Nutritious meals reach remote schools in Satkhira despite disasters

Despite poor roads, waterways and frequent bad weather, nutritious food is being delivered every day to primary school students in remote areas of Satkhira’s Shyamnagar upazila.
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‎Under the government’s pilot School Feeding Programme, children are receiving eggs, bananas and nutritious buns at school. The programme is helping improve children’s nutrition while also increasing school attendance and encouraging families to enrol their children.
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‎The programme is being implemented in Shyamnagar by development organisation Shushilan. A total of 25,815 students at 191 primary schools in the upazila are covered by the programme, the highest number among the six participating upazilas.
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‎Delivering food to remote schools, however, is not easy. Seven of Shyamnagar’s 12 unions have areas that are difficult to reach, particularly during the rainy season. In Gabura and Padmapukur unions, food has to be transported to 30 schools by pickup vehicles and, in some cases, by trawlers. Bad weather, muddy roads and rough waterways often make transportation risky and expensive.
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‎Dinesh Chandra Mondal, headteacher of Atulia Adarsha Government Primary School, said school attendance and new enrolment had increased since the programme began.
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‎“Children are now more interested in coming to school because they can study and also receive nutritious food,” he said.
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‎Jasmine Akter, a parent, said the programme was especially helpful for low-income families.
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‎“For families like ours, providing nutritious food every day is difficult. The food at school is a big relief,” she said.
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‎Shushilan Deputy Director Shahina Parvin said Shyamnagar was the most challenging area for the programme because many schools are surrounded by rivers and canals.
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‎She said the organisation arranges alternative transport when disaster warnings are issued and takes steps to prevent food from being damaged during transportation.
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‎Satkhira District Primary Education Officer Md Enamul Haque said maintaining the programme in remote and disaster-prone areas was challenging, but coordination among schools and the implementing organisation was helping ensure regular food delivery.
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‎He said the programme was also having a positive impact on attendance and helping prevent students from dropping out.

-HIS
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