Masson Students lunch program

Support Sionfonds for Haiti’s Nutrition Program

Feeding children at our schools is vitally important. We  can only feed our students each school day with your help.

We feed our students whenever we have the funds to do so, it is a priority for Sionfonds but we cannot do it without you!

ONLY $1 A DAY PROVIDES A STUDENT WITH A NUTRITIONALLY BALANCE HOT MEAL

A nutritious meal helps children to learn and grow and have the energy to  laugh and play as all children have the right to do.

We are committed to feeding all of our students at Masson, Kenscoff and Cavaillon this school year and we need your support to meet that commitment.

Please Donate Now to our nutrition program, every dollar you contribute makes a difference.

In April of 2010 a survey of the heights, weights  and ages of over 500 of our students showed that 85% were malnourished. In light of the fact that our  doctors have seen great improvement in the over health of our students over the last 3 years, it is evident that we still have a long way to go.

Our nutrition program consists of several components that support student health and community development.

  • Feeding children a hot lunch everyday, insures that they will recieve at least one meal a day.
  • Every 6 months we administer albendozole, a deworming medication to rid students of intestinal parasites that can consume up to 20% of the nutritional intake.
  • We strive to provide multivitamins, toothbrushes and toothpaste to all our students.
  • We buy food from Haitian markets and farmers supporting the local economy.
  • We employ women from the community to cook for the children.
  • Enrollment increases when children are fed at school.
  • We strive to form partnerships with organizations that have food to donate to nutrition programs like ours.
  • Bi annual medical and dental assessments  on each students give us valuable data on the needs of our students.
  • Sionfonds is committed to assisting schools, that receive only part of what they need to make a meal, fill in the gaps in their lunch programs.

Haiti: 10 Hunger Facts

From the World Food Programme January 2010

  1. Assessments show that 3 million people may need humanitarian relief, including food assistance, in the wake of the earthquake.
  2. Even before the quake, 1.9 million people were ‘food insecure’, meaning they needed assistance to stave off hunger.
  3. Only 50 percent of Haiti population has access to safe drinking water.
  4. Some 55 percent of Haiti’s 9 million people live below the poverty line of US$1 a day.
  5. Rural households spend almost 60 percent of their income on food; the poorest groups spend more than 70 percent.
  6. Chronic malnutrition affects 24 percent of children under five, rising as high as 40 percent in the poorest zones.
  7. Poor diet means many women and children suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. Anaemia affects 59 percent of children between the ages of six months and 5 years.
  8. During 2008, high food and fuel prices triggered violent demonstrations and political upheaval.
  9. In the same year, three hurricanes and one tropical storm struck Haiti, killing 800 people, destroying 27,000 homes and raising the general level of hunger.
  10. Food prices have declined since September 2008, but remain higher than the four-year average.

Human Foundation key to recovery from Huffington News