Final: The school feeding program continued for another year, through November 2003, due to an extension of the GFE program. About 5,728 children received breakfast in 66 primary schools and 27 pre-primary schools. Enrollment in the first feeding year increased by 10%. All monthly attendance improved and was consistent during the 2002 feeding year, averaging 97%. Teachers estimate that in prior years monthly attendance averaged between 70-80%. Teacher attendance improved significantly with parents in the school everyday cooking the meals for the students.

All GFE schools have established garden programs. CRS was successful in obtaining significant contributions from municipalities and communities for infrastructure improvements in 50% of the schools. Also, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, de-worming treatments and Vitamin A supplements were administered to all the students three times during the year. Take home rations for the facilitators of the EDUCATODOS distance-learning adult education project were distributed in 47 communities.

Midterm: School feeding began in April 2002 with 4,334 children in primary and pre-primary school receiving nutritious breakfasts. Breakfasts included rice, beans, corn-soy blend, milk atole (a hot, thin, porridge-like drink), and a complementary food, such as vegetable soup or corn-soy blend empanadas (turnovers). Teachers in almost every school visited to date reported somewhat higher enrollment, the return of dropouts, and improved attendance rates. However, more data are needed for a thorough analysis. Teacher attendance is one of the biggest challenges to improving student enrollment, attendance, and performance. For schools in which parents are responsible for monitoring teacher performance and paying them, teacher absence is low. Feeding is scheduled to continue through November 2002, with an extension through November 2003 pending approval.

Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Central America and the Western Hemisphere. The situation for the rural poor is even more difficult than for the urban population. While residents of urban areas have an average 6.7 years of schooling, those in rural areas average less than 3.0 years. Rural malnutrition was reported at 42.6% by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) in its proposal to focus its school feeding program in certain areas of the country. Sixty-four percent of the municipalities (190 of 297) find themselves with a high or very high risk of malnutrition.

Widespread destruction from Hurricane Mitch, several years of drought, and a slumping world coffee market have only exacerbated the seriousness of the situation for vulnerable groups. WFP regional experts have reported that the situation in Honduras is similar to that in Guatemala, where they declared an emergency in March 2002 and established feeding centers in 41 regional centers. At this time, the Government of Honduras feels that a designation of "emergency" is unnecessary.

Lempira was chosen as the focus of the Global Food for Education (GFE) program because this is one of the most impoverished areas of the country. It is cut off from most of Honduras by mountains that block television and telephone transmission. Until recently, lack of paved roads and indeed any roads made commerce and trade difficult at best. Most contact for information and commerce has traditionally been with El Salvador.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is one of a handful of organizations working in Lempira. It has worked for more than 10 years with a local non-governmental organization (NGO), the Central Committee for Water and the Integrated Development of Lempira (COCEPRADIL), to install community water systems and implement health and sanitation projects.

For the GFE project, CRS proposed to target four municipalities of Jinotega in which the problems of malnutrition, illiteracy, and poverty are among the most severe in the country.

Final: The shipments of Corn-Soy Meal (CSM) and oil that traveled through Guatemala ports were delayed for various reasons. CRS suggests future shipments be sent directly to Honduras, since coordination is better between national port, customs authorities and clearance agencies. Security measures work well. Hard red winter wheat, 3,700 metric tons of which was received September 2002, was monetized for the extension. The following lists the commodities received under the extension.

Midterm: CRS requested 7,560 metric tons of commodities in the following amounts: corn-soy blend, 90 tons; non-fat dry milk, 50 tons; vegetable oil, 20 tons; and hard red winter (HRW) wheat, 7,400 tons.

The corn-soy blend, non-fat dry milk, and vegetable oil are to be used in direct distribution through feeding and take-home rations. The bulk HRW wheat was monetized, with the proceeds used to implement the project's multiple components designed to increase enrollment, attendance, and performance, and to enhance the learning environment. Delivery of the wheat to be monetized was set for December 2001/January 2002, as was the arrival of the distribution commodities.

The distribution commodity shipment went well, as did the monetization commodity shipment. Monetization began three months later than originally planned because of the delay in the signing of the original agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and CRS. The commodity was monetized successfully, but the delay required that the start of feeding be postponed until April instead of mid-February when school began, as originally planned.

