Salvation Army Primary School is located in Belize City between the main commercial district and a deteriorating neighbourhood. The school yard is confined between Orange Street in the front, with its constant traffic, and Glynn Street in the back.
The school’s student population stands at 254. Students, ranging in age from 4 to 14 years, primarily live in the neighbourhoods in the vicinity of the school. School officials classify the socioeconomic status of the student population as lower middle class to poor, and estimate that 90% of the students enrolled live in poverty, suffering from malnutrition and related health hazards.
The school currently runs a daily lunch programme, in conjunction with the Salvation Army Feeding Centre located on the school grounds. An average of 40 students receive a hot lunch daily through this programme.
Breakfast Alert
A growing concern, however, is the number of students who come to school every morning without breakfast. School officials are also drawing a definite connection between increasing student absenteeism and the lack of breakfast. They can informally identify up to 30 children who are frequently absent because there is no food at home for them to eat in the morning so they do not come to school.
Although the school has tried in the past on several occasions to provide a breakfast program for its students, they have been unable to sustain these attempts because of lack of resources. Upon learning about this dilemma, the Hunter Commission for Social Outreach engaged employees of St. John's College in making contributions to this effort. Many employees were touched by this cause and readily and joyfully decided to contribute to this worthwhile cause.
The breakfast is prepared and served by paid cooks and by volunteers from the Salvation Army Primary School, which includes the principal, teachers, students, and some parents. The school buys and seeks donations of breakfast ingredients. The cooks’ wages and cost of cooking fuel is paid from monetary donations received.
The program is now in its second year and has helped the Salvation Army Primary School cater to both the educational needs as well as the nutritional needs of the enrolled children. Besides providing the nutrition needed for the proper physical development of the children, this programme has also assisted children develop their self-esteem. It has also helped in developing discipline and proper hygiene. These attitudes are developed by having the children wait in line for their food, by teaching them to not begin eating until everybody is seated, by participating in prayers before eating, by washing hands before and after eating and by having them pick up their plates after eating. For the older children, it has also assisted them in developing leadership skills as they assist the adults in serving the food and in keeping order in the dining hall.
It is truly a delight to watch the smiles of these children as they share breakfast with one another. This programme serves about 90 children daily which represents about 35% of the student population.
A heartfelt thank you to all the donors to this programme.
While this programme greatly depends on the contributions of the employees of St. John's College, any other individual or organization is welcome to join hands with the Hunter Commission in funding this programme.
Want to contribute to this worthy venture?
To sponsor one child - to ensure that one student at the Salvation Army Primary School gets a nutritious breakfast daily and thus be able to concentrate on learning and not on feeling hungry - would cost:
$171.00 per year
$17.00 per month (for ten months)
$4.27 per week
$0.86 per day
If you are an employee of SJC, you have the convenient option of downloading a copy of the Salary Deduction Form below and filling it out.
