Needed: School Lunches

My name is Mouniratou.  I am 16 years old and I am in the last year of middle school at the Lycee Moderne de L’Amitie (LMA).  My family is from the village of Gossere, 22 km from Ouahigouya.  In 2022, we were chased from our village by terrorists who threatened to kill us.  We live in a camp for internally displaced persons near Ouahigouya.  I was given the chance to attend the LMA, thanks to Global NEEED Burkina and Burkina Faso Girls’ Education Fund (BFGEF). 

I am so thankful and grateful for the cantine at school.  It:

• Ensures that I can have at least one meal a day.
• Helps me to form friendships with my new classmates and feel a sense of community far from the sounds of the gun shots in my village. 
• Offers a fixed hour for our noon meal which provides a certain discipline and routine that is comforting to a displaced student like me who sometimes feels disoriented as I adapt to a new environment. 
• Helps to reduce any disparities among students.  All of us benefit from a healthy meal regardless of our social origins.
• Enables me to use my time after lunch productively to review lessons and complete homework, both of which would be difficult to do in the camp as there is no light at night.

 I am determined to pass year-end exams in June which will allow me to continue on in secondary school.   My goal after completion of secondary school is to study medicine.  My dream is to specialize in gynecology.

 I thank Global NEEED Burkina and Burkina Faso Girls’ Education Fund who do so much to support our education.  I know that one day I will be able to support the education of other vulnerable children.

Links:

• Burkina Faso Girls' Education Fund website