
Garden champs: Januario Capitango, Sarah Lutis and their friend show off their seed tins
Children in Angola are learning about the value of growing their own food
Januario Capitango and Sarah Lutis are school garden champions. Together with their friends, they plant vegetable seedlings, keep them watered and weeded and help to harvest them for their school kitchen.
“We planted carrots, onions, tomatoes and peppers,” says Januario, who adds that they enjoy working in the garden with their friends.
“On our first harvest, we brought them up to the school. We had salad with our rice. It made it taste so much better!” says Sarah.
The school cooks also make soup and sauces with the vegetables from the garden.
“Your body gets bigger if you eat more of the vegetables; it brings health to you,” Sarah explains.
Agriculture and nutrition
ForAfrika’s agricultural supervisor Hermenegildo Nascimento says the main aim of teaching vegetable gardening to the children and community is to improve the diversity of their diets.
“We teach agricultural techniques that introduce vegetables with better nutritional value into the diet. Most of the children and their families had never seen a carrot or tomato before. They always plant just maize or sorghum.
“This serves to reduce the number of malnourished children in our communities. We also want children to become interested in farming. It is a process.”
Headmaster Antonio Palanca says: “Since we started with the garden project, the dropout levels have decreased; that is the main impact. The food became more nutritious and tasty, and the children have done very well.
“Vitamins are very important for children’s development and it gives them strength to absorb the information. You need to be nourished to study properly.”