Sarinha Foundation

It all begins when, early in the morning, the four cooks make a start with the cooking.

First the washing up from last evening needs to be sorted out, then they begin going through the rice (they do not have any packets of fast cooking rice there so sometimes the wrong sort of grain can get in amongst it) and the fire in the kitchen is fanned into flame.

Today there is rice with sardines and beans on the menu.

Around 10.00a.m. the time comes for the children to stand in the (for us) well known lines. From the smallest to the biggest.

Waiting for the food

In order to kill time we teach them a song from Chico’s CD, though usually they wait patiently until the cooks give the signal that the food is ready. (Click on the image below to start the short video impression.) 

Then they go, line by line, towards the kitchen ...

Collecting the food and going to the dining room

... first washing their hands in a large bowl of water after which they each get a plate pushed into their hands which they take to the dining room.

Washing hands before eating

I can tell you that seeing them walking with their plates really gives me a lump in my throat. This is what we have been trying to achieve for years and we have overcome many obstacles on the way. Wow, it is really great to see this.

In the dining room they wait patiently until everyone has got their food, then they eat together. And in-between, in their own time, each one can go and get a beaker of water.

Eating in the dining room

Is it really so special, this plate of food? Well yes, if you think that normally the children have to wait till the end of the day for a plate of porridge, and other than that they get nothing! Then these extra vitamins and other foodstuffs an enormous gain. It makes a difference in their energy levels but is also noticeable in their concentration in school. For many of these children this plate of food makes the difference between life and death; in times of sickness and hunger they have so much more resistance. And it also makes a difference with regards to their hope for the future.

This plate of food can also be the impulse the parents and carers need to send their children (especially daughters) to school; and so prepare them for the future.

School food, sponsored by children in the Netherlands makes a big difference to the children of Thowe.

For a complete photo impression click here.

A plate of food