Presbyterian Mission Agency malnutrition Archives

Muoyo wenu! (Life to you!) On a rainy Sunday afternoon in March I accompanied Pastor Malenga Ilunga, professor of Old Testament at Shepherd-Lapsley Seminary, and his neighbor and local village chief, Albert Babadi, on their visits to families living just outside the seminary campus. These two men are volunteer members of the Christian Community Health Evangelism (CHE) committee of Ndesha, and for the last seven months this team of six volunteers has been following 84 children who have brachial arm circumferences of less than 14 cm., an indication of malnourishment. Following the children” means many visits and much support to a child’s family to encourage healthy behaviors related to malnutrition. For each family, CHE volunteers: (1) Explain that, as Christians, they want to assist neighbors to have better health for their children; (2) Refer the child to the health clinic for height and weight measurements and an assessment of nutritional status; (3) Observe and assess the child’s daily intake of nutritious food (4) Observe the family’s water source, storage and purification; (5) Observe the cleanliness of the home and yard and the presence and condition of the family’s latrine; (6) Observe birth spacing and the understanding/use of birth control; (7) Look for the presence of a garden, practices of building up the soil, and growth of protein foods near the home; (8) Assess the understanding/use of Moringa leaves in the diet and the presence of Moringa trees near the home; (9) Review immunization records for the child; and (10) Assess the use of mosquito nets for all family members. The CHE team continues visits to the families to (11) Encourage and assist with correcting unhealthy behaviors; (12) Work with the family to plant Moringa trees and other protein-rich plants near the home, and (13) Begin practices of composting. For families succeeding with the home gardens, CHE will (14) Assist and monitor the families’ raising of guinea pigs to supplement their diet; and (15) Introduce the families to the concept of sustainable agriculture through collective farming.

Home Gardening

Posted March 19th, 2015

A letter from Inge Sthreshley serving in Congo|March 2015