228 Community Food Security
Junior Farmer Field School for AIDS orphans
In Mozambique, as
in much of Africa,
thousands of children
are orphaned because
their parents died of
AIDS. Children orphaned
in rural areas are
especially at risk
for malnutrition,
disease, abuse, and
sexual exploitation.
After the deaths of their
parents, many children
become heads of the
household and have to
search for ways to earn money,
a difficult task in rural areas with few job opportunities. Although they
are from farm families, many of these children cannot farm because their
parents were too ill to pass on their knowledge before dying.
With the help of the United Nations World Food Program and the Food
and Agriculture Organization, Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools were
begun to care for the growing numbers of AIDS orphans. In these schools,
youth between 12 and 18 years old live and work together, and learn about
farming, nutrition, medicinal plants, and life skills.
The young people learn traditional and modern farming methods,
including field preparation, sowing and transplanting, weeding, irrigation,
pest control, use and conservation of resources, processing of food crops,
harvesting, and food storage and marketing skills. Dancing and singing help
them gain confidence and develop social skills. Theater and discussion groups
are used to talk about other important life skills, such as the prevention of
HIV and malaria, gender equality, and children’s rights.
There are now 28 Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools in Mozambique
and there are more in Kenya, Namibia, Zambia, Swaziland, and Tanzania.
Thousands of orphans have been trained as farmers. After graduating, the
children go on to start their own small farms with money earned from selling
their crops. One school worker says, “When we started these schools, the
children had no future. Most of them wanted to grow up to be truck drivers,
because it was the only option they saw. Now they want to be teachers,
agronomists, farmers, and engineers.”
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012