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Global Food for Education Program
Communities United and Transformed
Support organizations for schools (such as parent-teacher groups) were a requirement for participation in GFE. Introducing parent-teacher organizations in areas that had no such groups, or strengthening weak groups, encouraged communities to unite and transform themselves. Communities with dormant organizations were reenergized and participation increased, cultivating active involvement in decision-making and problem solving.
In areas that did have support organizations, parents often felt powerless and uninvolved. Feeding their children and seeing the impact empowered parents, benefiting the local school and having a ripple effect throughout the community. GFE projects institutionalized the presence of parents and further involved the communities in the schools. Although transforming communities and schools was not a previously established goal of GFE, the importance of this impact should not go unrecognized.
CRS GFE was involved in the reintegration of ethnic minorities throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. Refugees from the 1992-1995 war and victims of the ethnic cleansing campaigns have been slowly returning to their homes. The structured environment of the schools and their meal programs gave the displaced peoples a degree of dependability essential to their return and resettlement.
After seeing how it could mobilize to accomplish school feeding, the community of Jinotega, Nicaragua, began organizing to fix long-standing maintenance problems. Members of the community worked together to repair roofs, screen windows, and paint. They then moved on to building a kitchen and new classrooms, using their own resources.
More than 8,700 parents in Benin were mobilized by CRS into PTAs and canteen management committees to raise funds, contribute local food, and provide fuel wood and cash contributions, as well as construct storerooms and kitchen facilities. Parents increased their involvement in their children’s education and began taking an active role in solving school problems, such as the lack of teachers and inadequate infrastructure.
In Moldova, kitchen facilities were required for participation in the IPHD GFE program, so parents and others joined together to ensure that local schools were adequately equipped.
In the Guatemala Share project, parents were re-energized to find a solution to the lack of water in the schools.
In Albania, the CARE GFE project organized parent councils, conducted needs assessments, and launched activities to improve kindergarten facilities, adding playgrounds, kitchens, and classrooms.
In Bolivia, the PCI project provided a tangible opportunity for parents of students to become acquainted with each other and work toward a common goal. Because of the regular presence of parents in the schools, teachers improved their own attendance and became more accountable to the community.
A school-community partnership in Kyrgyzstan received assistance from MCI’s GFE project to repair a dilapidated school so that 713 children could have a warm and safe learning environment. At the same time, neighboring villages made additional space available for children. In all, the small grants program has improved the infrastructure and water and sanitation facilities in more than 100 schools.
The government-to-government program in the Dominican Republic established community and family gardens, and school- or family-based chicken, egg, and dairy production projects. These small-scale projects are sustainable sources of food and extra income for many schools and community members.
Research from the U.S. National Parent Teacher Association has shown that:
School programs that involve parents outperform similar programs that do not have parent and family involvement.
When parents are involved, students achieve more regardless of socio-economic status, ethnic/racial background, or the education level of the parents.
Schools where children are failing show dramatic improvement when parents become effective partners in their child’s education.
Schools that work well with families have improved teacher morale and higher ratings of teachers by parents.
Schools where parents are involved have more support from families and better reputations in the community.
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