Each day when she wakes up, Precedence wonders whether there will be breakfast on the table. This is just one of the many heartbreaking challenges of her family’s multi-dimensional poverty. Kind friends like you are making a difference in her life—and in the lives of countless others, too.

Precedence lives in a Zambian village where lack of education severely hampers economic opportunity.  Far too often, her parents can’t meet the family’s basic food needs, and the effects of under-nutrition ripple out into every corner of her life … her health, her academic performance, and her prospects for the future.

Still, this 10th-grader dreams of attending college and traveling the world. And thanks to the generous partners and donors of Salesian Missions, her dreams are now within reach.

Precedence is fortunate to attend school at the Salesian-run Mornese Mission in Katongo village, where missionaries work hard to address the root causes of social and economic inequities so that youth and their families can achieve greater dignity and security. Education forms the foundation of this strategy; at the same time, many students struggle to stay in the classroom. Some are too hungry to focus; others drop out of school because their families need them to work and earn money.

“Without finishing their education, their life-long earning potential drops significantly,” explains Father Timothy Ploch, interim director of Salesian Missions. “Mornese Mission seeks to reverse this trend by using a multi-pronged, strategic approach.”

And it starts with providing meals for every student—something made possible with help from Feed My Starving Children, and your generous support of our Loaves and Fishes program.

Feed My Starving Children is a Christian nonprofit organization that works with global partners like Salesian Missions to deliver life-saving nourishment to youth who are hungry. They donate tons of high-energy rice-meals each year, and generous supporters like you help us ship them to countries and programs in need.

Today, Precedence and more than 200 of her fellow students enjoy a guaranteed school-based lunch three times each week. An additional 500 people in need throughout the community receive meals, too. Missionaries involved with the program report that school attendance and classroom participation noticeably improve on the days these meals are served—which demonstrates a strong link between nourishing food, and positive educational and social outcomes.

For her part, Precedence has gained much-needed weight and is more alert, energetic and focused when in the classroom. More importantly, she can imagine a future where she finishes high school and pursues higher education—which can serve as her passport to endless possibilities.

Learn more about our work in Zambia.

Our mission partners with other humanitarian organizations to provide much-needed food and supplies to impoverished children and families. What’s your mission?