Rwanda, a small country centered in the African continent, was not free from the covid-19 virus. Although the Rwandan government could manage to prevent the pandemic with its strict quarantine policy, it led to a massive job loss of temporary workers and surge in the number of people suffering from poverty.
From September 7 to October 2, HUMAN IN LOVE opened a “nutrition camp” for 45 families with children suffering from malnutrition at seven towns in Niamata where we conducted emergency food relief in April.
[ Children and their mothers gathered to participate in the nutrition camp ]
The following is what we found out through this camp about what causes malnutrition.
First, absolute poverty
It refers to a state in which human’s basic needs such as clothing, food and housing are not satisfied. This is a major cause of malnutrition, and the number of those living in poverty has surged as many people lost their jobs or homes due to the covid-19 outbreak.
[ A mom who participated in the camp is feeding her baby ]
[ A public officer is giving a lecture to camp participants ]
Second, the absence of parents
We found out that parents’ lack of knowledge about the importance of balanced eating could also cause malnutrition. And another factor that we found is lack of understanding on family planning, which means having many children without an ability to raise them.
Third, a single-mom family
It is very tough to raise a kid without a husband and also to feed the child properly.
[ Children who participated in HUMAN IN LOVE’s nutrition camp ]
We opened this camp to help children recover their health and educate their caregivers. All the caregivers were women, and we taught them how to make a nutritionally balanced meal with local food ingredients, while explaining the safety and hygiene of drinking water, timely vaccination and proper breastfeeding, and family planning.
Nutritionally balanced diet
It doesn’t have to be fancy food ingredients
The participants learned how to prepare a balanced meal with rice, beans, vegetables that they can get easily at a reasonable price in local markets.
[ Food ingredients that they bought from local markets ]
[ Food ingredients that we used for the training ]
We also taught them how to make various meals by mixing recipes. Since training contents such as the safety and hygiene of drinking water, vaccination and breastfeeding, and family planning are useful information for not only their malnourished children but for their entire family, participants were very happy about getting the training.
Malnourished kids are now ok
We opened the camp three times a week for four weeks. We fed children with porridge and eggs first and a nutritious meal later.
[ Camp participants are feeding their child with a nutritious meal]
We measured malnourished children’s height, weight, MUAC test*, and their health condition trend. After the completion of this four-week program, all 23 children’s health condition got back to normal.
[ A guy is weighing a baby who is a participant of the nutrition camp ]
We’d like to ask for your continuous support for Rwandans who are suffering even more due to the covid-19 outbreak. Thanks.
