At first, as with other schools in Rwanda, children at the Umuco Mwiza School went home for lunch. But some families didn’t have enough food, and some children came back to school hungry and crying. Marie Louise wanted to change this, so she introduced a school-lunch program.

Maki: How did you get to know about the school-lunch program?
Marie: When my daughters went to elementary school in Japan, they were given lunch every day. I think Japanese school lunches are great because no child has to worry about food. In Rwanda, we have the saying: A hungry child won’t listen. It’s hard to study on an empty stomach.
Maki: I see. What effect has the school had on students?
Marie: Twenty years ago, I asked the students in our new school what they wanted to be when they grew up. I was shocked that some said they didn’t know if they would live that long. But today the children have big dreams. Some even say they want to be the president of Rwanda!
Shun: That’s amazing. Finally, do you have a message you’d like to share with us?
Marie: I hope people will stop thinking that poor children don’t want to go to school. Children who live in poverty have as much desire to learn as any other children. And I want poor people to have the same chance as everyone else to get an education.
Maki: Thank you very much for your time today. I hope that we can do our best to make people aware of the value of education for everyone around the world.