Bamg-Benibe is a bright, confident 17 year old girl. She is in Form Three and top of her class, preparing to take her BECE exams. She is the last born of five siblings, though having lost her parents some years ago while schooling in Sunyani, she now lives with her uncle and auntie in Lawra and attends Karbo JHS.
She recalls that last term, the Headteacher called all the parents together for a meeting, requesting their support to put up a building to serve as a school kitchen. The day after the kitchen opened the cooking started. She explains that the pupils really appreciate the school feeding initiative because not all of them have the opportunity to eat in the house. The impact of this is that “around noon, you get dizzy and you can’t concentrate. The lunch provided gives you a bit of energy to be able to contribute in class. When you haven’t eaten your mind will often be elsewhere, you say you have understood the lesson but there is nothing in your head” and she warns, you would ultimately fail your exams. Bamg-Benibe sincerely thanks ATE for the school feeding programme at Karbo JHS, adding with a sense of certainty that seems beyond her years that now everybody attends school and results are improving.
By Leela Shanti and Diedong Eric