Food Security Sierra Leone Project #50854

Nutritious Foods for Sierra Leone Students

by Airline Ambassadors

Project Report | May 13, 2022
"Diamonds" are Happier, Healthier - thanks to YOU!

By Thomas Dalury | Project coordinator

Diamond Child School Director Mr. Gbankay Kamara gratefully acknowledges the real impact the Nutritious Foods for Sierra Leone Students program is having on his students this year. "The children come to school so excited in the morning, knowing that they will be served a nutritious meal freshly cooked at school. They are truly happy as this nourishes their bodies and minds, and they all pray that this program will continue."

On a "good day", many of our student’s families are lucky to put on their dinner table little more than a plate of "Garri", traditional cassava (yucca) powdery meal made of dry flour granules, mixed with water.

Thirteen-year-old Ibrahim Bendu echoes the sentiment: "I want to thank the program for providing the actual food nutrients our body needs for the day. I remember at first, I was so thin. Since this food started to be served at school this has made my life more healthy. It always gives me joy whenever I come to school in the morning."

Other interesting news and updates include collaborating with the prestigious American International School of Freetown (AISF), with whom Diamond Child has had an ongoing relationship since 2018. AISF has offered to conduct a general inventory of Diamond Child before the year is out. This in-house index will help us gauge more efficiently the daily operation of our center. Aware of this vital feeding program they applaud the donations made to keep the "Diamonds" healthy.

As we come to the closing of this academic year, we can honestly directly attribute the overall progress of Diamond Child to GlobalGiving’s generous contributions. Being that this is the first academic year that our institution has been granted the status of an official secondary education institution by the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), we can proudly claim that 52 "Diamonds" sat for the official National Primary School Examination (NPSE) exams last weekend. We expect the majority will continue to the secondary level at Diamond Child in the fall of this year. All our pupils benefit from GlobalGiving’s endowment. “Good nutrition equals results”.

happy children eating well

So many benefitting!

Nutrition program

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Jan 18, 2022
New Year -- New Role -- New Responsibilities

By Thomas Dalury | Project Leader

From the onset of the academic year 2021-2011, Diamond Child School of Arts and Culture has taken on a new role and responsiblity of educating approximately 100 more students, aged 15-17. Thanks to the generous support of GlobalGiving, through our partners, Airline Ambassadors,this new group of students benefit daily from receiving a proper meal at school. Keeping underserved teens in in school in Sierra Leone is a true challenge. We are sincerely grateful for the ongoing support of our project, "Serving Up'.

"Serving Up'' provides a balanced meal and snack to students throughout the academic year. It also supports our small ecological garden which boosts nutrition and offers offers hands on experience to students who learn: what to plant, when to plant it and how to administer foodstuffs.

Over 400 students who attend Diamond Child School are at risk of dropping out if they aren't guaranteed a balanced daily meal. as often this is the child's only meal of the day. We make sure this meal includes fruits and vegetables to boost the immune system, particularly important during the current Covid pandemic. The meal also consiss of rice, beans, cassava sauce, chicken or fish and a cup of milk.

One of the student benefitting from "Serving Up" is Michael Kargbo. This 10 year old boy is enrolled in grade 3 at Diamond Child School. He has barely any food available to him before he walks 3 miles daily to reach school. The healthy meal awaiting him at school is truly the highllight of his day.

"I really love this food and it is a big help to my family knowing I have at least one good meal a day. The "Serving Up" program has really changed my life. Tenky, Tenky. (Thank you, Thank you). - Michael Kargbo, January 202O

One behalf of Michael and all of us involved with the Diamond Child School, please know your donations are needed, well-used and most appreciated.

Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDpZRqnOJKY

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Sep 22, 2021
Your donations have made SUCH a difference at Diamond School!

By Thomas Dalury | Spokesperson - Diamond School NGO

All smiles!

The Diamond School of Arts & Culture school’s 2021-2022 academic year began on September 8^th. The entire staff, in Freetown, the team in Madrid; Spain, along with our spokesperson in Virginia, USA, wish to extend a warm and special thanks to all our donors for backing our project, “Nutritious Foods for Sierra Leone Students”.

A child who attends school poorly nourished cannot fully function or concentrate on his or her lessons; this impedes learning and socializing. Aware that “good nutrition helps students show up at school prepared to learn”, the Diamond Child staff can give testimony to how a nourishing meal increases class attendance.

Because of your generous contribution, the “Diamonds” (the fun-loving nickname of the students) have acquired a new meaning of the importance of punctuality, even if at first it was because they feared not being guaranteed what often proves to be their only complete meal per day. Today, thanks to this project there is a genuinely cheerful atmosphere at the Diamond Child School.

Diamond School founder and President, Seydu, also reports how providing a balanced diet with clean, filtered water, has had a dramatic impact on the children’s health since the funds were implemented last spring. Many students no longer suffer from ailments such as skin diseases caused by poor nutrition and contaminated drinking water. These noticeable health improvements are directly tied to the GlobalGiving donation program.

The school lunch, which consists of rice and vegetables served with fish or vegetable sauce and fresh fruit is served daily at noon. Some 375 youth are currently benefitting from this assistance, 75 of which are first time enrolled secondary students. Diamond Child was just granted by the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Education, the authority to carry out secondary education instruction. These teens also benefit from a healthy lunch served by two very dedicated and delighted and delightful cooks, Ms. Aminata and Ms. Salematu. Both mothers themselves, state that “there is no greater joy than seeing a child smile while in school”, thanks in great part to the meal that they continue to receive every day at mid-day. Thank you sincerely, friends of Diamond Child for sharing, for putting a smile on these “Diamonds” faces.

Kids being served

Kids eating

Enjoying nutritious food!

Very MUCH!!!

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