Virginie Bahon, DG CRSP Vara Mada and Philippe Lemay, Country Director Global Communities. The Mianatra pilot program is underway. The first schools to benefit from this project are now known. This came during the signing of cooperation agreements on July 3rd, in the presence of local authorities, national education officials, the regional education directorate, school representatives, Global Communities and Vara Mada. Through this initiative, 27 primary schools in the Toliara region will now benefit from a program combining daily school meals and infrastructure improvements.
More Ambitious
With funding of 1.2 million dollars, MIANATRA is a school feeding program benefiting 10,000 students daily from 35 schools across municipalities where the Vara Mada project operates. But the program aims to be more ambitious than simple meal distribution. Selected schools will also receive improvements to their operating conditions, including construction or rehabilitation of kitchens, access to drinking water and food storage facilities. The twenty-seven initial schools are distributed across the municipalities of Tsianisiha, Maromiandra, Belalanda and Toliara I. Eight other schools are currently undergoing evaluation for possible program integration. Local authorities are pleased with this initiative, which responds to long-standing needs. For local officials, school canteens will help reduce school dropouts while improving children's learning conditions. "We are proud to welcome this program that our communities have long awaited. We hope it will significantly reduce school dropout rates and offer better prospects for our children," says Félix Kapaiky, mayor of Maromiandra. "We warmly thank Vara Mada and the MIANATRA program for their continued commitment to our municipality's development. This initiative demonstrates the positive benefits the project can already bring to local communities," adds Pierre Raelison, mayor of Tsianisiha.
80,000 People
Beyond its educational component, the program also aims to create local economic benefits. Vara Mada and its partners plan to gradually develop partnerships with regional farmers to supply school canteens with local products. The goal is to establish a supply chain that supports both student nutrition and producer income. Ultimately, program promoters estimate that nearly 80,000 people could directly or indirectly benefit from the program, including approximately 10,000 primary students, their families, teachers and agricultural producers involved in canteen supply. For partners, this first phase is the starting point for a project that aims to make schools a lever for social and economic development in the municipalities involved.