Summary

This project will support the opening of a preschool in Chate village, Mozambique, providing quality nutrition and early childhood education to 150 vulnerable children ages 3-5 years.

Challenge
43 percent of children under five are chronically malnourished in Mozambique. Chronic malnutrition leads to stunting, which prevents a child from growing up healthy, inhibiting their physical and cognitive development. At the same time, children in rural Mozambique often start the first grade without the language and socio-emotional skills necessary to succeed. This increases the likelihood that they will struggle to learn and have a higher chance of repeating early grades.

Solution
This project will establish a community preschool in Chate Village, Mozambique, to serve the 3–5-year-old children in the community. The preschool will be free to all students and will provide a nutritious breakfast and lunch every day. Preschool teachers will provide fun, interactive, and educational activities for the students throughout the day, facilitating language acquisition, socio-emotional skills, and pre-primary education such as letters and numbers.

Long-Term Impact
Improving the nutrition of 3–5-year-olds means that these children have better health at a critical period for their physical and cognitive growth and development. Simultaneously, from an education perspective, 2-3 years of preschool education can dramatically boost a child's preparation for starting first grade and thus enable them to learn more during their primary school years. The nutritional and educational aspects combined mean that these children will have a better start in life.

Mozambique School Lunch Initiative

LOCATION: SPOKANE, WA - USA
WEBSITE: https://www.mozambiqueschoollunchinitiative.org