Because Lempira is so isolated and remote, the shipment of the commodities to the COCEPRADIL warehouse and from there to the communities is complex and requires significant coordination and community participation. The first distribution to cover the initial three months of feeding was well organized and efficient. In some cases, parents carried 100-pound sacks of corn-soy blend up the mountainside. The additional challenges during the rainy season will be formidable, although CRS feels confident that its experience in distribution and COCEPRADIL’s community base will minimize problems.

There is widespread acceptance of the corn-soy blend as a foodstuff. It is well-received in traditional hot porridge/gruel atole drinks. Children like the flavor, and mothers know how to cook it. Parents are required to donate local foods (if they have them) to complement the atole. This gives children a more varied diet. Bean and rice purchases in Honduras also stimulate the local economy.

Goals and objectives: CRS and its partner in Lempira established goals and objectives for their GFE project. The overall goals are to increase enrollment, attendance, and performance. To achieve these goals, they set the following objectives:

Implementation status - Final: The extension permitted CRS to expand their program in 2003. CRS provided breakfast in 66 primary schools and 27 pre-primary schools with a total enrollment of 5,728 students in the extension year. Originally, CRS planned to carry out feeding in only 50 schools; it served breakfast in 56 schools in five municipalities of Lempira to begin its GFE project in 2002.

In addition, other project objectives have been met as follows:

Midterm: CRS identified project schools, hired staff, entered into agreements with COCEPRADIL, and began planning and community organization activities. CRS personnel worked with WFP and the Honduran Ministry of Education to identify schools and avoid overlap with other feeding programs. CRS also coordinated at the local level with other private voluntary organizations (PVO’s) working in the area to minimize overlap of activities.

CRS got a late start in direct feeding because of the delay in agreement signing and delivery of the commodities. However, a significant amount of startup work was accomplished in a short time due to the strength of the community-based NGO, COCEPRADIL, which was started by CRS more than 10 years ago. Based on community water committees, it carries out projects for its 150 member communities and promotes health and sanitation. With around 750 volunteers, the community water committees serve more than 6,000 families in Lempira.

COCEPRADIL visited member communities promoting the GFE project and explaining the requirements for a community to be selected. The requirements included:

Although CRS planned to carry out feeding in only 50 schools, it ultimately selected 56 schools in five municipalities of Lempira to begin its GFE project. School feeding began in April 2002, with 4,334 children in primary and pre-primary school receiving nutritious breakfasts.

CRS has trained teachers and parents in the control and use of the commodities, as well as in managing the school nutrition committee, tracking and documenting expenditures, and keeping financial records. The transparency of financial records and the detailed recordkeeping required by CRS help build community trust in the project and the workings of the committee, while promoting a closer working relationship between parents and teachers.

CRS and COCEPRADIL provided training to parents, primarily mothers, in how to use corn-soy blend and the other foods to vary the weekly school menu. Daily menus include corn-soy blend empanadas with rice or bean filling, corn-soy blend meatball-vegetable soup, and a crispy doughnut-shaped corn-soy blend rosquilla. Other dishes included sweetened rice and milk porridge, refried beans and rice, and the traditional corn-soy blend atole.

In addition to the startup work in food storage and preparation, COCEPRADIL worked with parents to survey school infrastructure and needs, including potable water, sanitary latrines, and kitchen and storage facilities. On a recent monitoring trip, seven of the eight schools visited had kitchens, and parents were building a kitchen for the eighth school.

The commitment of the mothers to have breakfasts ready for the children by 7:00 a.m. means that they have to start work very early. In most cases, they must leave home by 4:00 a.m. In some cases, mothers rise as early as 2:00 a.m. or sleep overnight at the school in order to be there on time.

The Government of Honduras has a program called the Family Assistance Program (PRAF) funded by the Inter-American Development Bank. Under this program, mothers whose children are enrolled in school and whose attendance meets PRAF requirements receive a bonus of 50 lempiras per child per month for up to two children. The bonus is used to buy school supplies and other necessities. The program pays the bonus twice a year, selecting delivery dates more for administrative reasons than for maximum impact.

