On December 3rd, our colleagues in Malawi held a year-end meeting with our rural nursery partners known as CBCCs. The meeting agenda focused on 4 x main topics:
– COVID-19
– Hygiene
– Record-Keeping
– Cooperation

1. COVID-19

We discussed the effects of COVID-19 on the feeding programme in place at rural nurseries. At the meeting we emphasised the continued need for prevention measures and encouraged mask-wearing & social distancing among all volunteers & staff involved in feeding.

2. Hygiene

This topic covered both personal hygiene as well as kitchen hygiene. We discussed what measures were required to ensure a meal was served in a clean, safe environment. We also spoke of the importance of personal hygiene, beginning with the children washing their hands before & after their meal, as well as after visiting the toilet, etc. Emphasis was also placed on the need for kitchen and storage areas to be kept clean & tidy.

3. Record-Keeping

We reminded the Nursery Directors once more of the importance of using the school register and updating the food stock book. Seibo encourage daily attendance taking and also daily updating of flour used and balance remaining.

4. Cooperation

At the meeting we discussed how both parties could better work together. We heard from the nursery teachers of their challenges. They range from having to teach children the basics once again, to having to visit homes to encourage parents to send their children back to school and issues related to school committee members requesting teachers share any prizes they personally won in Seibo’s caregiver competition.

We used the meeting as an opportunity to further clarify to all participants that the competition was put in place to motivate caregiver volunteers to do a good job, and to introduce the winners for 2021, for which we will post details in a separate article.