Jessica Watson supports school meals program in Laos

9 September 2011

Category

Development

VIENTIANE, 9 September 2011

Record-breaking sailor and Young Australian of the Year Jessica Watson announced her support for the AusAID-funded United Nations World Food Programme's (WFP) School Meals Programme in Laos, in her role as a Youth Representative for WFP.

In May last year, at the age of 16, Jessica became the youngest person to sail around the world non-stop and unassisted. She has just returned from a very different journey to Laos to visit primary schools assisted by the School Meals Programme.

In partnership with the Lao Government, the WFP-assisted School Meals Programme is implemented in 1,500 schools and supports close to 400,000 people, including more than 150,000 pre-primary and primary school children and their families.

Australia has supported the WFP since 1963 and through AusAID is also a contributor to the School Meals Programme in Laos.

'We are grateful that Jessica, a sailor who has conquered the world's oceans, has chosen to support the school children of a land-locked, mountainous country,' said Eri Kudo, WFP Representative for Laos.

'Through her journey, Jessica has shown that dreams can become a reality if pursued with hard work and determination, and we welcome her support to help children here in Laos achieve their dreams of getting an education.'

For Jessica the decision to support Laos was simple.

'As Youth Representative for WFP, I wanted to be involved with programs that directly improve the lives of children, and WFP's School Meals Programme does just that–it keeps more children in school for longer,' she said.

Poor rural children in Laos have little encouragement to complete even primary education. Girls in particular are often expected to bear a heavy workload at home, care for younger siblings and work in the fields. The cost of sending children to school, particularly girls, is high for poor households and education is given low priority. School meals have been shown to be very effective in increasing enrolment and attendance rates in assisted schools, and more children come to school every year in Laos thanks to the program.

WFP provides a vitamin and mineral fortified snack to primary school children to alleviate short-term hunger and improve concentration at school. The snack also counteracts micro-nutrient deficiencies that are common in rural areas. In addition, students receive take-home family rations as an incentive for parents to send them to school. Children who live too far from school to walk there every day receive extra food rations to support them in their boarding houses.

During her week-long stay in Laos, Jessica visited schools and communities in the Saravan Province. She was welcomed by village elders, met and played with the school children, took part in meal preparation at the schools and even presented a show-and-tell of her ocean voyage to the school children.

'The opportunity to meet and talk to the people of Ban Nabone and Ban Na villages has really opened my eyes to the food shortages affecting children in the region.'

Jessica also met with AusAID officials Alexander Marks, Julie Hudson and Sarah Barns, as well as the Australia Ambassador to Laos, Ms Lynda Worthaisong, to learn about what the Australian Government is doing in the country. At a press conference following the tour Jessica recognised the work that AusAID and the Australian Government has been doing in supporting the programs in Laos, saying that it made her proud to be an Australian.

Jessica also met and shared experiences with Australian Volunteers for International Development working in eco-tourism, watershed management, education, and media and communications in Laos.

Jessica will head home to Australia armed and charged to make a difference in these children's lives. Jessica will raise awareness and funds for the school meals program, encouraging people in Australia to join her in the fight against child hunger by adding their name on her WFP webpage. Jessica has also named WFP as the official charity partner of her Sydney to Hobart race campaign and is planning a fund-raising event for World Food Day on October 14.