Education is the right of every child, no matter where they are.
But poverty is putting barriers in the way of learning for the children of the Talang Mamak indigenous community in Sumatra. School attendance rates are low, and the children are often too hungry to focus on study.
This school food program encourages children to attend school. With nourishing meals to feed hungry bellies and minds, these students are set up for success.
This means happier, healthier students, fuller classrooms and brighter futures!
This initiative doesn’t only provide access to food and education. It opens doors - doors to better future opportunities. With higher paid jobs, these children can go on to lift themselves and their community out of poverty for good.
What’s more, this project creates job opportunities for the community too. With food sourced from local farmers and local people employed to buy, cook, and serve the food, the school food program brings benefits to the whole community.
Donate to our school food program today to help the children of Simerantihan Far Class Elementary School reach for the stars.
More about the Talang Mamak community
The Talang Mamak is a non-nomadic Indigenous community of about 8,000 people. They have lived in the Bukit Tigapuluh ecosystem in Sumatra for centuries. This dry lowland forest area is a rich and unique ecosystem with high biodiversity.
The Talang Mamak are a hunting and gathering society, relying on the forest for food, shelter, fuel and medicine. Small-scale farming and sourcing of non-timber products to trade and sell is integral to their livelihoods.
How the School Food Program protects forests
Due to poverty, some members of the local community take part in illegal activities for immediate income. Activities like logging or wildlife trade - contributing to the deforestation and extinction crises.
Better future job opportunities for the children and forest-friendly employment for the local community will provide sustainable long-term income. This will reduce the need to engage in harmful activities, protecting the forests and all the people and wildlife who depend on them.
