By Clare Barnett
The India School Fund (ISF) is a non-profit organization focused on the development of strong education programs for rural children in rural India. In 2005 it opened the doors of its first school in Rujugella, a small village close to Mathra in Uttar Pradesh. This year ISF was awarded $3000 to implement a nutritious school lunch program in to the school with the hope of improving the schoolchildren’s overall nutrition and cognitive development.
Team: Clare Barnett
Kirti Ghei
Katharine Burmaster
Adenike Akinfenwa
Tejaswini Kulkarni
Vandita Tewari
Bolanle Buloye
Deliverables:
1. Develop an understanding of current local dietary intake
2. Evaluate baseline data on the nutritional status of Rujugella schoolchildren
3. Literature review on common nutrient deficiencies in Northern India
4. Develop an understanding of current midday meal programs in Indian government schools
5. Develop adjuvant nutrition education programs that can be implemented into the schools
Progress: Progress has been slow due to difficulty accessing information from the ground staff in India, although steps have been made in development. The baseline nutritional status of the Rujugella school children has been completed and happily the Rujugella schoolchildren are well above the National average for height and weight! The next steps are to develop a meal program that meets the Indian governments recommendations for midday meals – all at under 3 rupees/meal. A big tasks!
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