“I was always missing school because I kept falling sick and my appetite was very low,” Vincent recalls when he was asked about his past health condition. “I desired to play with my friends but each time I wanted to, I was either too sick or too weak and that made me really sad.”

Vincent is one of the number of children spotted out for having Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) following a survey carried out in the primary schools of Yelulu and Kiridoaku. As his condition got worse, his desire to be in school frequently continued to fade until he was put on the school feeding project.

“I am more energetic and I feel much stronger. I love football and I am always playing with my friends after school.” When asked about stomach pains and missing school, Vincent confidently answers with no. “I go to school every day. I don’t feel sick anymore so there’s no need for me to miss school.”

We wanted to verify what Vincent was telling us so we drove with him home to speak to his parents and hear from them about their elaborate thoughts on the project.

“There’s a big change in my son’s health. I couldn’t even imagine he would look this handsome.” his father says in between laughter. “Vincent desires to be a doctor and I kept wondering how he was going to achieve that dream with him missing so much in school. But I am glad today he is always in school and is performing very well. He has been able to catch up with his friends and I am glad to see that he enjoys learning. He has definitely gained weight and is much stronger which makes me very happy as his father.”

“My son has improved so much in his health and I am glad I don’t have to worry about him missing school anymore. He was always complaining of stomach pains but we haven’t heard those complaints in a while. It brings me joy to see him healthy,” his mother adds.

They attribute their son’s improvement to the school feeding project which continues to provide him with supplements that have enabled him recover from a state of worry to the strong healthy boy he is now growing into.

Vincent is a refugee but his family believes that its not ground enough to stop their son from achieving his dream.  We believe the same too and we are glad that through this project, Vincent’s learning capacity has been built to enable him grasp the foundational knowledge in class he needs that will eventually see him emerge in future as Doctor Vincent Roman.