Many families living in Kampala slums do not earn enough money to feed their families. More than 56,000 Ugandan children under the age of 5 die each year from malnutrition-related illnesses. About one-quarter of the population is unable to secure adequate food for all or part of the year.
Before the AGYA Free Lunch Program was launched in February 2009, 60% of AGYA participants between the ages of 7 and 20 reported eating less than 3 meals per day. Preventable and treatable water-borne illnesses like diarrhea disproportionately affect children living in poverty in Uganda. Contaminated water can cause intestinal worms, which leads to malnutrition and anemia because worms compete for the nutrition of their young hosts leaving the victims too vulnerable and weak to go to school.
AGYA's Free Lunch Program provides vulnerable children/youth with free nutritious meals and access to clean drinking water. The primary goals of the Program are to (1) alleviate the financial burden facing families in the communities we serve, (2) reduce malnutrition, (3) help families conserve the scarce amount of water they have, (4) improve health and learning.
Before the AGYA Free Lunch Program was launched in February 2009, 60% of AGYA participants between the ages of 7 and 20 reported eating less than 3 meals per day. Preventable and treatable water-borne illnesses like diarrhea disproportionately affect children living in poverty in Uganda. Contaminated water can cause intestinal worms, which leads to malnutrition and anemia because worms compete for the nutrition of their young hosts leaving the victims too vulnerable and weak to go to school.
AGYA's Free Lunch Program provides vulnerable children/youth with free nutritious meals and access to clean drinking water. The primary goals of the Program are to (1) alleviate the financial burden facing families in the communities we serve, (2) reduce malnutrition, (3) help families conserve the scarce amount of water they have, (4) improve health and learning.
AGYA currently feeds more than 350 children on a budget of approximately $500 USD per month. In 2010, we provided more than 8,500 kg of food, 140 gallons of clean drinking water to children and youth living in Uganda’s urban slums, and AGYA’s youth leaders contributed more than 4,000 volunteer hours to ensure the success of the Free Lunch Program.