Contributed by Edwin Paye Kakia, WIDE – Liberia
Since the adjournment of the Annual Global Child Nutrition Forum last May in Nairobi, Kenya, I am pleased to update you on our present activities. The zest and potential for taking ownership of school feeding by community farmers in Liberia has been received with high enthusiasm by community members.
I have organized local community members who are engaged in Wet Land Rice cultivation and Cassava Production and are willing to grow and sell their products to our Local NGO, WIDE, to be donated to schools for feeding the pupils as an intervention before the Liberian government takes ownership.
Community farmers are eager to produce rice and sell it to WIDE. Liberia has a Tropical Rain Forest of about 43,000 square miles that has the potential to grow more food that could be used to feed its student population. At the moment, there are three counties in Liberia (Bong, Lofa and Nimba) that were selected for the pilot phase to begin this school term from August 31, 2011 to June 30, 2012.
WIDE key challenges are:
- Funding to buy from the local farmers
- Lack of storage warehouse facilities
- Rice Mill Machine
- Transportation (Truck) to bring the food to various warehouses
- Cassava Grinder
WIDE is a newly organized non – governmental organization duly registered with the Government of Liberia and is a member of the Women’s NGO Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL).
The organization aspires to address issues of women and adolescent girls’ human rights, empowerment, HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response, in rural Liberia through the following objectives:
- Skills training program for women and girls
- Engage in the sensitization on the dangers of HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis
- Promotion of community farming for economic empowerment
- To create awareness of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and its harmful impacts
- To provide counseling for survivors of rape and other forms of sexual exploitation and abuse
- Advancing health and sexual reproductive rights among women and adolescent girls
- Promotion of early childhood development
WIDE seeks to promote women and children’s rights through health, empowerment, capacity building and advocacy for peace and security.
The organization has professional and experienced staff that possesses the relevant qualifications in the above mentioned areas to respond to the overwhelming humanitarian needs.
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