"Poverty is a very complicated issue, but feeding a child isn't." - Jeff Bridges
A pleasant day beautiful people of the Hive! I wish you all in good health and good mood. Despite the hardships that we are into now, poverty or chaos, remember that we are still blessed to have this life.
Well, speaking of poverty, it is indeed a very complicated issue. I believe it is the root of the hunger crisis we are experiencing right now. I even witness this in school among our students. Something that breaks my heart because I knew exactly how it feels during my childhood.
A school is a place where children can learn life skills. However, learning is difficult when you are hungry. I say this because I've been there. Less fortunate students often go to school with an empty stomach or have eaten little because of the scarcity of nutritious food in poor families becomes unbridled. I am not saying all but oftentimes. Sad but true!😥
Feeding activities can be done anywhere and everywhere, even more in schools. The school feeding initiative, mandated by the Department of Education, is a supplementary feeding program that aims to provide nutritious food and snacks to students especially those who are malnourished. This is also the main goal of the "Gulayan sa Paaralan" (School Gardening) as the source of raw and nutritious food.
Malnutrition is a lamented problem among children. Based on my experience and personal observations, poor nutrition or malnutrition affects the learning performance of the child inside the class. It is even aggravated when the pandemic hits the country and the world.
As a teacher, it is my duty to feed the students' minds with worthwhile lessons and as a second parent, it is humane and right to feed their stomachs whenever they need to. The least I can do is initiate a feeding activity among my students in the most enjoyable way. I don't have much to feed the many but I am blessed enough to share and feed a few. In my grade 7 class, we do this twice a month (how I wish we could do this every week). I made sure that we would all enjoy having our feeding day activity.
Last week, we conducted our first feeding activity of the month. My class requested to have something chocolatey for a snack. So, we all agreed to cook a chocolate porridge. One of my students volunteered to bring a big kettle. Other students offered to bring a cup of rice. Everyone is offering his or her share. And as for me, I offered to provide the chocolate powder and sugar.
After gathering all the needed ingredients, we all started the busy day.
The boys gathered wood and made fire. The girls cleaned the big kettle, washed the rice, put enough water, and settled it on fire. I was the one stirring the rice with a big ladle to avoid it from scorching. Constant stirring is very important in making porridge. Some of my students were helping and assisting me along the way. Anyway, this one is the easiest to cook. When the rice has overly softened, one of my students added the chocolate powder and the sugar.
After 40 minutes, the chocolate porridge is ready to be served. Chocolate porridge is rich in carbohydrates which is a good source of energy. It is a good snack for my students, especially for their age when they are very active and playful.
Eating time...
Some students forgot to bring their bowls so they used their lunch boxes instead. Everybody was happy and truly enjoyed the morning snack.
All the laughing and smiling of my students were heartwarming.
After the heavy morning chocolatey snack, we arranged the chairs for our psychosocial activities that I always gave after the feeding activity. They moved it around the classroom to have a spacious floor for the activity. They were obviously excited because it was time they play😊. They actively participated in the activities.
Psychosocial activities are very helpful in maintaining our student's good mental health and well-being. They are also taught lessons about life. They can also learn how to go along with others and self-confidence. These are vital characteristics that every student should learn and live with so that they will grow up self-resilient and emotionally smart.
Looking forward to our next feeding activity, we plan to cook nutritious viand for lunch soon and of course, we are excited to have more fun psychosocial activities.
My grand salute to all teachers out there who have done the extra mile to not only feed the children's minds but also to feed the empty stomach.💞 May God bless you a thousand folds😍.
That's all for today Hive friends🥰 I am grateful for your time reading this. Know that I sincerely appreciate it. I hope this post may somehow inspire you more. And continue to spread kindness around the world. Sending my big warm hugs🥰