GENKIプログラム対象校学年の終了、家庭訪問調査と問題点改善　
【2015年11月の活動報告】

ユーグレナGENKIプログラムとは？

Introduction

November is the end of the school year. We conducted home visits and worked to improve problems during school visits for the nutrition improvement survey of the GENKI program.

1. End of grade

Photo-1 School class partyPhoto-1 School class party

In Bangladesh, the school year ends at the end of November. Therefore, a class party, which is like a farewell party, is held. In addition, Bangladesh's elementary school is a five-year system, and the graduation exam will start on November 22nd. During this period, the attendance rate also increased, and distribution was successful in November (about 130,000 meals). However, December and January will be closed for about two weeks due to admission procedures and preparations for admission, and distribution will be suspended during this period.


2. Home visit survey

The GENKI program plans to conduct blood tests on children in the future to check the status of nutritional improvement. In particular, anemia is a serious problem for children, and this point is a priority survey item.
The subjects of this test are 100 eaters and 100 non-feeders of [OBAT Helper School] [Sathi Somaj Kollan Shomoti School]. For this reason, we make home visits in advance to check the living conditions of children. Their dwellings are very small and they eat in one room, where they also sleep and study. The toilet and kitchen are also in the same place. The area of the room is about 3 tsubo and the rent is about 5,000 to 7,000 yen. Compared to the area per unit, the rent is higher than that of an apartment in Dhaka, so living is not easy. The average monthly income is about 25,000 to 30,000 yen even for both husband and wife.

  • Photo-2 Visiting a housePhoto-2 Visiting a house
  • Photo-3 Inside the homePhoto-3 Inside the home

3. School visit & problem finding

Not all schools and NGOs do, but some schools suddenly close on weekdays. We cannot distribute cookies properly because we have not contacted our office, and we consider this as one of the problems. Photo-4 is when the front door was closed when I visited a school. I have told the principal and NGOs to contact me in advance if I am going to close the school, but the current situation is that I cannot do it thoroughly. In spite of this, we continue to visit the school twice a week.
Photos 5 and 6 show the World Food Program (United Nations agency) cookies being thrown away. This was discovered when I visited another school. Fortunately, the GENKI program makes it a rule for children to eat in the classroom and we collect the bags so they will not be thrown away outdoors.

  • Photo-4 School closedPhoto-4 School closed
  • Photo-5 WFP cookiesPhoto-5 WFP cookies
  • Photo-6 WFP cookie bagPhoto-6 WFP cookie bag

4. Consultation from other NGO schools

Meeting of Ahsaniya MissionMeeting of Ahsaniya Mission

About two years have passed since the implementation of the GENKI program, and many NGO teachers and officers have requested that this program be introduced to our school. We also received a request from the Ahsaniya Mission School, which is run by an NGO that we had no relationship with. The number of children is about 1,000. This school is located near the target schools of the GENKI program and is listed as a new destination for consideration depending on the budget for next year.


5. Summary

Blood tests and other physical examinations will be conducted during this term. In the future, we are considering expanding the distribution target area from the slums in urban areas to rural areas from the next fiscal year onward. We look forward to your continued support and cooperation.

Euglena Co., Ltd.
Bangladesh Office Director
Mohammed Akerzaman