“This pumpkin is delicious!” Hearing children say this when eating a big piece of pumpkin is the dream of many mothers. At PEPE in El Salvador, children are learning to eat what they themselves are growing.
Day-to-day situations help children to build learning in collaborative work, as they put into practice what they learn by entering into real situations of their trade or profession, helping them to reflect in order to define the proposed objectives very well. Because of this, and the importance of good nutrition for them to grow up healthy and strong, in today’s world, where food is processed chemically and sparsely, at PEPE school gardens are being created.
Each child participates in this activity directed by their Missionary-Educators, who in the unit’s green area, give t them pieces of land in small groups so that they can develop values of belonging, association, teamwork and learn the value of caring for the land by cultivating their vegetables themselves.
These vegetables are used both for consumption in the unit and as an additional food item to take home. They are planting and harvesting: cucumbers, radishes and pumpkins, using techniques that are very effective in small spaces, such as the construction of handmade nets so that the clumps of plants that spread a lot do it vertically.
It is an essential activity for children’s development and promotion of community development. From these techniques and learning situations, the children are putting them into practice at home, creating their family gardens. Taking advantage of this rainy season.
Good teaching takes place not only in a classroom, but also by putting your hand in the ground. Eating what they themselves grew has made a big difference in the lives of PEPE children in El Salvador.
Keep offering and praying for PEPE!
Veronica Torrento – PEPE El Salvador Coordinator
Text review – Carmen Ligia
Translated by David Balmant do Espirito Santo
