quality of education they provide through teacher training, creative modes of learning for children, and our porridge program. These schools are: Lady Jane Memorial Primary School, Step by Step Primary School, Vision Foundation Schools and Little Kings Education Centre in Nakuwadde. Every school day, Action in Africa provides 651 kids between the ages of 3 to 13 years in our primary partnership schools with a nutritious, warm cup of porridge.
But it is not just about full stomachs. According to the United States Agency for International Development, almost one-third of children under five years old in Uganda show stunted growth. Stunting increases with age, peaking at 37% among children 18–35 months because of malnutrition. Therefore, our porridge program is not just about porridge; we provide a variety of nutritious types of porridge to improve the development of the children in our communities.
Porridge is a renowned delicacy in Uganda, it is liked because it is satisfying and nutritious. To improve the nutrition stats in Nakuwadde, we try to diversify the ingredients in the porridge we serve including:
Maize, rich in carbohydrates
Soybeans, rich in proteins
Milk, rich in calcium
Our porridge program started with the porridge being served only at the Centre, but in 2017 we rolled it out in the partner schools. The schools are given maize, soya flour, milk, and sugar and they make porridge for the kids in school. The porridge program is not only available for the school children, but it is still part of our After School Program, which means that kids who come to the Centre after school ends get to taste the most delicious porridge in Nakuwadde.
To supplement our Porridge Program, the kids at the Centre are treated to a nutritious snack: either an egg, watermelon or banana. That means after every play-based learning class, which happens every school day of the week, Action in Africa provides students with a healthy snack.
These treats motivate the kids to actively participate in the creative learning classes and also supplement the meals they are given at school including the cups of porridge. Although Uganda is rich in fresh fruits because it is a very agricultural country, because of the limited knowledge of nutrition, many people do not get to include these fruits in their diet.
