Part of the reason Dominic s school is so successful is that it serves lunch to everyone for free. American aid organizations have donated dried peas and corn which the teachers boil into soup. It s the only meal Dominic and most of his classmates eat during the day. In the afternoon, they have four more hours of classes before recess. We study at school because there are lights, Dominic explains.
Most children have no lights in their huts.
After school, Dominic walks two miles home, in the dark. I ask him if he ever eats chicken. Oh yes, he replies. It s not a monthly thing, he says. Dominic will take his exams next month.