School Canteen La Mennais

The La Mennais School Complex in Ogaro, with its 617 students (2023–2024), is one of the main primary education institutions in the prefecture of Kpendjal Ouest, in the Savanes region. This region, with an average annual per capita income of about USD 350, is the poorest and least developed in the country.

Project origins

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 4, among the 17 goals introduced under the United Nations 2030 Agenda, “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all,” aims to guarantee by 2030 free and complete primary and secondary education, as well as equitable and quality training for all children, youth, and adults, particularly the most marginalized and vulnerable. In parallel, Goal number 2 seeks to “end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.”

The strong synergy between these two goals lies in the fact that malnutrition, by severely impacting the health of those affected, also negatively influences their learning outcomes and school attendance.

In Togo, the nutritional issue has led the government over time to implement various initiatives in support of schoolchildren: 2002–2006 UNICEF Basic Education Program (EDB); 2006–2008 Integrated Rural Development Project in the Savanes region (PDRIS); 2008–2016 Community Development and Social Safety Nets Project (PDC-Plus); and since 2017, the Nets and Basic Services Project (FSB) has been in place.

Despite efforts to establish school canteens and progress in the agricultural sector, in 2013, 28% of children under the age of five suffered from “chronic malnutrition,” of which 10% were in the “severe form” (EDSIII, 2013–2014).

More than twenty years after the launch of the school feeding program, access to meals in schools located in poor areas remains a challenge. Faced with the need to address this issue, the government has remained open to partnerships aimed at “increasing access to regular school meals for children in the poorest communities of Togo, which in turn should improve attendance and retention in schools within targeted areas” (ANADEB, 2020).

Project Description

The La Mennais School Complex in Ogaro, with its 617 students (2023–2024), is one of the main primary education institutions in the prefecture of Kpendjal Ouest, in the Savanes region. With an average annual per capita income of about USD 350, this region is the poorest and least developed in the country. Like many other schools in the area, this institution lacks any form of sustainable school canteen service.

The “La Mennais School Canteen” project foresees the establishment of a canteen service combined with the acquisition of 10 hectares of land to be cultivated by the beneficiary community, ensuring sustainability through the supply of locally produced agricultural goods.

The specific objective of the initiative is to provide each student with a complete and balanced daily meal. At the same time, through the cultivation of community-owned land, the project’s impact will extend to the local economy and contribute to improving the overall nutritional conditions of the entire community.

The new service, aligned with the national strategic plan “Feuille de route Togo 2025” (FDR 2025), is based on close strategic and operational collaboration between the school’s teaching staff, the parents’ committee, and local municipal institutions. Under the supervision of the local partner DassiFem and the Humanitarian Association if…, these actors will be directly responsible for the management and sustainability of the project.

Expected and reached results

Thanks to the involvement and generous support of a donor, Filip Madalina Ioana, known artistically as “Mady Gio,” on March 25, 2024, in the presence of various institutional and traditional authorities, national media, students, and teaching staff—together with the active participation of the entire local and surrounding community—the official inauguration ceremony of the new La Mennais School Canteen service was held.

The success of this new initiative, characterized by the synergistic cooperation of different stakeholders, confirms the possibility of creating a sustainable and replicable model of structural, organizational, managerial, and educational service capable of generating large-scale impact.

The major current challenge, which will require the cooperation of all stakeholders involved in the project—particularly through rigorous monitoring by the Association itself and optimal management by the institution’s leadership—will be to ensure sustainability and proper ownership by the beneficiaries at the end of the planned 18-month support period.