Final: The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) began feeding late due to commodity delays in April 2003. The project is feeding over 90,000 children in 958 schools through November 2003. Municipalities supplement the foods served by providing rice and sugar. Enrollment data indicates an increase of 5%.

Midterm: The agreement with was signed on June 20, 2002, and commodities will arrive for the implementation beginning in January 2003. ADRA plans to conduct a one-year school-feeding program that will include direct distribution to children in primary schools.

Final: Due to delayed deliveries of commodities at port, ADRA began feeding in April 2003. The following products were delivered in good condition.

Midterm: To support this objective, ADRA will distribute 1,560 metric tons of bulgur, wheat flour, corn-soy blend, and non-fat dry milk to 87,572 children (approximately 80-90 children per school). ADRA will distribute the food to schools for the preparation of school breakfasts.

Goals and objectives: The goal of the program is to improve school enrollment, attendance, and performance for children in primary school in order to increase the likelihood that students will go on to secondary school. The objectives of the project are:

Final: Planned project goals to date such as organization, implementation, training, de-worming of students and education programs are on target. Vitamin A supplements have been given out.

Parent Teacher organizations have been established in all schools. They have been trained in storage, food handling and breakfast preparations. Parents either cook or hire a cook.

Midterm: ADRA will begin the activities with an orientation for municipalities and educational authorities on the proposed implementation activities. During the course of the program, ADRA will provide support and training for schools and school directors on the organization of school boards, and on program management and administration. This training also includes lessons on food preparation based on the combination of foods donated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and local foods provided by parents. Because this project has not yet been implemented, no data is available.

Other donor support: The municipalities signed agreements to provide sugar and rice to supplement the meals. Parents donated money to hire cooks when they were not able to cook themselves.

Sustainability: The aspects that may be sustainable for a program operating only one year are the community involvement and municipal food supplements.

Final: See evaluation methodology in Appendix 1.

Midterm: Monitoring procedures as outlined in the agreement are being implemented. Prior year enrollment data is questionable and there is a problem with school attendance control. Attendance data is not available for the baseline since schools do not keep such records. ADRA has a monitoring system that collects information required by school, by grade, by gender for the current feeding year. Cientifica Consultora was hired by USDA to conduct school site visits and collect monitoring and evaluation data.

Enrollment: Data shows that enrollment has increased about 5%.

Attendance: Teachers report that attendance has improved significantly.

Performance: Children appear more alert and energetic according to teachers.

Special emphasis on girls: While the lower primary grades have no disparity in attendance between girls and boys, the 5^th and 6^th grades and secondary school show a larger drop out rate for females.

Other project achievements: The community is engaged and actively working together for the first time in the school.

A negative aspect that affects the program is the program limitation that covers only the elementary school and not secondary level. Many rural schools have both levels, primary and secondary classes, running concurrently in the same schools due to the long distances the students must travel in rural areas. They have the same schedule and the same recess; secondary students do not receive breakfasts like their primary school classmates.

The programs should have complementary activities, for example gardens and greenhouses. This teaches the children and parents how to have vegetables and provides food for the program.

A calendar menu was developed to have a better control of portion served and to verify the inventory uses; furthermore, this calendar recommends a different menu to every day. This menu has the exact portion requirements to prepare a dish; moreover, this portion is the same for all schools of the Program; it means that milk taste does not vary in any regional. The calendar has some spaces to write down the number of students fed and the quantity of food used, this information and the quantity of food stored should correspond with the amount of food received at school. Thus, calendar is a good method of food management control.

The ADRA program serves in some of the most remote areas of Bolivia. In Riberalta, some children have to travel to school by boats and then walk, spending at least an hour to get to school. Disabled and deaf children are often overlooked by the school system. In this remote area, ADRA has established schools for the disabled and deaf with feeding programs. The program helps them reach children that are often considered unreachable.

Last modified: Monday, April 14, 2008 06:13:23 PM