The USDA regional coordinator and the local monitor met with the director of PRAF and shared preliminary results on the months of highest absences and some of the reasons for them. The low-attendance months (May, June, July, August, September, and October) coincide with the season when families have little or no food, need more labor in the fields, and have depleted initial school supplies. Low attendance months also coincide with the height of the rainy season. COCEPRADIL and CRS plan to approach the PRAF director to suggest that bonuses be paid at the beginning of the school year and again in May or June to help counter the factors that result in lower attendance.

Teacher attendance is another major challenge. In 2001, of more than 200 official school days, Honduran teachers attended only 98 days on average. In rural areas, teacher attendance averaged just 60 days. Some of the absences were due to a long strike in a labor dispute with the Ministry of Education over salaries, schedules, and benefits. The labor problems are complicated by the fact that more than half the teachers in Lempira and other rural areas do not live in the communities where they teach. Teachers have to travel to reach their schools and receive and cash their salary checks. When training days, union meetings, and illnesses are factored in, parents in GFE sample schools report that most teachers miss six or seven school days per month.

The USDA regional coordinator and the Honduran monitor have met with the Vice-Minister of Education to share some of the preliminary information and to plan future interventions. The minister and his staff are taking steps to correct these problems.

Final: Community commitment to the program was a selection factor for the CRS project. CRS worked with both communities and municipalities to generate contributions to support school infrastructure and water and sanitation projects. For the first reporting period, April-September 2002, almost $165,000 was directed to infrastructure improvements. CRS contributed 65%, and communities contributed 35%. In the second reporting period, October-March 2003, approximately $250,000 in infrastructure improvements were made. Local support increased substantially when the municipalities began to contribute. The community contributions reached 30% and municipality contributions reached 23%. Local contribution amounts varied; but participation was high with 86% of the schools receiving local contributions.

Midterm: Through its PRAF program, the Government of Honduras distributes bonuses to mothers whose children are enrolled in school and whose attendance meets PRAF requirements. The Ministry of Health is carrying out de-worming campaigns in some schools. The Ministry of Education is carrying out a program of HIV-AIDS prevention in some schools. The Honduran Fund for Social Investment is doing some classroom construction.

The National Pedagogical University has worked on curriculum design in some schools and also provides in-service training for some teachers.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) supports Project Lempira Sur that has been working in the area for a number of years teaching sustainable agricultural practices. The WFP has conducted nutrition training in some schools that received school lunches or snacks.

German Technical Assistance has worked on nutrition in some schools, and the Japanese Mission INICIE has also done some work in nutrition in a few schools.

The Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) has worked in curriculum development in one of the schools.

COCEPRADIL has worked in all of the schools in water, sanitation, and health education. The children understand the importance of hygiene; they wash their hands before eating and after using the latrine, and they brush their teeth after eating.

Final: The municipal and community contributions that were generated demonstrate a lasting investment in local schools. The established organizations will also continue their involvement. Teachers have been inspired and motivated by the donations of teaching materials and school supplies for their children. Community libraries and schoolbook corners will provide materials for future learning.

Midterm: The new president of Honduras has made education a top priority. The Minister of Education told USDA that he wants to have a self-sustaining national school-feeding program in place within four years. While his long-term interest is to engage the private sector in financing the program, that will probably not be achievable in the first one or two years. He and WFP convinced the Armed Forces Bank to donate 1.00 lempira to the WFP school-feeding program for every telephone bill people pay at that bank. They are encouraging more banks to join the effort.

CRS and COCEPRADIL have a strong relationship with the Association of Mayors of Southern Lempira, forged through many years of working together on local development issues. The association has met with the Minister of Education and called on him to expand GFE to other schools and municipalities of southern Lempira. Such support is important to any long-term sustainability of the project.

Parents have demonstrated strong project support through their high levels of participation and food contributions. COCEPRADIL would like to expand school feeding to other schools, and the Ministry of Education agrees with this goal.

Final: See evaluation methodology in Appendix 1.

