Nutrition > Projects > Nutrition Education > Colors Campaign
Overall Objective:
To create an information network that expands knowledge and improves habits about nutrition and healthy, active lifestyles among elementary school students in Nicaragua.
HARD DATA
8
Nicaraguan municipalities
assisted
273
instructed
teachers
794
trained
parents
17
benefited
schools
4,075
children
benefited during 2015 through the Colors Campaign
For FEMSA Foundation, the Colors Campaign is a special project. In 2013, we carried out our nutrition-focused projects outside Mexico for the first time. Beginning with Nicaragua was no accident. Nicaragua is the second most impoverished nation in the American continent. Malnutrition is a common problem for half of the population living in that situation. In a very particular way, many elementary school kids have nutritional problems and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
The first effort
In 2013 we identified an opportunity in “A Plate, A Smile”, an initiative the Coca-Cola System has promoted since 2005, focused on distributing food in schools and canteens. We decided to complement this effort through a pilot campaign, “Colors”. The project was designed to create a favorable environment in schools and improve nutritional knowledge to positively change habits through nutrition education workshops. At the end of the process we got very positive results: more than 2,700 children learned to fill their plate with a variety of colors in ten rural schools. However, one of the greatest contributions could be seen from the initial diagnosis. We found that the majority of parents, relatives, and teachers of the children lacked information about what a good nutrition means and its benefits to children’s school performance.
Strengthening links
After systematizing the results, in 2015 we got back to the successful experiences and lessons we learned back in 2013 to widen the scope of the Colors Campaign and reach more schools, thus benefiting more Nicaraguan families. However, we were looking at how to achieve sustainability for the project. We found the answer through the teachers. Every year, new children come into the classroom and teachers share the information with them. It’s no longer necessary to continue training the students directly: the teacher is responsible for passing on the knowledge to help them make better decisions regarding their diet. At the same time, we empower the teachers so that they become agents of change in their society. The multiplying effect grows when the teachers also give talks to the parents, making the information reach home by two ways, parents and students.
Broadening the scope
The results of the “Colors” campaign have been so positive that some of the enrolled schools have chosen to include preschool and middle-school students in the program. Children also participate in other activities. One of them is the Health Promoters Club, where the students that have the highest grades help teachers create the dynamics that take place in school. Additionally, each school organizes its own “Health Fair”, where students share with each other what they have learned in class through themed stands. The efforts of Colors Campaign during 2015 can be assessed by comparing a baseline at the start of the project and a final evaluation. Based on the findings, we are certain that it is possible to replicate this model in most countries in the region.
Proyectos Relacionados
3.9 Nutrition Education at School
3.8 Schools with Food Education
3.6 Healthy Edison Polygon Project
