Thanks to the support of our wonderful donors, the School Food Program is feeding a big and bright future for the Talang Mamak community.
The School Food Program provides healthy school meals to children in the indigenous Talang Mamak community. With nutritious food and full bellies, children are more likely to attend and stay in school, which in turn improves their health and educational outcomes.
It’s a full ripple effect. With increased focus on learning in the short term, children will have greater opportunities in the long term.
And with opportunity comes increased income, which alleviates poverty and reduces the need to engage in the illegal logging and wildlife trades.
Which then protects their forest homes!
Kids at the Simerantihan Elementary School are given healthy and nutritious breakfast and lunch each day.
Breakfast includes bread, mung bean porridge, fried rice and kolak, a traditional Indonesian banana sweet soup. For lunch, a balanced meal of rice with vegetables and protein is prepared by a dedicated team of cooks.
This assortment of healthy meals is working wonders for these future forest champions. From January - June this year, 40 out of 43 students achieved an attendance rate of 70%.
Our team recently had the opportunity to speak to two teachers from the Simerantihan village. They offered some wonderful insights into the food program, and how it’s changing the lives of students.
“Before this program, many students were absent from school, often with the excuse of being hungry, as their parents frequently didn’t prepare breakfast for them. Now, despite rain or bad weather, students consistently show up for school, motivated by the promise of a meal”
This change in attendance is important for both the kids and the community.
“This increase in attendance is crucial because, by attending class, we hope that students can effectively engage with the lessons. If they attend school, they have the opportunity to learn something new each day, even if it’s just one letter or number. Otherwise, they miss out on these foundational learning experiences”
The ripple effect in action!
Thank you so much to our amazing supporters for making this very positive change possible for the Talang Mamak community.
Program name: School Food Program
Location: Bukit Tigapuluh Ecosystem, Sumatra, Indonesia
Run by: PT Alam Bukit Tigapuluh (ABT)