Midterm: USDA, CRS, and COCEPRADIL are conducting monitoring and evaluation activities. The Sustainable Development Network NGO in Honduras provides local monitoring. The monitor is skilled in community-based evaluations and carried out the "vulnerability mapping" for WFP in that area before working with USDA. He collected baseline data on the 20 sample schools and has begun collecting qualitative data. He has developed a survey to examine the reasons that parents do not send their children to school and has enlisted students to survey their areas. His response rate is over 80 %, and the students are enthusiastic about their role in the GFE project.

CRS, COCEPRADIL, and the Sustainable Development Network NGO have coordinated monitoring and evaluation efforts to the extent possible to avoid redundancies while ensuring independence of action. Personnel identified factors that could impact GFE project success, including the availability of a PRAF bonus program, the residence of teachers, and the accessibility of the school by vehicle.

A matrix was developed, and all GFE schools were distributed on the matrix. Schools were then chosen from each cell on a random basis to arrive at the 20 sample schools. Preliminary baseline surveys have been conducted, and data has been collected on the 20 sample schools.

Enrollment: Data collected verifies an increase of 10% in school enrollment.

Attendance: In prior years, teachers report attendance rate of 70-80%. This year’s attendance has been documented to average 97%.

Performance: In addition to the improvement in attention and class participation, several schools reported a 5% improvement in the average grade point of the students. In previous years teachers report grade point averages of below 70% and in 2002 they are seeing an average of 74%.

Special Emphasis on Girls: CRS reports that the drop out rate for girls is 28% higher than boys in the upper grades. Beginning as early as 5^th grade, they leave school to work.

A sample of students was being monitored using the variables height for age, weight forage, eight for height and body mass. Of the female students, 30% were classified as undernourished and of the male students 20% were classified as undernourished. The standards used are those given by NCHS and WHO.

Unanticipated outcomes: With parents present in the schools every day, they are more aware of the teacher attendance situation. Teachers’ attendance and punctually has improved. The USDA GFE monitor reports that in sample schools teachers were present 96% of the official school days.

Mothers trained by COCEPRADIL in new cooking techniques reported that they are using them at school for the children’s breakfasts, and also using the same techniques at home.

Enrollment: Teachers in almost every sample and non-sample school visited to date reported somewhat higher enrollment and the return of dropouts. However, not enough data has been collected for a full analysis. Early indications are that as children find out about the project, they enroll, even if the official enrollment period is over. Their presence may then be reflected only in attendance figures.

Attendance: It is uniformly reported that absenteeism has dropped to almost zero. Teachers also report that punctuality has improved. According to teachers and parents, children now stay home from school only when they are sick.

Performance: Teachers report that students are more attentive in class, play with more enthusiasm and energy at recess, and learn more quickly. Like Guatemalan teachers, Honduran teachers reported that the children learn lessons more quickly since the school feeding began.

Special emphasis on girls: The data has not yet been collected and analyzed to be able to say with any certainty how access for girls has been affected. In gross numbers, more boys than girls are enrolled in 11 of the 20 sample schools. However, when speaking with education and community officials, most report that the problem for enrollment is with the boys. In general, unequal access to education for girls is not seen as being a problem. More troublesome to Hondurans and development groups is the fact that while "the gap between the sexes has almost disappeared, the poor, inhabitants of rural areas, and indigenous groups rarely receive a quality education. And the gaps are not closing."

Teachers reported stronger parent-school bonds because they must work together on the feeding, with teachers tracking the commodities and parents providing the complementary food and managing the breakfast and snack preparation.

Involved parents are serving a public leadership role. Through the work of COCEPRADIL, community members have learned to speak up and work on their problems. The GFE project provided them an opportunity to contribute to improving their children's education. Two communities have contacted the Ministry of Education about school problems. In one case, the community protested the poor attendance of the teacher and requested a replacement plus an additional teacher. This citizen action is a significant step in community activism and self-governance.

Although it is very early in the Honduras project, some simple lessons have been learned:

Final: A Plumbers Committee, integrated with school children, has been trained and organized in each school to assure the maintenance of the water installation in the school premises.

Midterm: Putting a container of purified water in each classroom is a cheap, sanitary way to provide potable water to children and sets a good example for their parents.

Teaching parents to use the commodities in creative recipes that children enjoy helps keep the children eating properly.

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