THREE hundred pupils in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) will be benefitting from a nutritional enhancement programme which will provide a “nutritious lunch” every school day.

The programme was recently launched by Food for the Poor Guyana Inc. through the St Francis Community Developers at the Albion Chapel Basketball Court and Skills Training Centre at Fyrish Village.

While the programme targets pupils from six primary schools across the region, it will be implemented at six centres which are equipped with the necessary resources to cater to the needs.

These centres are situated in close proximity of each school at FACT Group, Corriverton; Eversham Community Developers; Shining Star Community Developers at Limlair Village; Mibicuri Community Developers at St Marks Mother’s Union at Alness Village and at the Albion Chapel Life Skills and Training Centre.

Plans are also on stream to expand the project to New Amsterdam, Canje and Port Mourant with further plans to target 500 children by the end of 2022.

Addressing attendees at the launch was Senior Project Officer, Food for the Poor Guyana, Andrea Benjamin, who noted [that] oftentimes when someone thinks of barriers to education, they do not think about food or food insecurity.

She said that was a major barrier for vulnerable families and children’s access to education.

“We are hearing the term nutritional centres, but I want you to associate it with education because that is the purpose. These are not just centres developed to feed children. These centres were developed to promote education, to encourage attendance, and to encourage improved academic performance,” Benjamin said.

According to her, the project will run for one academic year and she anticipates a positive outcome.

“On every school day, from Monday to Friday, these 300 pupils will be assured a hot nutritious meal during the lunch period, for one academic year and we know that, based on the impact that is expected, we are going to seek funding for the programme to continue.

“We anticipate at the end of the programme, we are going to see that our students’ grades and attendance would have improved.” Meanwhile, Regional Chairman, David Armogan, spoke about the work that Food for the Poor had been undertaking; he pointed out that it had transformed the lives of many.

“They have been making a tremendous impact, not only in this region, but other parts of Guyana, bringing assistance where it is most needed because government alone finds it very difficult to provide for all the needs of all the people at the same time; so organisations like these, when they chip in, it helps in a very big way,” the Chairman noted.

Additionally, Chief Executive Officer of Food for the Poor Guyana, Kent Vincent, explained that, based on their various visits across the country, the organisation had seen, firsthand, the impact and the need for such a programme to be implemented.

Vincent pointed to the numerous programmes implemented nationally by the organisation, noting that it had reached thousands of beneficiaries.

As such, he expressed gratitude to the donors who had made it all possible.