Islamic Relief banished hunger from the classrooms of one Tunisian school, during a recently-completed project.
Mabrouka Alhafyen was amongst the children to benefit from the scheme at Ghorghar primary school. For the seven-year-old girl, attending school means a walk of nearly six kilometres – too far for her to return home at lunchtime to eat.
Since her father died, Mabrouka’s mother struggles to make ends meet, and often cannot provide money for her children to buy things to eat at school. To make things harder still, there is no safe drinking water at the school, so students must bring water from home.
Through the Islamic Relief project, Mabrouka received a nutritious snack – such as fruit, yoghurt or biscuits – and a bottle of mineral water every day for three and a half months. With hunger and thirst kept at bay, she was able to concentrate on her studies and enjoy her time at school.
Almost a quarter of Tunisia’s population lives below the national poverty line, with children often hardest hit as poverty compromises their life chances – including the opportunity to build a better future by doing well at school.
During the project, Islamic Relief provided 18,250 snacks covering 70 school-days. In total, 149 girls and 129 boys in the southern governorate of Tataouine benefitted.