
Nour: A Dream of Becoming a Teacher Despite Anemia and Stunting
Fatima Zohra Merzouk
29 Oct 2023
Nour is a four-year-old girl from Syria, a country that has been torn apart by a brutal civil war for over a decade.
She fled with her family to Lebanon after their home was destroyed by a bomb. They now live in a makeshift tent in an informal settlement, where they face harsh living conditions and lack of basic services.
Nour suffers from anemia and stunting, two forms of chronic malnutrition that affect millions of children around the world. Anemia is a condition that occurs when the blood does not have enough red blood cells or hemoglobin, which carry oxygen to the body's tissues and organs. Stunting is a condition that occurs when a child does not grow as tall as expected for their age due to lack of food or poor quality food. Both anemia and stunting can have long-term consequences on a child's physical and mental development, immune system, learning abilities, and future prospects.
Nour often feels tired and weak, and has difficulty concentrating and remembering things. She also gets sick easily and frequently misses school. She loves learning and dreams of becoming a teacher when she grows up, but she worries that her poor health and education will prevent her from achieving her goals.
Nour attends a school that is supported by WFP, the largest humanitarian organization fighting hunger worldwide. WFP provides nutritious snacks to over 10,000 Syrian refugee children in Lebanon every day, as part of its school feeding program. The snacks include milk, dates, biscuits, cheese, or hummus, which provide essential nutrients such as protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin A that help prevent and treat anemia and stunting.
Nour enjoys eating her snack at school every day, which helps her to feel more energetic and alert. She also likes sharing her snack with her friends and playing with them during recess. She says that the snack makes her happy and gives her hope for the future.
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