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Tag: qali warma

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In the readings I have sifted through and in the conversations I have had, corruption is nearly always mentioned as a key problem in Peruvian government. I'm told it's hard to get things done because the money that is allotted for various uses gets siphoned, sometimes every time it changes hands. (I have no hard proof for this, but it shows at the very least how little faith there is in the government.)

Changing Qali Warma would necessitate changing who has responsibility for the program's money, which poses problems. How do you vet people at different levels of government or in the public? Having a strong accounting system with a high level of transparency is both difficult to achieve and highly necessary.

Corruption also damages confianza (trust, fraternity); in an environment where corruption is always expected, people who show passion for a particular project are looked at askance. What is their interest in the project? Do they have the power to mishandle or appropriate money? People with genuine intentions have been minimized in their places of work because of this fear.

Confianza is a very important word in Peru: if there is no confianza, there will be few advances, as each player will constantly be looking over his/her shoulder. Communities receiving the benefits of new or changed programs need confianza in the government or organization affecting the changes, need to know that intentions are pure.

Qali Warma is in a unique position to change how people feel about the government as a whole: if Qali Warma can provide a stellar, safe service, it would be a potent message to the public: there are good people in government who care about you and your children.

For information about solutions to corruption in public procurement, read Transparency International's Manual:

Found at:
https://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/publication/curbing_corruption_in_public_procurement_a_practical_guide

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A quick aside: In the past couple of weeks, there was a story going around that a student in the department of La Libertad had died after eating food provided by Qali Warma. This, understandably, freaked out a lot of people.

It turns out that the student died for reasons not connected to her school meal - but I wonder about the damage done regardless. The retraction is always less of a story than the splashy headline that precedes it.

https://www.expreso.com.pe/actualidad/muerte-de-menor-no-fue-por-alimentos-de-qali-warma/

Qali Warma has had problems with food safety in the past, sometimes on a scale of hundreds of students, but it's important to sift the fact from the fiction.

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The accepted definition of food security was established in 1996 at the World Food Summit: "Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life." (Source: FAO, "An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food Security.")

The part of this definition that I want to stress is that of food preferences - that people be given the food that they are familiar with and would choose of their own volition.

For Peru and Qali Warma, this means that the food provided has to be palatable enough for children to actually eat it.

So yes, the pickiness of young children does have to be entertained, to some extent. However, there are other considerations: there's a sizable population in Peru that cannot eat or drink dairy, a major problem considering how much milk is incorporated into Qali Warma. The indigenous peoples of the Amazon are lactose intolerant, meaning that for them, Qali Warma's food is not safe, nor is it aligned with their dietary needs or food preferences. And yet, the program spends a lot of money sending milk to the Amazon; I've been told stories of deliveries of milk being left on the side of a river to spoil, as no one wanted to collect it, stories of food meant for schools being fed to pigs and chickens.

Street art in the city of Puerto Maldonado, Peru that I took several years ago.

It's important to remember that some children aren't being difficult because they've never liked milk; some children have to make the decision to refuse the food provided to them (and potentially stay hungry at school).

It's also important to remember that Qali Warma is doing the best that it can - and is striving to do better.

In the following posts, I will show how different programs could better contribute to food security, adapting to local food practices.

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Peru has several food procurement programs that are meant to keep the baseline of poverty at an acceptable minimum; the one in charge of school meals is called Qali Warma (which translates to 'strong child' from the Quechua language). Qali Warma provides meals to schoolchildren in kindergartens and primary schools throughout Peru, and in the Amazon, all children in public schools receive meals.

This program is based around predetermined menus, which have been formulated by nutritionists; everyone on a national level prepares more or less the same meals. These meals often revolve around a milky drink with cereals in it (such as oatmeal, maca, or quinoa), bread, and crackers/cookies. There aren't many vegetables or fruits incorporated into the program, and much of the food has a very long shelf life; additionally, in some places, the milk is powdered or canned milk, which some students do not enjoy - and you can't blame them, as anyone who has had powdered milk will attest.

Common supplies for the preparation of school breakfasts.

I can find flaws in Qali Warma - but I remind myself that the presence of the program is something that can be built upon, and that not having Qali Warma could have truly negative repercussions. However, the government strives to improve its program as well as it can, by working to ensure that the food arrives at the schools safely (without spoiling), and by doing what it can to promote healthy food. For example, there was a directive in 2015 to drastically increase the amount of quinoa in the program, by 85 percent.

For more information on this program, there is a reader-friendly summary of the program and a case study in this report by Health Poverty Action.