India Hands Over 1,000 Metric Tonnes of Rice for Sierra Leone School Feeding

The Government of India has handed over 1,000 metric tonnes of rice to the Government of Sierra Leone to support the country’s National School Feeding Programme.

The consignment was formally presented by India’s High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, Norbu Negi, to the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Conrad Sackey, during a ceremony at the World Food Programme warehouse in Kissy, Freetown, on 3 November 2026.

Sackey received the donation on behalf of President Julius Maada Bio and the Government of Sierra Leone. The ceremony concluded with the symbolic presentation of the rice by Negi to the minister.

Focus on schoolchildren

Negi said the assistance was intended to support thousands of schoolchildren, particularly those from vulnerable households. He linked school meals to enrolment, attendance, retention and children’s ability to concentrate on their studies.

“This rice is meant for the children of Sierra Leone. A meal at school brings children to the classroom, keeps them in school and helps them grow healthy and strong,” Negi said.

He also said school feeding programmes can support girls’ education and reduce financial pressure on households struggling to meet daily needs. According to Negi, India’s PM POSHAN initiative provides hot cooked meals to more than 100 million children every school day.

Negi described the donation as consistent with President Bio’s Feed Salone and Human Capital Development priorities, and said it complemented Sierra Leone’s Free Quality School Education programme by helping address nutritional challenges.

Accountability pledge

Sackey said hunger could undermine learning even when children are physically present in the classroom.

“A hungry child cannot hear the teacher,” he said, citing an African saying.

He added that school feeding improves attendance, supports girls to remain in school and provides more equitable learning opportunities for pupils from different economic backgrounds.

Sackey assured the Indian Government, development partners and the people of Sierra Leone that the rice would be managed responsibly and distributed transparently to beneficiary schools.

“I give this assurance to our partners and to the people of Sierra Leone that every bag of this rice will be accounted for,” he said.

The Ministry, he added, would ensure that the consignment reaches its intended beneficiaries. The source did not specify the number of schools to receive the rice or the timetable for distribution.

Wider cooperation

Negi described the handover as another sign of the longstanding relationship between India and Sierra Leone. He cited previous Indian assistance, including humanitarian support after Sierra Leone’s 2017 floods and mudslide, rice and medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 15 haemodialysis machines supplied in 2026.

He also referred to a US$990,000 project implemented by the United Nations Development Programme through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund to improve opportunities for persons with disabilities. The project is expected to establish or strengthen vocational training centres in six districts.

Other areas of cooperation mentioned at the ceremony included training for Sierra Leonean officials through the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme, scholarships through the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and development projects supported by India’s concessional Lines of Credit.

Negi expressed India’s readiness to strengthen cooperation under Feed Salone through agricultural machinery, improved seeds, irrigation facilities, farmer training and food-processing technologies.

“As we hand over this rice today, let us remember that its true value lies in the children it will feed, the families it will support and the education it will help sustain,” he said.