Power Of UN-Sponsored School Meals For Girls Highlighted

New York, Mar 5 2012 11:10AM
A 13-year-old girl living in one of Kenya’s poorest slums who has grown up receiving school meals through the United Nations food relief agency will share her experiences with other children around the world in a series of videos to be broadcast online tomorrow.

Molly, who lives in the Mathare slum, one of the poorest in Kenya, has received school meals from the World Food Programme (WFP) for four years, and throughout that time has documented pieces of her everyday life which she will share with children in an international school in Rome through a live webcast.

The general public will also be able to submit questions to Molly before her online presentation through WFP’s Facebook page.

“If you nourish a girl with school meals you feed her dreams and open up a world of opportunity,” said Nancy Roman, WFP Director of Communications, Public Policy and Private Partnerships. “Using video technology to bring Molly and her story direct to children and viewers around the globe is an important opportunity to offer an insight into just how life-changing school meals can be in forming the women of the future.”

Molly’s videos, entitled “Molly’s World: A Girl Films her Life in a Nairobi Slum,” will also be available for viewing on WFP’s website on International Women’s Day, which is celebrated on 8 March.

“School meals help children grow, thrive and concentrate better,” WFP said in a news release. “They provide an incentive to families to send youngsters to school and they help keep girls, in particular, attending classes.”

According to the agency, the majority of those receiving WFP food assistance are women and children, with women being key elements in the fight against hunger as research has shown that in the hands of women, food is most likely to reach the mouths of children in need.

The video camera Molly used to record her life was one of 2,500 high-definition digital cameras provided to WFP by the networking company Cisco, as part of its corporate social responsibility programme.
Mar 5 2012 11:10AM
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