Peter attends the Iris Africa primary school located on the ministry base in Bangula, Malawi. He is in the 4th grade and is 9 years old. We first met Peter back in 2005 after the unfortunate death of his mother. Peter never knew his father as he had deserted before Peter was even born. Since his mother’s death, Peter and his older brother have been living with their widowed grandmother.
For the last 8 years, Iris Africa has supported this family with monthly distributions of food and soap. Manna pack fortified rice/soy meals are very well known to this family and its taste really appeals to the boys. The meals provide excellent nutrition so that they can grow up healthy, and have the strength to focus on their education. And that is what they are doing!
Peter is a typical 4th grader who needs encouragement to keep his focus in the classroom, as his first choice would be to be on the field playing soccer. However, non-the-less, Peter is doing very well and is expected to pass with strong grades. The students who attend Iris Primary School have an advantage with a small student to teacher ratio, access to wonderful resources, and nutritious lunches served at 12:00 each school day.
Unfortunately Peter’s life was off to a very challenging start, but things are looking up! This boy has such great potential! We are sincerely thankful to donors around the world who have taken interest in providing food for Peter and thousands others like him, so that they can grow up healthy and with a strong education.
Having the opportunity to provide each child with at least one meal per school day allows the child to concentrate in school and is an enticement for them to continue attending school. Gaining an education is the surest way to escape the grips of poverty.
