For three years, the World Food Programme (WFP) has donated rice and canned fish to students at Phoum Stung Primary School as a means for providing food security and increasing school enrollment. Twenty-two kilograms of rice is cooked each morning and served to over 70 students before the start of 7am classes. Although fire pits had been built on school grounds, they were unprotected and as a result, were unusable in the rainy months of the year. During this season, the cooks, a young woman and her grandmother, prepared the rice at their home and then carted it 1 km to school. It was not uncommon for the food to arrive late, resulting in delayed classes.

To improve the efficiency of the feeding program and the timeliness of classes, SCC funded the construction of an enclosure around the fire pits.  SCC funding covered the costs of metal sheeting, nails and wood, while the Phoum Stung Community contributed bamboo and labor.  Finished in mid-December, the kitchen now provides a dry place for the cooks to provide better-timed meals to students.

Unprotected Phoum Stung fire pits:                                                             The Parent Teacher Association builds the kitchen:

The finished kitchen:

Phoum Stung students enjoy a morning meal before the start of classes: