With these efforts and continued community involvement to the degree shown in the gardening training, NSI will be on track to help substantially reduce school hunger in children in Bui Division in Cameroon and increase school attendance and outcomes for the poorest communities.
NSI staff surveying 92 schools for the establishment of FFE/ALIGN school gardens in Bui Division broke ground in early April. Field agents led best-practices agriculture training for over 500 local women and men committed to volunteering time and labor to help their children receive hot meals in schools by tending community school gardens. Before the training sessions, expressed concerns about the local obstacles to food production such as: degraded soils, pest animals, access to water, lack of fertilizer and limited crop options. NSI staff discussed possible solutions with them and offered training in various ameliorative strategies.