Why School Feeding means so much to Armita and her friends

Armita, a 4th grader refugee student in Sarvestan settlement has been attending school virtually, using her father’s cell phone to connect with the class since April 2020 when schools had to shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I miss school, and I miss my friends” she says “but I am happy that at least I am learning, and I am so happy that I am receiving the snacks too. I remember our teacher said we were going to get school snacks after Norouz and when schools closed because of COVID-19 we were sad that we wouldn’t get our milk and biscuits. They’re very tasty and I eat them every day so that I am strong and can learn better while I’m studying.”

Interviews with schoolchildren in 2019 indicated that many of them only had tea and sugar and a piece of bread for breakfast. WFP launched its school snacks programme in 2020 to ensure school children received milk, high energy biscuits, date bars and nuts every day. With the unexpected school closure, WFP shifted this assistance to home schooling snacks to make sure that schoolchildren are not deprived of this nutritious meal during the pandemic.

Armita is one of the 7,800 school children benefitting from this new initiative. She is a straight A student who wants to become a teacher when she grows up. Thanks to the generous contribution from our donors, boys and girls like Armita and her schoolmates can receive the extra support at a time when needs are greater than ever before.