The First Five Years

Opened in India, 2006
A little over five years ago, the doors opened to TPRF’s first Food for People facility, located in a tribal area of northeast India in the state of Jharkhand, near the village of Bantoli.

Children here grow up with firsthand understanding of the daily struggle to stay alive. Simple huts with dirt floors provide basic shelter, and food must be coaxed from rocky soil or purchased with the money from hard manual labor. Plumbing and electricity in the homes is unknown. For many children, going to school is a luxury they cannot afford, while others who attend classes when they can, often do so sporadically and on an empty stomach.

One may well ask, what could ever turn this situation around? What could bring even a glimmer of hope for a better life, allow children to experience childhood and learn the skills they could use in the future while making daily life in the present a little easier?

 Prem Rawat’s innovative vision for the Food for People model is simple:

• Provide a daily nutritious meal in the local cuisine for children and ailing adults
• Design the program with community leaders and adjust it to changing needs
• Include hygiene education to help stem the spread of disease
• Expose children to the broader world through educational TV
• Hire local villagers to help run the facility
• Grow and purchase food locally
• Provide education in more productive agricultural methods

Within five years an amazing story has unfolded:

• Once-undernourished children are seen skipping to FFP with smiles and giggles before heading off to school
• Adults have regained health and are working productively
• School enrollment and attendance has grown dramatically
• Teachers are thrilled that students are capable of listening and learning
• Young students are envisioning how they could help their villages by continuing on in school to learn new skills
• A sense of shared pride and hope is building in the community

Take a visual tour of Food for People Bantoli

Opened in Nepal, 2009
News of the success of FFP in India reached people in Nepal who were concerned about the failure of most efforts to increase literacy amongst the neediest of people. In 2009, the second Food for People facility opened in the Dhading District of Nepal, in the rugged mountains above Katmandu.  Soon, over 500 students from Tsarpu and neighboring villages were coming for daily meals and then going on to school.

From the beginning, this program attracted the attention of reporters as well as officials of local government and social agencies. Initial skepticism was soon replaced by amazement and interest. Children whose school attendance had been sporadic or non-existent were attending classes regularly. The health of the community was improving. Families were able to remain at home instead of roving around seasonally in search of work.

After one year, the elementary school principal reported that school attendance had climbed from 40% to 94%; enrollment had more than doubled; and the dropout rate had fallen to less than 5%.

After two years, it has become necessary to add a secondary school to the area school system, one grade at a time. The opportunity to learn is being embraced. Children and teenagers alike are actively engaging in the chance to learn and to be in the position to choose their future paths.

More than one journalist has posed the questions, “Could this model be duplicated throughout the country? What would it take?”

What was the secret? One guarantee that so many can take for granted was provided – a nutritious daily meal. Amazingly, it is enough. With that one stable factor, the shift out of relentless poverty begins. Food, clean water, and hygiene provide the boost for even the poorest and least educated to begin improving their lives.

Take a visual tour of Food for People Nepal

Opening Soon in Ghana
In the small town of Otinibi on the outskirts of Accra, people are abuzz with an unexpected happening. In a ceremony called a Durbar, students, parents, teachers and tribal leaders gathered to celebrate the upcoming construction of a Food for People facility near their school. Excitement has been building as people witness the foundation being laid and walls going up. As word has spread, members of the community have been eager to give their time and energy to help however they can.

School attendance is already on the rise. Menus are being planned, and students from nearby villages are being invited for daily meals once the facility opens. Parents are dreaming of the time when more of their children can go to school and be assured of daily nutrition. Hope sparks dreams of new possibilities.

The facility is expected to open in February 2012.

Take a visual tour of Otinibi

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