Sabina's school garden grows vegetables and hope

Sabina breaks into a smile as she recounts the first time spinach was served at school.

When my classmates and I saw that vegetables were being grown in the school garden, we were completely amazed. I had never seen cabbage or onions growing in this area before, and it was the first time I had eaten spinach at school.

Climate change makes farming more difficult

Eating vegetables is not a given for children in the remote village of Korr in northern Kenya. Climate change is clearly noticeable here, and the annual dry seasons are becoming longer. It is becoming more difficult to grow crops, and the lack of water is also causing livestock to die of dehydration. The food shortage is serious. In some parts of the country, one in three children may never reach the age of five.

Against all odds, the school garden is growing

But in the middle of this arid landscape, a school garden is now thriving at Amalio Primary School in Korr. As part of Erikshjälpen's long-term work in northern Kenya, students are learning about nutrition. They are also learning about cultivation techniques that make it possible to grow crops despite the drought. The vegetables they grow are then used in school lunches, providing the children with important nutrients.

"At school, we've learned about vegetables that are full of vitamins. And now I can see them growing!" says Sabina.

The school garden gives hope for the future

For Sabina, the school garden has become more than just a school garden. It has become a place where vegetables are grown for school lunches and hope for the future is cultivated.

– Now I know that vegetables help us to be strong and healthy.

Now she dreams of one day working as a teacher and teaching sustainable farming to children and young people – and in many ways, that dream has already taken off.

"I want to start growing things at home, even though it's very dry. But I'm going to show my mom how to grow cabbage in a bag without using so much water," says Sabina.