Quick Facts: Dawe and Saplad Elementary School
Combined Number of Students :	203 students as of May 2022 (Dawe: 107 Students, Saplad: 176 students)
Location:	Dawe, Minalin Municipality, Pampanga Province and Saplad, Minalin Municipality, Pampanga Province
Under what HBI project:	Mission: Good Nutrition Adopt-a-School Project
Duration of Project:	One (1) Year
Partner in Service	Project Funder

 

In the Philippines, households headed by fisherfolks are found to be the most vulnerable to food inadequacies. A day of no catch means that fisherfolks are not only unable to earn money but are also unable to put food on the table. As a result, the recent data released by the Philippines’ Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) reveals that in the 64% of Philippine households exhibiting food insecurities as of 2019, a huge proportion of households experiencing involuntary hunger and food insecurity are fishermen’s families.

A 2018 peer-reviewed study of the nutritional status of Philippine children ages 0 to 10 years old supports this finding as it found out that the children of fishermen had higher prevalence of undernourishment, stunting, and wasting (at 29.4%) compared to the overall prevalence among young children in the Philippines (at 22.5%). Children in households headed by fisherfolks also faired poorer compared to children in farming households (28%), and children of forestry workers (29%). Common and preventable illnesses in coastal rural areas such as colds and cough, diarrhea, intestinal parasites, and asthma also affect the children’s growth and nutritional status, which in turn affects their schooling and their education.

For the people of Dawe and Saplad Island Communities in Minalin, Pampanga, these statistics are more than just numbers – they are pervasive daily realities. As such, the Mission: Good Nutrition Development Project funded by the Fondation du Group Pictet aims to not only eradicate malnourishment among children below 13 years old, it also aims to introduce sustainable food security facilities in the schools and communities.

Here’s a look at the Dawe and Saplad Mission: Good Nutrition Adopt-a-School Project: