Bolgatanga, June 15, GNA - Baptist Evangelistic International Ministries (EIM), Ghana has launched a six-month pilot feeding programme for basic schools in the Bolgatanga Municipality.

Mr. Kunt Goodwin, African Co-ordinator of the Ministry's Food Programme announced this in Bolgatanga.

He said his outfit was targeting the schools, which were not on the feeding programmes of World Food Programme and Catholic Relief Service Food for schools programme.

Mr. Goodwin said the programme has shipped into the country 82,728 bags of dehydrated food for the pilot programme. He said the success of the programme would enable his outfit to extend it to other parts of the country.

Miss Sylvia Samari, Upper East Regional Co-ordinator for School Health Programme (SHEP), commended the EIM for their timely food intervention and said some pupils go to school on empty stomachs during the lean seasons and the early part of the farming season. Miss Samari noted that, children when not well fed drop out of school, and called on parents to let their dropout wards return to school to take advantage of the food programme to continue their education.

Mr. Nicholas Nayembil, Acting Bolgatanga Municipal Director of Education assured the food donors that a mechanism would be put in place to ensure that the food benefit the pupils.

Mr. Nayembil appealed to PTA's, SMC and other stakeholders in education to take interest in the food package to enable the children derive maximum benefit in learning at school. 15 June 04