94% of Students Excel in High School Reading Program in the Philippines
Rise Against Hunger is working to alleviate hunger in the Philippines — where almost 45% of the population faces food insecurity — with in-country partners and global network member Rise Against Hunger Philippines.
One of the ways we address food insecurity is through school feeding. In Legazpi City, Philippines, Oro Site High School’s feeding program not only supports the students’ nutrition — the school also utilizes the meals to implement educational programs that are improving academic performance. Watch the video below to hear more and keep reading to learn how the meals are making a real impact in these children’s lives!
All of Oro Site High School’s 500+ grade 7 students are served nutritious meals daily. These meals are provided by Rise Against Hunger (after being packaged by volunteers like you!) and distributed to the school by our in-country partner Convoy of Hope.
The school feeding program is truly a community effort. 21 volunteers help cook the meals, and Oro Site High School partners with other local organizations, in addition to Convoy of Hope, to fund ingredients that are added to the meals for further enrichment.
With many of Oro Site’s students facing economic challenges, the feeding program provides critical nutrition for these children — and the school head, Jolan Torres, has seen the impact of the meals.
Jolan Torres, school head
Jolan explains how the feeding program operates: “This is a pioneering activity here in Oro Site High School, that we offer a feeding program for the junior high school students, for grade 7 students.”
Throughout the feeding program, the school weighs the children at baseline and every subsequent quarter to monitor their nutritional status and ensure the effectiveness of the program. In the year and a half since Jolan started in his role at the school, he has seen how the feeding program supports the students. He says, “That’s why we are partnering with various organizations to address the different needs of our students. Especially along [with] literacy, numeracy and health.”
In addition to supporting the children’s nutritional needs, the meals incentivize students to attend and stay in school. With more students routinely attending, the school has launched a reading program alongside the feeding program to support academic performance.
The teachers first identify students who aren’t reading well. The students then participate in classes that aim to improve their reading skills. Each teacher also “adopts” one student in the program to read with them.
Maribeth Adornado, teacher and feeding coordinator
Maribeth is one of the teachers who assists in Oro Site’s reading program and is also a feeding coordinator. “This is very important for those grade 7 students who are slow readers, not only for their reading, but also in their nutritional status,” she says. She has seen the students become more enthusiastic about reading as their skills have improved.
The reading program, supported by the meals, has been very successful. Last year, 34 of the 36 students who participated in the reading program were reading at grade level by the end of the year. That’s a 94% success rate!
Carlo and Patricia, 13-year-old students
Carlo and Patricia are both Oro Site High School students who participate in the feeding program. Patricia says, “I really like the meals that the parents cook us and it’s so delicious and it makes me eat more.” She also shares that the feeding program helps her classmates gain weight and focus on their studies while having a full stomach.
With the nutrition they need, Carlo and Patricia are excelling in their classes as they work toward their big dreams. Patricia wants to be a dentist when she grows up. And Carlo says, “I want to become an army [man].”
For these schoolchildren, it starts with a meal — and it leads to education and bright futures. Maribeth said, “I dream that the students, for the future, they will come up with a better job, they end with a better future, they are happy and they are well-disciplined citizens of this country.”
Supporting children’s bright futures is made possible by Hunger Champions like you! Donate $10 or more today to ensure children around the world have the nutrition they need to support their education and health.