It is 9:30 am at the Child Friendly Space in District 1 of the Abala refugee camp. The children are already starting to leave the classroom, their thoughts already far from the mornings activities, they are already at the food distribution centre about 30 metres away in spirit if not in body.
In small groups, they head towards the food distribution centre, the smallest holding each other’s hands. Some trot along, keen to be the first to arrive! Women welcome them to the centre and try desperately to get the children to sit patiently on the plastic mat: “you sit here… stay there, stop moving!” is a frequent cry heard coming from the food distribution centre. It is here that they must wait for their daily ration of what can only be described as nutritionally rich, gruel.
In the kitchen, three women are in charge of preparing the meal, putting the final touches to the gruel made of supercereals that are nutritionally rich. The women fill up the beakers, one after the other, with an expert hand, with the yellowish mixture, that the children affectionately refer to as “Bitamam”.
The women head towards the children, ever more impatient: “over here!” they shout, clicking their fingers and standing on tiptoes or for the youngest, simply bursting into tears, desperate to be seen and served. Once the dinner lady has been round about 10 times, things start to calm down! All of the children sip calmly on their gruel, some use spoons others hold the bowl up to their mouths to really get the most out of their bitamam and get the very last drop.
Some mothers accompany their children to the food distribution centre for these very particular meal times. They are happy because the children are no longer hungry, always asking for food. Fatimat, a young mum at 32 years old accompanies her three children, among who figures, Matoulaye, 11 months old. “At the beginning, the children didn’t want to come. Now it’s them who remind me that it’s time to eat! Once they arrive at the distribution centre they are all pushing and shoving each other to be the first to be served. Even my little girl Matoulaye has some of the gruel,” explains a smiling and satisfied Fatimat.
Aguiziri is an old woman at 65 years old. She has come to the distribution centre with her three grandchildren. “They won’t leave me alone. As soon as they realize that it’s time for their gruel I can’t stay at the house. I happily take them and then I bring them home afterwards,” she told us, proudly.
More than simply providing the children with a nutritious meal, the mothers learn about nutrition and how to nourish their children thanks to the awareness raising campaigns.
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2,072 children aged between 6 and 59 months living in the Abala refugee camp benefit from this programme of food distribution put in place by the World Food Programme, UNHCR, UNICEF and ACTED. Four distribution centres have been created in different districts of the camp and as well as a communual centre. The first serving of the gruel was dished up on 31st December 2012 following the training of women involved in the preparation of this food supplement for children.
Everyday this activity mobilizes 150 women as 30 women per district for three daily meals need to be prepared. Each woman implicated in this activity receives a daily payment of 1.50euros. A monthly screening of children will shortly begin in the centres in order to reduce the rate of child malnutrition. The most serious cases of malnutrition will be referred to the nearest health centre and will be taken on by the MSF FR team. An awareness raising campaign will also target women and young girls in the community so that they are aware of the importance of good nutritional practices.