February in Nurabad District was cold and snowy. The thermometer outside School No. 28 showed a steady subzero temperature. The children made their way to school through snowdrifts, but they did it so eagerly. Inside, the school was warm and welcoming, buzzing with laughter, joy, and new discoveries about healthy eating.
From February 9 to 13, the school hosted Healthy Nutrition Week under the motto Eat. Move. Live., marking International School Meals Day. Each day brought something new and meaningful to the school routine: discoveries, experiments, games, creative activities, special dishes in the canteen, and lively conversations about how nutrition is connected to energy, well-being, and a child’s development.
Day One: Hamburger’s Challenge
On the first day, the assembly hall turned into a stage for an interactive performance. A character named Hamburger — the embodiment of unhealthy habits — appeared and tried to replace the week’s motto with the “Eat. Lie Down. Snore” slogan, challenging the participants. The children immediately reacted, filling the hall with noise and laughter.
Soon after, Doctor Energy and an Athlete joined him on stage. Through games and interactive tasks, they worked together with the schoolchildren to show why Hamburger was wrong. By contrasting laziness with activity and fast food with a balanced diet, the children began to understand how to make choices that support their health.
Later that day, during a classroom session, children received personal healthy habits trackers. Throughout the week, they were encouraged to mark the healthy actions they completed each day: drinking enough water, eating five portions of fruits and vegetables, or doing morning exercises.
The tracker quickly became part of the game. The children examined their sheets with interest, asked questions, and made their first checkmarks that very Monday. The week began not only with enthusiasm but also with practical steps as children became the leaders of their own small health projects.
Day Two: when everyday foods become subject of inquiry
On Tuesday, the conversation about nutrition moved beyond theory. Classrooms turned into spaces for observation and discussion. Through simple but engaging experiments, teachers encouraged children to take a closer look at familiar foods — not from the perspective of “tasty or not,” but in terms of ingredients and nutritional value.
Together, the children reflected on which foods are suitable for daily meals and which should be better reserved for occasional treats. They discussed how much sugar can be hidden in drinks and why it is important to limit salt and fats.
There were no complicated terms — only clear examples, thoughtful questions, and shared conclusions. Children actively joined the discussion, spoke about their own habits, and compared them with what they had learned during the lesson.
By the end of the day, one key idea became clear: healthy eating is not about prohibitions, but about making conscious choices and maintaining balance every day.
Day Three: movement as part of health formula
On Wednesday, the focus shifted to physical activity. The morning began with a school-wide exercise session. Higher-grade students took the lead, demonstrating the movements, setting the pace, and encouraging the children. With music playing, lively exercises, and plenty of laughter, they felt like one team.
Later, during classroom discussions, teachers talked with the children about why regular physical activity is essential for growth, endurance, and concentration. How much time each day should be devoted to movement? What types of physical activity can you choose if you don’t enjoy a particular sport?
The children came to understand that health is built on small, consistent daily actions, and movement is one of its essential components.
Day Four: assembling Healthy Plate
Thursday was dedicated to the theme of mindful eating. Paper circles and illustrated cards featuring vegetables, fruits, grains, meat, fish, and legumes appeared on children’s desks. Teachers reminded them of a simple principle: half the plate should be fruits and vegetables, one quarter grains, and the remaining quarter protein-rich foods.
The class was divided into teams, each assembling its own version of a balanced breakfast or lunch based on the Healthy Plate model. The children debated and revised their choices. Some suggested adding fruit to porridge; others proposed replacing sugary drinks with water.
During short presentations, the children confidently explained why their plates were balanced, which foods support growth, and which help sustain energy throughout the day.
Thursday provided an important skill: not just understanding healthy eating in theory, but applying that knowledge in everyday life, both at school and at home.
Throughout the week, the school canteen offered a variety of hot meals using recipes from a School Meals Recipe Book developed by the World Food Programme (WFP) and Russia’s Social and Industrial Foodservice Institute (SIFI), the event organizers.
The Finals: children take the stage
Friday brought the week to a bright, emotional, and heartfelt close. The assembly hall once again filled with music. However, this time, it was the children themselves who stepped onto the stage. They presented a performance inspired by what they had learned: a “healthy” version of the folk tale The Gigantic Turnip, poems about vitamins and balanced plates, and riddles about fruits and vegetables.
Higher-grade students Soro Davlatbekova and Nasriddin Orzuzoda hosted the program. In the final skit, Hamburger, Doctor Energy, and the Athlete returned to the stage. Hamburger doubted whether the children had truly understood everything and tried to confuse them with tricky questions about nutrition. Nevertheless, the children answered with confidence. In the end, Hamburger admitted defeat: “You’re right. I want to be strong and healthy too!”
Zafardjon Hisoriev, Deputy Mayor of the district, who attended the closing event, praised the high level of organization and especially highlighted the children’s artistic skills and their genuine enthusiasm for taking part in the Week’s activities.
School headmaster Umarbek Kosimov shared an important observation: despite the freezing weather, attendance remained at one hundred percent throughout the entire week. According to him, the children’s strong interest and the program’s engaging format became a true source of motivation.
When parents and school work together
Parents were closely involved in activities. The school canteen hosted a cooking masterclass where, together with food technologists Zulfiya Faizieva and Maksuda Raufova, they prepared healthy dishes and discussed how to reinforce these new habits at home.
One parent, Behruz Khamidov, shared his impressions: “My son is in the second grade, and all week he came home with new stories about the experiments, about sugar in drinks, and about the Healthy Plate. Now he does his morning exercises on his own and even reminds us to fill in his tracker. Programs like this truly make a difference. I only wish there were more of them.”
Third-grader Omina Kurbonova spoke about the Week with excitement: “I liked the experiments the most, and doing exercises with the older students. Now I know which foods are healthier. I can assemble my own Healthy Plate, and I try to drink more water and choose fruits and vegetables more often.”
Final note
The week brought together 280 primary school children, teachers, higher-grade students, and parents. Yet the true measure of its success lies not in numbers, but in the small changes in everyday habits.
Healthy Nutrition Week has come to an end. The banner has been taken down, the stage is empty, and the school corridors have returned to their usual rhythm.
Yet, something has changed. More and more children can be seen carrying bottles of water, holding an apple instead of a packet of crisps. Their trackers remain filled with neat checkmarks — small but tangible proof of personal effort.
Perhaps it is from such simple, practical steps that something much bigger begins: a culture of caring for one’s health that grows alongside the child.
Healthy Nutrition Week at School No. 28 in Nurabad District was held as part of the WFP’s School Feeding Programme in Tajikistan, with the support of SIFI. All teaching materials have remained at the school, which means the initiative is certain to continue.