Cafeterias at schools in the Central African Republic are effectively helping to shape the its future. In a country where most children don’t get enough to eat at home, meals set the pace of the day.
The World Food Programme says more than 250,000 children receive meals in 335 schools across the country.
This feeding scheme is part of efforts to rebuild the education system which has been marked by conflict, poverty, and a shortage of teachers.
“This programme, by ensuring children have a daily meal, also ensures that they have the energy to learn and to retain the knowledge that’s being given to them,” says Mark Gordon, the agency’s country director for CAR.
“In effect, it is investing in their future and investing in the future of the Central African Republic.”
In Betokomia in the north-west of the country, Dokare Delicia, queues with the other children for her school meal. On her plate are simple foods she knows well.
“We eat rice, beans, and vegetables prepared by our moms,” she says.
Ghislain Modeste Ngame is principal at a school in the village of Gbako-Malekpa. He says he has noticed an increase in enrolment since the start of the feeding scheme.
“Before, we only had 475 students. But with this feeding scheme, the children are coming in droves. We currently have 857 students attending the school,” he says.
But while the feeding scheme is part of efforts to keep children in school, the cafeterias are also a way of helping farmers and supporting the rural economy.
In Paoua, the WFP supports them in their agricultural activities and in storing their harvests, with part of their produce used to feed schools, providing a market for the farmers.
The agency says purchases from small-scale local producers have increased by more than 500 per cent in the past five years, including for school feeding schemes.
Thus, the cafeterias are seen by both the government and the WFP as a way to support education and families facing shortages.
But with nearly two million people in the country facing food insecurity, the needs remain significant amid population displacement, climate shocks, and regional crises.
At the conclusion of a four-day official visit to the country, Carl Skau, the WFP’s acting executive director, called for continued international commitment
“We need the international community to do more to promote peace and development in the Central African Republic,” he said.
For the authorities and their partners, the challenge is to ensure the long-term sustainability of school meals and making them accessible to more children, while strengthening local food supply chains.
This goal must be achieved in a country where immediate food needs continue to drain humanitarian resources.