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Mozambique School Lunch Initiative
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Our programs

Community Preschools

Early foundations: eat, play, learn.

The years before primary school are a critical time in which nutrition influences a child's growth and brain development.

MSLI's community preschools build on the school meal infrastructure already in place, providing children ages 2–5 with two meals a day and a head start on learning that impacts them for life.

Two rows of preschool children sit facing each other on a long reed mat, eating porridge from blue and pink bowls under a covered concrete shelter
Children at Punguine preschool enjoying their fortified breakfast porridge.
The numbers · 2026
14
community preschools.
2026
1,440
children enrolled.
2026
Ages 2–5
the years that matter most.
2026
2 meals
every day: breakfast and lunch.
2026
Three small children sit close together on the sand, two of them looking at the camera
Young children often tag along with their older siblings when there is a meal at school.

“When we visited the schools, we would also see some younger children tagging along with their siblings to get a meal at school. At lunchtime, older children could often be seen sharing their meal with a younger brother or sister. The little ones weren't even school age yet, but they would hang around the school because they knew that's where they might get a meal. So then we thought, if they're already coming to school, we may as well teach them something!”

— Roberto Mutisse, MSLI Executive Director
How it works

Built on the school meal, made for the youngest learners.

Because our school meals infrastructure is already in place, we can open preschools where the need is greatest, and give children a strong start before they ever reach first grade.

Two smiling little girls in dark sweatshirts stand arm in arm in front of green foliage
Investing early has one of the highest rewards for children's growth and development.
  1. Eat

    Two meals a day.

    This is a critical age for nutrition, so preschoolers get a fortified porridge breakfast as well as a hot lunch.

  2. Learn

    A national curriculum.

    Activities follow a curriculum developed by the Government of Mozambique in partnership with UNICEF.

  3. Run by MSLI

    Trained local teachers.

    We hire the preschool teachers and manage each preschool's day-to-day operations.

What we've seen

Healthier, more active, and ready for first grade.

Children who attend our preschools are better nourished and more active. They speak Portuguese, and they've started learning to read, write and count, while learning through play, songs and games with their teachers and classmates.

A teacher in a pale green coat kneels on a reed mat with small children building with colorful plastic blocks
Engaging in structured play is a great way to stimulate young minds.
A teacher holding hands with young children in a circle game outdoors
Children enjoying outside games at Changulene preschool.
About twenty-five young children sitting on reed mats and a concrete floor, writing and drawing in exercise books, with a teacher helping at the left
Learning to hold a pencil and write letters and numbers gives them a big head start in first grade.

Preschool is key to helping break the cycle of poverty, growing strong bodies and minds for children to prepare them for success in primary school.

Why preschool matters

A young brain is a sponge.

In the first five years, a child's brain is highly flexible and absorbs everything around it. Positive, language-rich and secure environments build strong neural pathways that lead to better school readiness and emotional health.

And it doesn't have to be fancy. Simple, everyday moments (talking, singing and playing) are powerful tools for early brain development.

See the evidence for preschool
A young man in a pale green coat sits under a tree reading to about twenty-five preschool children seated in a circle on the sand
Who doesn't love story time? It's part of the daily routine at our preschools.
A young man in a mint-green coat sits on a reed mat against a mud wall, reading from a sheet of paper to small children leaning in beside him
Our preschool teachers spend time reading to the children.

Growing this year

Help us open more community preschools.

We're expanding our preschool program this year. Your gift gives more young children a healthy start.

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