Nutritious meals for children in the highlands of Ky Son.

(Baonghean) - Lunch for preschool children in Ky Son district is being provided in two forms: the preschool cooks the meals for the children, and the community-run boarding program (where parents bring their own meals to school for their children). Both forms have proven effective, ensuring nutritious meals for children and contributing to improving the effectiveness and quality of education in the mountainous region.

The Ba Village combined kindergarten class is a branch of Huu Kiem Commune Kindergarten, Ky Son District. In the 2015-2016 school year, the class had 26 children aged 3-5 years old. While the previous school year only had one teacher, this year there are two teachers responsible for caring for and educating the children. With two teachers, plus the parents' increasingly better care for their children, the meals provided by the community-supported school have become more substantial… Every day, the children arrive at class at 7:00 AM; lunch is brought by parents between 9-10:00 AM; and they eat at 10:45 AM. 26 children have 26 insulated lunch boxes filled with meat, fish, eggs… Although many houses are nearly an hour's walk or trek through the forest from the school, for almost two months now, very few children have missed school, and no parents have “forgotten” to bring lunch for their children.

Lunchtime for the children at Huu Kiem Kindergarten (Ky Son).

This community-supported school lunch program has been implemented for the past three years at the Ba village combined kindergarten. Teacher Lu Thi Hai, the teacher there, said: "Over the past time, the school has done a good job of raising awareness, so parents are now conscious of caring for their children's nutritional meals. Parents have even 'competed' to ensure their children are not at a disadvantage compared to their peers. This school year, to further improve the children's meals, the school organized a parent meeting, assigned parents to purchase insulated lunch boxes, and implemented a rotating soup-cooking program... The funding for cooking the soup comes from the 120,000 VND/month allowance for children according to the Prime Minister's Decision dated October 26, 2011." Ms. Luong Thi Nga, mother of Bao Ngan, a student at the Ba village kindergarten, shared: "Families receive their allowances in installments, so when we haven't received them yet, we use the money upfront to cook the soup." Each pot of soup costs 50,000 dong and contains plenty of vegetables, squash, and meat. Because they cook it for their own children, the soup they make is always delicious…

Parents helped Huu Kiem Kindergarten build toilets.

Most people in Huu Kiem commune are farmers, and life is still difficult. Previously, most people weren't fully aware of the importance of nutrition for children's development, but now, thanks to the teachers and the commune's regular awareness campaigns and reminders, we all understand and know the importance of nutrition. Now, even if parents are working, they always make sure to cook a decent lunch for their children; if they can't cook, they ask other parents for help.

Huu Kiem Commune Kindergarten currently has 8 satellite school locations, all of which are implementing a semi-boarding meal program supported by local parents, similar to the Ba village location. At the main school location, parents return the aforementioned support money to the teachers to cook the main meals and mid-morning snacks for the children. Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, the school principal, said: "Implementing the semi-boarding meal program for children using the support under Decision 60 of the Prime Minister, the school has implemented two cooking methods. Comparing the two methods, the teachers' centralized cooking ensures better nutrition for the children. Parents' cooking has certain limitations, such as uneven distribution of nutrients and insufficient warmth in winter."

In fact, in Huu Kiem commune, not only in nearby villages but also in remote villages like Huoi Tho, Dinh Son 1, and Dinh Son 2, children's lunches have received much more attention than before thanks to the concerted efforts of parents and teachers. At the beginning of the school year, teachers, Party committees, and local authorities intensified efforts to promote and care for children's meals through various means, and this involvement has gradually changed parents' perceptions. Previously, some families didn't pay much attention to their children's meals, and some even used the 120,000 VND/month allowance for other purposes. Now, this situation no longer exists. Not only do parents care about their children's meals, but preschool teachers also closely monitor the children. Many teachers have even used their own money to provide lunches for children from extremely disadvantaged families.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Hoa, Head of the Education and Training Department of Ky Son District, said: "The district currently has over 5,000 preschool children. Although the economic lives of the Mong, Thai, and Khmu ethnic groups in remote border villages are still difficult, the people are always conscious and concerned about their children's meals and sleep. In addition, schools in the district have effectively used the allocated funds to organize good lunch meals for preschool children, contributing to improving the quality of education, reducing the rate of malnutrition among preschool children, and helping to limit school dropout rates. In many schools, preschool teachers even volunteer to cook meals for the children to ensure hot, fresh, and properly portioned meals. Many parents also volunteer to contribute rice, vegetables, cooking oil, meat, fish, firewood, and come to school to cook meals for the teachers, and the teachers are always happy and willing to do so for the children's development."

“The current difficulty in Ky Son is that the scattered school locations are in remote mountainous areas and villages, making it inconvenient to buy fresh food; the kitchen facilities and clean water for cooking are also not guaranteed. However, with determination to overcome difficulties, parents and teachers are voluntarily creating many good and effective ways to better take care of lunch for the children. This is also one of the solutions to ensure that children in Ky Son attend school regularly and fully,” teacher Nguyen Hong Hoa shared.

Text and photos:Thanh Son