Poverty in Djarkpanga
More than 80% of the rural population of Togo live under the global poverty line. This is certainly the case in the Djarkpanga region, where greater than 15% of this population are officially classed as undernourished. This situation has improved in recent times as global charities have worked amongst the local communities to address some of the food poverty needs directly. There are still many families in local communities where this aid hasn’t yet reached. Challenging climatic conditions, affecting the ability of the local population to grow their own food, continue to dominate the lives of families. Malnutrition and starvation are still real factors affecting families in the region today. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been to exacerbate the issues and bring food poverty to the top of the agenda.
Within education, from Primary aged children through to sixth-form, there is no provision for food to be provided in school in the Djarkpanga region of Togo. There is a National School Feeding Programme, but this reaches only some 90,000 children across 300 schools. The diaspora felt previously that the local Government was planning to make provisions for food during the school day but this hasn’t materialised. This causes real hardship for many families in the region, who do not have the money to fully feed their families and hence don’t send their children to school. Where children do go to school they need to have either food or some money to buy food during the school day. The poorest families aren’t able to give their children some food to take with them to eat during the school day. If the school were able to provide a meal during the day this would make a life-changing difference to these vulnerable families.
The estimated cost for food for all Djarkpanga school-age children is in the region of £10,000 to £12,000 per year. This has been calculated based on the number of children (approx. 2,800) and the cost of food in the green boxes below. This is typically porridge (specifically for the children), rice, spaghetti, tomatoes, and oil; a very basic diet, but meeting the needs of feeding hungry families.
Typically, the approximate annual cost to make porridge for a group of 42 children is:
- 13 Bags of Corn (100kg) costs £50 (correct as at May 2022)
To provide basic food for families a year, the approximate costs are:
- 20 Bags of Rice (50kg) costs £508
- 10 Cartons of Tomatoes cost £1,540
- 25 Packs of Spaghetti costs £198
- 25 Cartons of Oil costs £375
Total £2,621 (correct as at May 2022)
