There’s a lot of activity in and outside the walls of Lweyeye School in the Democratic Republic of the Congo this morning. As students sit at their desks and enthusiastically raise their hands to answer the morning’s questions, school staff are busy outside picking fresh vegetables from the school garden and beginning to prepare the meal that will be served at lunch today.

The smells of savory porridge and cooking peas, eggplant and sweet potato greens waft through the open windows, signaling to the classroom that a filling meal is just around the corner.

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) investments delivered by the World Food Programme (WFP) are supporting school meal programmes like this one to reach the country’s most vulnerable girls and boys. This initiative is part of ECW’s Multi-Year Resilience Programme. The Programme is implemented by UNICEF, in collaboration with the Government and provincial education authorities, and other key implementing partners – including WFP and other local partners.

The Programme takes a cross-cutting approach to support a holistic and inclusive education system. For children like Noela, Muna and Jean, this means receiving a nutritious hot meal that keeps them in school and helps them to continue to grow, learn and thrive.

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