Watoto: May
Thursday 6th May 2010
Food For Thought
Many children who COCO support come from poverty stricken backgrounds and whilst there are many causes for the poverty these children experience, a significant factor is the loss of parents due to HIV/AIDS and malaria. This is the case for children living in Majengo, Tanzania, many of whom now live with extended (often female) family members such as their grandmothers and aunties.
Within these extended networks, there are often children from other families as well, so there is more than the average number of mouths to feed. If a grandparent looses her children she can end up caring for several grandchildren under one roof and with out a steady or adequate income. Many families choose not to send their children to school as they are perceived as being more use to them at home assisting with agricultural and domestic chores.
However, the promise of a meal encourages families to send their child to school as it is one less mouth for them to feed. This idea led to the creation of the Majengo Central Kitchen which provides a meal for over 500 nursery school children and not only encourages them to attend school but helps to improve levels of nutrition and the children's learning ability.
Meet Joyce
"I go to Uwawayaki nursery school, it's close to my house and I like the school because I am given a meal every day. There is a clinic at the nursery school so not only do they care for my education but my health too. When I was four my parents passed away due to HIV/AIDS. I will have a HIV test every three months, the first one I had was OK, I travel to Mwenzi to get these done, I stopped taking milk from my mother at two months because she was HIV positive. I hope I am not infected. I enjoy nursery and hope to go onto primary school like my cousins, Emmanuel and Fred, but it is a struggle to afford the uniform. I would like to be a teacher when I grow up.
I live with my Aunt, Grandmother and my three coursins. My aunt's husband passed away so we all live together in our two roomed house in Majengo. My Aunt goes to the market to buy fruit and vegetables and sells them on for a small profit to help support our family.
After my parents died, my family decided that my brother and sister and I would have to be split up between them so that they could care for us properly. My brother and sister live far away in Tanga. I have not seen them in three years - since our parents died. I am the youngest and my brother Moki is the eldest, I don't remember my sister's name.
I love going to school and I am thankful to COCO for making this happen. I hope that I can go to primary school and become a teacher one day."
Back to Main