Ngara, TZ – School breakfast – 13 July 2011

Jesse and Michael of Seal Beach near Los Angeles, California traveled to Ngrara, Tanzania, in order to help a small team start serving a nutritious breakfast to 2,400 children at three primary schools each morning. It took three days, ending with a six hour drive, to reach Ngara near the Rwanda border.  They would be in this hilly district for only three weeks, and were worried about finding enough corn, soya-beans and peanuts for the breakfast’s nutrition mix!  They had calculated that they needed over 2 tons of raw ingredients every month!

Their hosts Joseph and Alice of our partner Solutions and Opportunities for Disadvantaged in Tanzania (SODAT) welcomed Jesse and Michael, and teamed them up with their local coordinator Lydia, and her assistant Daud, who purchased two weeks worth of ingredients at the local market.  Seeing the faces on some of the mamas at the market, when Lydia bought a large amount of soya-beans, was a wonderful experience.  One mama was so grateful she gave the team a bunch of fruit, free of charge!

Transport to the storage was very easy because it was a stone’s throw downhill from the market.  The next day Michael and Jesse helped clean and mix corn, soya-beans and peanuts with Lydia and Daud, so that the mix could be milled and bagged by the local miller.

Next day was a test at Mukirehe Primary School, feeding 40 students in standard VII.  It was good to see the cooks in action and work out any logistical challenges with cooking and serving the porridge.  It all went very smoothly and the children enjoyed the porridge, as you can see in the picture!.