Food changed the future for Kisakye

There's been much uncertainty around the world this past year. The pandemic has exacerbated already devastating conditions for families. Last year 1 in 3 people did not have adequate food, and this year the cost of goods around the world is increasing, families are experiencing job loss, supply chains have been disrupted, and school closures have put a strain on both children and parents.

But, Canadian Feed The Children donors have been there to support children and families worldwide and help alleviate some of the stress families faces in having enough food to eat. For 10-year-old Kisakye in Uganda, this kind of support came at just the right time for her family.

A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY

Kisakye lives with her grandmother Evaline and three siblings in Uganda. Because of COVID-19 lockdowns her family was hit hard. Her grandmother usually provides for the family by gardening and selling their surplus produce at the local market. However, because of the strict lockdowns she was not able to sell her produce, nor was she even able to go to the mill to grind her maize and cassava to make flour.

They did not have enough to eat or any income to buy the food they needed. Kisakye and her family were in a tough position. To stretch their food, they ate just two small meals a day. In fact, they were running out of food quickly, and they were starting to harvest immature crops from their garden just so they could have something to eat. This greatly impacted any future revenue that Evaline could have made by selling produce.

Kisakye and her grandmother Evaline were recipients of life-changing donor support with urgent food hampers.

Fortunately, Kisakye’s family were recipients of a food hamper, generously supported by CFTC donors. This hamper provided food essentials changed everything for Kisakye and her family. The food hamper filled with maize, flour, beans and other staples was used to turn into a variety of nutritious meals.

Evaline told us that the, "food package was just in time to help me feed my family. This flour was used to make porridge and also get other meals for the children and myself. It was very useful since the country was under lockdown. We had totally nothing at the time of this intervention. [We] used maize flour to feed for quite a while. and lucky enough the lockdown was uplifted giving opportunities to move, buy and sell what was needed for the daily life."

Kisakye added, “I’m very happy we were given the hamper. We now eat daily meals like porridge and posho with beans - my favourite!” 

LOOKING AHEAD

When Kisakye and her siblings went back to school they benefited from the CFTC funded school meals program, which will provide daily meals of posho and beans. This decreases the amount of food their grandmother needs to supply each day, but also ensures that the children can concentrate better at school, learn more, stay in school longer, and be set-up for long-term success.

Evaline is is hopeful that her grandchildren will have a better future and she does everything she can to help them thrive. She said, “Children are the future generation and I hope they study so that they can live a better life. I hope my grandchildren will benefit through the education process and they will get jobs and lead a good life.” Evaline is helping her family set-up for the future with the start of a small retail shop to sell goods to her local community members, and with the hopes of educating her grandkids in business.

Kisakye and her siblings enjoy posho and beans together. They no longer worry about having enough food since they received vital food support.

For Kisakye, she is hopeful that her community will return to a sense of normalcy where she can play with her friends and and study in school. For now, she's proud that over the pandemic she's learned how to do her own laundry and prepare simple meals like porridge, rice and green vegetables.

FOOD CAN  CHANGE THE FUTURE FOR CHILDREN 

Receiving urgent food support changed everything for Kisakye and her family. Households that receive this kind of support have less burden in terms of accessing quality food which in turn is safer for children as sometimes parents send children into villages and bigger cities to look for food, putting them in danger.

Having donors provide this kind of has a real impact in the lives of children and ensures they get the daily meals needed to grow up healthy, especially during difficult times.

Giving a gift today to provide urgent food support will help change the future for children.