A healthy start in life for children in El Salvador

Many children in the Chalatenango region of El Salvador are malnourished because they have an unbalanced diet. Their families eat mostly maize, sorghum and beans – good sources of carbohydrates, but not sufficient to provide the necessary daily intake of protein, fat, minerals and vitamins necessary if children are to grow up healthy.

Chalatenango is situated 83 kilometres north of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador.  It is one of the largest departments (2,000 km2) and is the least populated (approximately 200,000 inhabitants). It is a mountainous land - elevations range between 300 and 1,700 metres - with unstable slopes, deforested and eroded soils. There is a high percentage of unemployment and low agricultural production. The unevenness of the terrain, lack of water sources and the low levels of education among the population pose additional challenges to practising productive agriculture in this area.

This project aims to educate school children throughout Chalatenango to grow safe, nutritious food while protecting the environment. The project will have an impact on 3,754 school children.

By early 2006 it is hoped that Avenance will have helped to:

1. Create 26 school vegetable gardens and 130 home gardens
2. Construct 4 kitchens with storage areas and fuel efficient stoves
3. Train 520 child-gardeners aged 10-17 years old as direct participants
4. Educate children on the preparation of balanced meals· Organise 4 field trips between schools to exchange learning experiences

By growing their own vegetables, such as courgettes, squash, radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, basil and watermelon, children will have a more nutritious and balanced diet than their current staple diet of corn, beans and sorghum. Receiving a good meal while at school will also help to encourage children from poorer families to continue attending school.
The gardens will be farmed organically and the use of any damaging pesticides will be prohibited. Instead children will learn about environmentally friendly farming practices such as using boiling water to sterilise the soil rather than chemicals and creating organic pesticides from onion, garlic and chilli peppers.

The project has two main components:

Training

Child-gardeners will be provided with training on growing and farming vegetables, manufacturing compost, preventive pest and disease control, and the protection of the environment. They will also receive instruction on how to prepare healthy meals. Children will be educated about their rights, especially the right to be healthy and grow up in a safe environment.

Infrastructure

Some of the participating schools will receive kitchens, storage areas and firewood saving stoves. These kitchens will enable the safe and hygienic preparation and cooking of meals for the children. The storage areas will enable the vegetables grown to be stored hygienically and preserved for longer. The introduction of fuel-efficient stoves will drastically reduce time spent collecting fire wood as well as the amount of wood used (by up to 60%). These stoves will also reduce the rate of acute respiratory infections – common amongst children in the region and caused primarily by smoky ovens.

Pupils getting ready for hands-on experience as chefs