“So when we give this food to every child, they find they’re the same level, and this has really integrated and has brought unity.“ — Madam Christine
Summary
Christine, head teacher at Ematong Primary School in Kiryandongo refugee settlement, Uganda, faces numerous challenges as she teaches children primarily from South Sudan.
Despite hurdles like cultural differences and chronic hunger, Christine is dedicated to education. Feed The Hungry’s meal program provides essential nutrition, enabling students to focus and learn.
With limited resources, Christine and her team manage to support 1,100 students, earning district awards for their achievements. She expresses deep gratitude for the unwavering support from Feed The Hungry and its supporters, who are vital to overcoming daily challenges.
Madam Christine’s story
As head teacher at Ematong Primary School, Christine has faced every challenge you can think of. Her school is in Kiryandongo, a refugee settlement in Uganda. The majority of her students are South Sudanese refugees who have fled violence, leaving everything behind. Many have lost parents, family members and friends.
Almost all of them face chronic hunger in their daily lives. Name a challenge and Christine has stared it down: fighting, drugs, absenteeism, dilapidated classrooms, a lack of toilets, scant resources, cultural differences, language barriers.
Yet this softly spoken educator commands respect among the students and is determined to fight for their future. The first step is to encourage school-aged children – whether Ugandan or South Sudanese, Muslim or Christian – to come to class, despite the many challenges they face.
“We kept on giving them the reasons why we want them to be together. We are one. The issues of war ended there, but we have come here purposefully for education. We also went ahead sensitising the parents.”
Along with cultural difference between groups, hunger is the highest barrier to education.
“When you are in the class, you can see a child is crying. You ask, ‘What is it?’ and they say, ‘I’ve gone two days without eating.’”
But with the support of Feed The Hungry providing a hot, nutritious lunch at school, Christine and her teachers can meet this challenge. The fortified rice meals give the children the strength they need to focus in the classroom and keep learning throughout the day. And it may be, for some, the only and best meal of the day. That’s why it causes such a stir at lunchtime.
“When there is food, everyone would run… Their food is there. They are very, very happy… They like the food so much.”
With roughly 27 teachers in charge of upward of 1,100 students at the school – with some support from teachers’ assistants, translators and parents – Christine and her staff have their work cut out for them.
But she says the reward of seeing children learn fills her with pride. Students from the school recently won district awards for science and innovation. And seeing how far her school has come in a short time of serving the community’s children gives her confidence that every obstacle can be overcome.
Christine has one more reason for confidence – the support of friends like you, partnering with Feed The Hungry to ensure that hungry children can eat a good meal and stay in the classroom. She says:
“Thank you for loving us always… You are always with us, and when they ask us about organisations that have never left us, Feed The Hungry is one of them. So we are very grateful for that. Thank you!”