Learning on a full stomach

MANILA, Philippines – At the crack of dawn, the light inside the Cabibi home is switched on. Nanay Cynthia rouses her nine-year-old son William and gets him ready for the day. Once morning preparations are done, mother and son start walking to William’s school. It’s a typical scene for most families with elementary school-age children, but not for the Cabibi family: Cynthia does not kiss her son goodbye and William does not walk to his classroom. Instead, mother and son enter the school and proceed through a small pathway to a room full of long tables and chairs, similar to a cafeteria. There’s an adjacent room where women are preparing food. With William at her side, Cynthia joins in the kitchen work, chopping onions, garlic and vegetables. After an hour or two, the room bustles with children, including William, lining up for piping hot and delicious meals.

William, a Grade Four student at Bagong Silangan Elementary School in Quezon City, is one of the student beneficiaries of the Ateneo de Manila University’s Blueplate for Better Learning feeding program. Cynthia is a parent volunteer of the program.

Spearheaded by Ateneo’s Center for Educational Development (ACED), the program aims to provide daily lunch meals for 130 school days to student beneficiaries classified as “wasted.” The term “wasted,” in medical parlance, describes an individual whose weight-for-height is less than minus 2 from the average; in short, people who are too thin for their height.

According to the World Food Program of the United Nations, severely wasted children have weak immune systems, making them more susceptible to infectious diseases. Furthermore, undernutrition and a weak immune system slow down one’s cognitive development, especially in children.

“Cognitive development is a term which covers the human perception, thinking and learning. There are factors like nutrition, genes and the environment that affect a child’s cognitive development. Moreover, nutrition plays an important role in the development of the child. Our brain gets its food from the food we eat. If the child does not eat before going to school, there is no source of glucose which serves as the food for the brain,” says Angel Santos, ACED’s feeding coordinator for Bagong Silangan Elementary School. “Research shows that those who have taken their breakfast before going to school have improved school performance,” she adds.

Realizing the urgent need to facilitate in-school feeding programs, the Blueplate for Better Learning feeding program was launched in 2009. From its initial 280 student beneficiaries in Quezon City, the program has since grown, feeding 90,222 students from partner schools in Cainta, Valenzuela, Parañaque, La Union, Leyte and, of course, Quezon City. William’s school, Bagong Silangan Elementary School, has 1,107 student beneficiaries.

William has been with he program from Grade One; he is now in fourth grade. Cynthia explains that her son used to have a poor appetite. “Gumana syang kumain simula nang nasali dito. Tumaaas naman din yung grade nya (His appetite improved when he joined the program. His grades have also improved),” she says.

Serving nutritious food has been a problem, she admits. A widow and mother of two, her husband died in 2005 when she was two months pregnant with William. Since then, she has had to fend for her family, working as a household helper. Her eldest child has graduated from high school but due to financial concerns, has stopped studying. She is now married and at 19 years old, is expecting her first child.

With only William to take care of, Cynthia divides her time working and volunteering at the feeding program. She’s been a parent volunteer for Blueplate for Better Learning feeding program for four years now, ever since William was chosen for the program.

Parents’ involvement is something that ACED is strongly advocating. In Bagong Silangan Elementary School, for instance, there are 233 parent volunteers.

“Parents are important to the success of every feeding program. Not just because they serve as volunteers, but for them to also learn how to prepare food at home. They might get ideas on what to cook and encourage the child to eat nutritious food,” says Santos.

One such parent is Merissa Reyes. Like Cynthia, Merissa’s son Ariel is a student beneficiary of the Blueplate for Better Learning feeding program. He also studies at Bagong Silangan Elementary School.

“Tinimbang yung anak ko  nung Grade One, medyo mababa ang timbang kaya siya nasali (My son was weighed when he was in Grade One and he was underweight so he was enrolled in the program),” Merissa says.

Ariel has been in the program for four years now. Ariel’s sister was also enrolled in the program. She is now in second year high school.

“Gusto ko din tumulong at matuto sa pagluluto at pag aasikaso  sa mga bata. Wala din naman akong  ginagawa sa bahay kaya pumupunta ako dito  (I want to help and also learn about cooking  and how to take care of  children. I don’t do much at home so I come here),” she says. Her husband is a construction worker and her two elder children are already working.  

Since participating in the program, Merissa has seen improvement in her son’s health. Aside from gaining weight, he is less prone to illness and when he does get sick, he recovers quickly.

On days when the Blueplate for Better Learning feeding program is not in operation, such as during summers and holiday breaks, Merissa tries to recreate the meals.

“Kung kaya ko, ginagawa  ko yung mga niluluto namin para kahit papano makakain sya ng masustansya (If I can, I try to cook the meals that we prepare here so he  can still eat nutritious food),” she says.

Nutrition, or the lack of it, as in the case of William and Ariel, is a problem that has plagued the country for years. The latest National Nutrition Survey released by the Food and Nutrition Institute of the Department of Science and Technology in 2014 shows that Filipino children’s nutritional status has not changed that much. The prevalence of wasted children continues to be a public health concern. Wasted children among those 0-5 years of age increased from 6.9 percent in 2008 to 7.9 percent in 2013. For William and Ariel’s age group (5-19 years), the figures have also increased – 8.1 percent in 2008 to 8.6 percent in 2013.

Addressing nutrition is important, says Santos. “The consequences of malnutrition are serious. It could lead to diseases and worst, death,” she says. Health education and promotion are vital in alleviating these nutritional gaps, she adds. Parents, she believes, play a critical role in addressing their child’s nutrition. But there are cases where parents themselves need assistance, like in the situation of William and Ariel. This is where programs like Blueplate for Better Learning come in handy. While such endeavors are not the total answer for nutrition problems, they help improve feeding practices, especially in disadvantaged families.

ACED relies on benefactors to help fund the feeding program. Patrons are usually surprised to find that it only takes P1,495 to feed a child for one school year, Santos says.

ACED also welcomes individuals who volunteer for kitchen duties. Ateneo students and employees are regular volunteers, she adds.

To ensure that students receive proper nutrition, all recipes include malunggay, dubbed as the miracle tree because of its many nutritional benefits.

ACED also ensures that the meals are palatable to children. “Minsan nakakadalawang plato si William (William sometimes eats a second helping),” says Cynthia as she clears William’s plate. With a full stomach, William kisses his mother goodbye and goes home to prepare for his afternoon classes. Cynthia remains behind, helping other parent volunteers clean up the kitchen.

To know more about the Blueplate for Better Learning feeding program, visit the ACED webpage at www.ateneo.edu/socdev/aced or call 426-6001 loc 4028.