Feed Students Properly

Rishi Ram Paudyal

Lives of school students, especially teenagers, are not that easy when they don’t get enough to eat during lunch time. Since these people are growing fast, they are more likely to get hungry earlier than adults and if their hunger is not satisfied, it triggers negative effects on several areas.

The adverse health impact of COVID-19 and the ailing economy have made life of every individual tougher. Due to recession, time seems to have gone by when some family members could simply stay home unemployed and they could be fed and provided by one or two other members who had jobs. 

It appears time has now come even here in Nepal where a married couple should both work to survive and support their family. It has adversarial effects on their children when the couple can’t give enough time and attention. The children that are deprived of parental love and care display behavioural and psychological symptoms at school.

To illustrate, let’s say Ghambhir Man is in secondary education. His guardians have made some provision that he should get his lunch from the school canteen. 

They are cautious that they should not give him cash lest he might not eat his lunch and spend it on other things. Further, they don’t want him to lose their hard-earned money. With good intention, both the parents agree that there shouldn’t be a penny in his pocket.

However, when the bell rings for lunch break, it is not a joy of bell for Gambhir Man. He becomes agitated, frustrated, and confused. 

He didn’t eat his morning meal properly. His mother had to leave home early to go to her job and his father was always busy as a businessman. He had to serve food for himself and leave for school alone without having anyone in the family to say ‘goodbye’ and ‘see you after school’. 

Gambhir Man is not a boy of big appetite but because he ate so poorly so long back, he is desperately hungry. He knows the food he is going to get from the canteen will be too little to satisfy his hunger. If he had money in his pocket, he could buy some biscuits and other stuff from the canteen itself or even request the gatekeeper to go and purchase some food for him. 

But this is an option impossible. He’s so angry with his mother, so angry with his father, and so hungry that he ‘could eat a horse’. This tumultuous situation is thus displayed in his behavour.

He steals his friends’ food. When they resist or oppose to give him, he either spills their food or says something like “Your mother has already died. Your father is so poor. 

And you’re an adopted son.” This does not satisfy his anger when he sees his friends being happy and enjoying their break time and lunch. 

He targets a certain student in his fury and sprinkles his “jutho paani” (i.e. the water that he had already drunk from) all over the body, bag and books saying, “I’m doing this so that your heart may have peace!”

Would every parent care for reading this article? Would they give enough time and attention to their “beloved” children? Most importantly, would they give their children enough food to eat?