For many families in Eswatini, having enough nutritious food each day remains a significant challenge. Approximately 59% of the population lives below the national poverty line, making it difficult for many households to consistently afford basic necessities, including nutritious food¹. Children are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity, as inadequate nutrition can contribute to stunted growth, weakened immune systems, and developmental challenges. According to UNICEF, approximately 20% of children under five in Eswatini experienced stunted growth in 2022². These challenges make reliable community-based feeding programs especially important. When families face financial hardship, local feeding initiatives can provide children with nutritious meals and help support their health, growth, and ability to learn.
In Mbabane, Eswatini, community-based feeding programs play an important role in supporting children from low-income households, particularly in underserved areas where poverty and limited access to basic services remain challenges. Approximately 32% of Mbabane's population lives in informal settlements, where access to essential services can be limited. In one specific area, local volunteers help provide regular nutritious meals to approximately 60–100 children, with support from a Taiwanese NGO group and local businesses that contribute ingredients such as meat and fish. However, the program faces a major obstacle: the community does not have its own kitchen. During heavy rain or poor weather, this journey to deliver food to the children can become impossible, leaving children without their expected meals. Although land has been set aside and efforts are underway to secure funding for a local kitchen, the project remains dependent on future financial support.
This summer, HXP Builders will help bring this community's long-awaited vision closer to reality by constructing a dedicated community feeding kitchen on the land already set aside for the project. Having a kitchen within the community will allow volunteers to prepare meals locally instead of making the difficult journey to another location, helping ensure that children can receive food even during heavy rain and poor weather. The facility will initially support the existing feeding program serving 60–100 children, with the potential to provide kitchen access to other nearby community feeding groups and help feed as many as 300 children. By investing in a space that the community can continue using and maintaining, HXP Builders will help strengthen an existing locally led effort, make meal preparation more reliable, and give more children access to the nourishment they need to grow and thrive.
Sources
¹ World Bank – Eswatini Country Overview and Poverty Data
² UNICEF – Child Nutrition in Eswatini
³ World Food Programme – Eswatini Country Profile: Food Security and Nutrition
⁴ Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) – Eswatini Acute Food Insecurity Analysis, June2026–March 2027