War Child Peace Garden.

World Food Day 2020

This World Food Day we are celebrating the amazing agricultural work our teams are doing in local communities in Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Created to support the wellbeing of children and young people through the social and therapeutic benefits of farming and gardening, War Child’s ‘Peace Garden’ initiative is also teaching communities vital skills to grow their own food and create sustainable livelihoods throughout the coronavirus crisis and beyond. 

 

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 

Food security remains a prominent issue in CAR.  

Nearly half of its population need food assistance and devastatingly chronic malnutrition affects 38% of children between 6 months-5 years. (1) 

Our Peace Gardens are adopting the innovative ‘Social and Therapeutic Horticulture’ methodology which addresses both the need for social skills and boosts young people’s capacity to grow their own food through modern techniques. 

War Child has established six of these gardens during the pandemic to help tackle this issue, which have so far helped 360 children. The peace gardens are a safe space for vulnerable children, many who are orphaned or used to be in armed groups, to help rebuild their physical and mental wellbeing whilst improving their communication skills by collaborating and supporting one another.

 

AFTER MY RELEASE FROM THE ARMED GROUP, I DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO TO SURVIVE. THANKS TO THE KITS AND MY PARTICIPATION IN THE ACTIVITY I NOW HAVE THE SKILLS TO GROW MY OWN FOOD AND EARN AN INCOME IN ORDER TO MANAGE MY DAILY NEEDS.
Catherine, member of the Peace Garden group.

So far, we have distributed kits to 600 young people, teaching them the skills they need to produce their own food, and equipping them with the tools to start their own business. 

Charlie, a child who has been supported through the activity, said his group are happy to see the results of their efforts and that they have learned a wide range key skills which will help set them up for the future. 

“Today we are able to continue to cultivate the Peace Gardens ourselves to feed our family and our community. Whereas previously we had to wait for the rainy season to produce the vegetables we needed.” 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO 

Although the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has made significant progress in reducing child mortality and access to education for children, many are still deprived of their fundamental rights. 

The number of food-insecure people stands at 21.8 million, making access to food a daily struggle for a significant part of the Congolese population. (2) An estimated 3.4 million children are acutely malnourished, even though arable land in DRC has the potential to feed 2 billion people. (3) 

War Child have set up three sustainable school farms that will build key agricultural skills, provide locally grown meals to primary school children coming back after COVID induced lockdown and create a much-needed revenue stream. 

 

THE HARVEST GENERATED BY THE SCHOOL GARDENS HAS ALLOWED US TO PAY FOR THE COST OF THE EXAMS FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN THE SCHOOL ENSURING THAT EVEN THESE CHILDREN COULD SUCCESSFULLY GRADUATE.
Director of the primary school.

The Peace Gardens are not only supporting the wellbeing of children and young people in communities across CAR and DRC, but they are also equipping them with the skills they need to build sustainable sources of food, and sustainable sources of income, helping them to achieve stability and security they deserve. 

Sources: 

  1. UN World Food Programme Country Brief August 2020 
  2. UN World Food Programme DRC
  3. UN World Food Programme DRC Emergency Dashboard Aug 2019