The Inspiring Evolution of the Porridge Program

EarlyBird256’s Porridge Program combats hunger in the classroom and is one of our founding programs. It’s the perfect way for us to begin empowering a community and have an immediate impact on the lives of its residents. Many students in Uganda and surrounding countries are learning on empty stomachs, and some have no food in their homes at all. In the case of girls, many are married off at a young age simply because the parents cannot afford to feed them. By providing free breakfast, we give students an added reason to stay in school, and we take a huge burden off their families. A cup of porridge really goes a long way.

EarlyBird started the Porridge Program at Rev. Nayenga Primary School, in Kampala, Uganda. The school is government-funded and receives $2 per student, per term. For food at school, students can bring in maize from their gardens, but they must pay a milling fee in order to receive lunch. If students can’t provide the milling fees, they learn on empty stomachs. As we looked into ways of covering the milling fees for the school, we discovered that the school barely had a kitchen. Even if EarlyBird could cover the milling fees, the kitchen staff wouldn’t be able to handle the extra meals. This challenge led to EarlyBird’s virtual 5k, which raised enough funds for us to renovate the kitchen to good working order and get the Porridge Program started.

EarlyBird quickly accomplished its first goal of keeping the kids from going hungry during lessons, but after running the Porridge Program for a few months, we started to notice the greater impact it was having. Students were arriving early and sometimes bringing friends, which was a huge encouragement to the teachers. The teachers realized that if EarlyBird could also provide lunch, they could actually increase the hours of the tutoring. At the beginning of 2021, we added lunch to the program and the students started coming in as early as 6:30 a.m., with the teachers coming in as early as 7 a.m. and finishing at 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The success and evolution of the Porridge Program completely captures the essence of what EarlyBird256 is trying to accomplish. By giving children the opportunity to learn, grow, and express themselves without unfair burdens dragging them down, we create a foundation for these communities, its residents, and their local business to not only be self-sufficient, but thrive.