Malnutrition among children in Uganda is at a crisis level. More than half of children under 5 suffer from under-nourishment.

At the Kabalagala Community School, we’re empowering students so they never have to go hungry. Our children live in a crowded, urban slum so it’s important they learn to farm in whatever little space they have. At the school garden, the planted vegetables include cabbage, eggplant, and sukuma wiki (collard greens similar to kale), which grow well in limited space, produce regular crops, and provide a great source of vitamins. Students are taught to grow vegetables in sacks, tins, old basins and jerry cans.

This work not only provides additional vegetables at low cost for our school meals but enables children to take home seedlings to grow to supplement their families’ meals. Over the past school term, we harvested cabbages and sukuma wiki most weeks and the children have enjoyed preparing and eating them for their lunch. So far, students in 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th grade have taken seedlings home and they are reporting back each week as part of their agriculture lessons.