CAIRO - Vodafone Egypt Community Development Foundation, in co-operation with the World Food Programme (WFP) and in co-ordination with the Egyptian Ministry of Education (MOE), has launched the school feeding programme ''Wagbety Fi Madrasty'' initiative with an allocation of LE6 million. This initiative constitutes a step towards implementing one of the WFP's school feeding programmes targeting more than 200 thousand students in the most disadvantaged communities in Assuit and Sohag governorates in southern Egypt. Mohamed el-Hamamsy, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Vodafone Egypt Foundation, said that the new initiative supported the implementation of one of the WFP School feeding programmes by providing balanced nutritious school meals for students, in an attempt to fight what economic development experts call the ignorance, poverty and disease triangle that impedes progress in any society. Since 2003, Vodafone Egypt Community development Foundation has channelled its social investments and development efforts into facing such challenges and effectively promoting the progress of Egypt. “Scientific research shows that early childhood development has a long reach in early and later years,” said WFP Egypt Representative and Country Director Gianpietro Bordignon. “In fact, pre-school age is the prime time for investing in children's mental and physical development.” He added that the Egyptian private sector was showing increased commitment to the cause of food security in the country. Noha Saad, Secretary General Vodafone Egypt Foundation, said that the “School Feeding Programme”' initiative represented a new phase of "Madrasty'' (My School) project which started in 2006. Through that project, the Foundation managed to renovate 350 schools and upgrade 4,000 school facilities including classrooms, playgrounds, washrooms and libraries. This project was followed by "Sehety fi Madrasty'' (My Health in My School) initiative, which established 2000 clinics in Egyptian schools. The initiative supports the reduction of school dropout rates in most disadvantaged areas, reduces the growing malnutrition rates, and makes up for the lack of micronutrients among marginalised groups like children and women, according to officials. Beneficiaries of WFP School feeding projects amount to approximately 300,000 including schoolchildren and their families across 11 governorates in Egypt. Schoolchildren get a daily morning snack fortified with necessary vitamins and iron, addressing around 25 per cent of their daily nutritional needs. In addition, families receive monthly Take Home Rations (THR), mainly rice, as an incentive to send their children to school regularly.
