In Malawi there are approximately 12.000 community preschools. Yet because of food insecurity and communities’ difficulties in providing the children with a midmorning meal, these schools may not survive. These preschools are supported entirely by the community and when food insecurity is high and communities are unable to provide children with a midmorning meal (porridge), parents will stop sending their children to school, and the preschool eventually closes.
This is also the main reason in the 17 preschools that we support. If schools are unable to provide the daily porridge, the number of children attending school will drop significantly.
With the Sustainable agriculture project, we try to stimulate and support the preschools in starting there own school garden. With a school garden, they can grow and tend their own crops.
Apart from the school gardens, we started a pig farm pilot project in three schools. The first offspring of these farms, will be used to create new farms in other selected schools. The pig farm is a way to make the preschools more independent. At the moment the schools have no financial means to support themselves. They even lack the money to buy chalk. In time, the schools can make some profit and become less dependent of outside donations.
We support the schools with seeds, fertiliser, rainwater collector tanks, pigs, food-vaccination-vitamins for the pigs, etc.
