A child, a million smiles 😊: A sustainable feeding program for school children in Nigeria

Sustainable Feeding Program for School Children in Nigeria- A child, A million smiles 😊 😊

Project Overview:

The Steem Kids and Parents Community, in collaboration with World Smile, aims to restart its charity efforts with a focus on addressing malnutrition among schoolchildren in Nigeria. This project will provide essential food supplies to schools in both rural and selected urban areas where children face severe economic hardships.
The initiative will help improve child health, increase school attendance, and create a foundation for long-term community development as well as create avenues for steem promotion in Nigeria.

Key Objectives:

To provide nutritious food to schoolchildren in underprivileged communities.

To increase school attendance by supporting children with food aid.

To establish a branded and credible food distribution network that builds trust with the local communities.

To ensure sustainability through local partnerships, transparency, and efficient use of funds.

Plan Structure:

1. Target Areas: Rural and Urban Coverage. The project will cover both rural areas and a few urban schools. The rural focus is critical due to higher rates of malnutrition and limited resources in these areas.

2. Selection Criteria: Schools with the highest need will be prioritized based on factors such as low attendance, malnutrition levels, and the absence of government feeding schemes.

3. Food Distribution:

3.1 Type of Food: Rice, beans, yam, and other locally sourced nutritious foods will be distributed. These are staples that can provide children with the energy and nutrients they need.

3.2 Method of Distribution: Raw Food Supplies. Due to budget constraints and logistical simplicity, the initial phase will focus on distributing raw food supplies to children to take home to their families. This approach empowers parents to prepare meals and helps reduce logistical costs.

Prepared Meals (Optional for later phases): With more funding and community kitchens, I will explore preparing meals at schools, ensuring children receive food directly.

1. Funding Structure:

4.1 Initial Budget: 300 Steem per week (100 steem from SK&P and 200 steem from worldsmile)

4.2 Food Purchases: The majority of funds will go toward purchasing rice, beans, yam tubers, and other locally sourced foods.

4.3 Estimated cost breakdown for a small school: 50 to 70 students per visit. It can increase depending on support.

Rice: 120 STEEM
Beans: 90 STEEM
Yams and other food items: 90 STEEM
Total per distribution: 300 STEEM ? per week

*Budget will increase if support increase.

1. Vehicle Purchase:

Why a Vehicle? Transportation is a significant challenge in Nigeria, particularly in rural areas. A branded vehicle will be key to delivering food to remote areas where transport is either unreliable or expensive. It will also enhance credibility and increase visibility for the project. When it comes to food distribution, citizens are sceptical if it's not coming from a well-known association or individual, branded vehicle will do the explanation.

5.1 Justification for the Vehicle:

Credibility: A branded vehicle will enhance the legitimacy of the project, showing that it is well-organized and trustworthy. This is particularly important as many people are skeptical about food aid in Nigeria.

Accessibility: Poor transportation infrastructure in rural areas makes it difficult to reach the schools most in need. A dedicated vehicle will ensure that food reaches these remote areas efficiently.

Scalability: As the program grows, the vehicle will allow us to serve more schools, transport more food, and create a larger impact.

Potential Impact: Reduction in Malnutrition. The food provided will meet the basic nutritional needs of children, helping them stay healthy and more focused at school.

Increase in School Attendance: With food aid in place, families will be more likely to send their children to school, knowing that at least one meal is guaranteed.

Community Development: The program will foster a spirit of unity and cooperation among parents, schools, and local leaders, while also supporting rural farmers by purchasing locally sourced food.

5.2 Estimated cost for a used, branded vehicle:
16,000 - 17,000 STEEM (one-time purchase).

5.3 Fuel and Maintenance Costs: Around 50-80 STEEM per month, depending on travel distances.

5.4 Funding of the Vehicle: This will be funded by @steemkidss. A week turn off will suffice.

1. Transportation and Logistics:

6.1 Route Planning: A vehicle will allow food to be distributed efficiently across multiple schools on a fixed route schedule. The project will target schools within a 100-150 km radius to minimize fuel and travel costs.

6.2 Storage: We will partner with local community centers or schools to use available space for temporary food storage before distribution.

1. Project Sustainability:

7.1 Local Partnerships: Collaboration with local farmers and markets to source food at lower prices. Build relationships with local community leaders and schools to ensure accountability.

7.2 Community involvement: Engage parents and local volunteers to assist in food distribution. This will reduce operational costs and create a sense of ownership.

7.3 Monitoring and Reporting: Ensure transparency by providing regular updates on food distributions and funds used.
Track the number of children served and measure the impact on school attendance and health.

1. The Executor

@ngoenyi will execute this project along with the assistance of others who are yet to be on boarded.

She has carried out various charity projects for steemkids (now steem kids and parents) community, steemwomen community and steem Philippines community. She has also carried out steem promotions for most communities that are no longer in existence at the moment. Communities like steemalive, promo-steem and others. As a Nigerian, she had in the past organised several meetups and football game which she single handedly funded to encourage everyone to be active.

A school she just visited

1. Start Date

It will always be when school is in section. Hence, we are kick-starting this project on the second week of November 2024 and run just for 3 weeks. Then by next school section which will begin by January 2025, it will continue.

In closure:

By starting with a modest budget and scaling based on the resources available, this feeding initiative can create a significant impact in underprivileged areas of Nigeria. The purchase of a vehicle will not only improve logistics but also establish credibility and allow the project to expand over time.
With careful planning, strong partnerships, and community involvement, the Steem Kids and Parents Community together with worldsmile can ensure the sustainability and success of this feeding program.

_{Cc: @el-nailul @worldsmile @steemcurator01 @steemcurator02 @pennsif}