Burundian parents run school canteen for Congolese refugee children
Burundian and Congolese parents cook daily lunches at Musenyi camp school, supported by the World Food Programme, to draw refugee children into class.
At the Congolese refugee camp of Musenyi in Burundi, Burundian parents living near the camp and Congolese parents have started a school canteen at the Ecofo Gatereri school to get refugee children to attend lessons. The World Food Programme supplies rice, beans, flour and oil for the meals.
The cooking starts in the morning, with parents bringing firewood and mixing the flour with minerals and vitamins to boost its nutritional value. Lunch is ready when classes end around midday, and children eat maize paste and beans at their desks, which are turned into tables. Some teachers say the water for handwashing is often short.
Children who are not enrolled or too young for school also crowd around the canteen, crying that they are hungry. Some slip past teachers, while others are turned away because they are not on the teachers' class lists.
Why it mattersRefugee children who are not on school lists are left out of the meals and sent away from the canteen.