VOA慢速英语:A Kenyan School Feeds Students' Minds and Stomachs

Mildred Auma lives in Kibera, a large and poor neighborhood in Nairobi, Kenya. Every morning she wakes of her four-year-old son Augustine and gets him ready for school. The boy has a glass of milk and a piece of bread before he leaves home.
Mildred Auma居住在基贝拉，这是肯尼亚内罗毕市的一个很大的贫民区。每天早行，她叫醒她四岁的儿子Augustine，并帮他准备去上学。这个男孩在离开家之前能喝上一杯牛奶吃上一块面包。

Augustine is among only a few local students who get anything to eat before going to class. His school, the Seed School Kibera, began offering early childhood education to poor children seven years ago. Today 60 students are taking part in the program. They are from three to 14 years of age.
Augustine是当地吃完早餐再去上学的少数学生之一。他就读的基贝拉种子学校于7年前开始向贫困儿童提供儿童早期教育。如今该校有60名学生参加该计划，他们的年龄在3到14岁之间。

Benjamin Odhiambo has taught at the school for the past two years. He says it helps both the minds and bodies of its students.
Benjamin Odhiambo过去两年曾在该校任教。他说，该校对其学生的思想和身体都有帮助。

"The children look forward to the meals because most of these children come from less privileged families. This is the only meal they can afford within a day, so we are not just feeding them physically but we are also nourishing them intellectually," said Odhiambo.
Odhiambo说，“孩子们期待着吃饭，因为多数孩子来自弱势家庭。这是一天中他们买得起的唯一的一顿饭。所以我们不仅是在身体上喂养他们，还在智力上培养他们。”

Few people in Kibera have jobs, and most children come to school hungry. That means they may have problems keeping attention focused on school work, and they may not learn well. So the school started a food program. At 10 in the morning children have porridge to eat, and at 1 o'clock they eat a hot meal before leaving for home three hours later.
基贝拉很少人有工作，大多数孩子都是饿着来上学。这意味着他们在学习上要保持注意力集中可能会有问题，这样他们可能无法好好学习。所以这所学校发起了食品计划。早上10点时孩子们有粥喝，到了中午一点他们能吃上一顿热饭，而三个小时之后他们就回家了。

In Kibera, Mildred Auma is among the few people who owns a business that can provide for her family's basic needs. She earns about $10 a day from selling groundnuts and buns, a kind of bread.
在基贝拉，Mildred Auma是少数拥有生意可以满足家庭基本需求的民众之一。她每天通过出售花生和面包能赚到10美元左右。

But she is still grateful for the meals her son gets in school. She says the school is close to her business, she praises the school for giving him meals. But Augustine may not be able to stay there when he graduates from class three, his present grade level. She says if that happens, she will ask for help in finding a place for him in a similar school.
但她依然对她儿子在学校得到的这顿饭充满感激。她说，这所学校离她的生意很近，她感谢学校给他提供饭菜。但是Augustine从当前就读的三年级毕业后可能就没法呆在这所学校了。她说如果出现这种情况，她就会去求人帮忙，给他找一所类似的学校。

Patrick Aouki is the school's director. He says the food program gets money from parents who made beaded jewelry. Sales of jewels and necklaces provide about $120 a month.
Patrick Aouki是这所学校的负责人。他说，食品计划的资金来自于做串珠饰品的家长。销售首饰项链每月能提供大约120美元。

"We have an economic challenge in the slums. So one major thing we actually do is to offer a feeding program for the children. This supports them actually to grow intellectually and maybe physically to be able to concentrate on their learning," said Aouki.
Aouki说，“这个贫民窟面临着经济挑战。因此，我们主要做的事情之一就是给孩子们提供喂养计划。这能帮助他们在智力和体力上发展。而体力发展能够使他们专注自己的学习。”

This education may prove a way out of poverty into a more promising future.
这种教育可能是脱离贫困拥有更美好未来的可行之道。