Finding a balanced diet for Zambian villagers

Final report on Tikondane Foundation’s second crowdfunding project

FINDING THE MINIMAL BALANCED DIET FOR ZAMBIAN VILLAGERS

CROWDFUNDING project No 1 provided a strong evidence that ONENEPA, a supplement to combat malnutrition, was successful in reducing malnutrition of children under-five in the villages, but it was observed that food, including ONENEPA, was shared amongst the family members.

This second project focused on the role of ONENEPA to reduce malnutrition of the family. For one year, 75 Tiko crew members, with an average of 7 dependent family members, were weighed and interviewed every three months, while being given 1 kg of a legume every week, plus, leaves from the moringa trees. The Tiko crew had planted the latter in previous years with a view of harvesting leaves, which provide a wide range of the vitamins, minerals, and protein necessary for the balanced diet.

In order to find out whether the new diet would make a difference, it was assumed that people who ate additional protein would lose less weight than others did in the hungry season before the next harvest, i.e. in March. This hypothesis was strongly confirmed. Over a year, 44 complete sets of data showed that 22 people gained weight in the lean season compared to that a year earlier, although this year the harvest was an especially bad one and few crops had lasted for the year. The weight of 15 crew members did not change and 7 lost weight. From the interviews about what they had eaten the previous day, only one of the 7 who had lost weight mentioned eating moringa plus a legume. This indicated a significant difference between those who gained weight or did not change and the 7 who had lost weight. The trend is significant.

It is also likely that the diet with added protein also had a positive effect on the under-fives. In the absence of control groups for the adults, the results are not conclusive, however in both control groups of the under-fives 30% of the children had malnutrition, whereas none of the Tiko children were malnourished and thus did not need ONENEPA to supplement their diet. Children who came to Tiko half-way through the year benefitted from ONENEPA as a supplement.

In conclusion, it will be worthwhile to teach the rural population in Katete District and further afield about the advantages of the improved nutrition, which results from eating moringa with any type of leguminous foodstuff. This change will be of benefit to all children, but especially so to those under five, and to adults.

With the global pandemic threats, such as currently the COVID-19, providing such a cheap balanced diet, which improves significantly the immune system, is especially beneficial for the heavily malnutritioned local population.

Tikondane Community Centre

Date: 12 May 2020

Links:

• Tiko's Latest Newsletters
• Follow us on Facebook
• Follow us on Youtube

• Project Report by Tikondane Community Centre (PDF)
  

Work on our project started even before the donation reached the hoped-for total of 5,000 $. We thank the donors for the 3,508 $ received to date.

The aim of the project is to introduce a balanced diet to people in the Katete District of Zambia. Most of the people eat nsima, (porridge) made from maize meal, three times a day therefore their diet is deficient in the proteins and vitamins which are essential to them and in particular to their children. Those involved in our survey grow as much of their food as possible, but the increasing unreliability of the rainfall in recent years has resulted in more and longer hunger seasons.

Our previous project tested our nutritional supplement, ONENEPA. For a group of young children under five we found that it promoted growth and they added weight while maintaining appetite. As nutrition is a family matter, we are now working with whole families to find out whether they will achieve a balanced diet by growing the necessary vegetables and Moringa trees in their gardens. Moringa leaves and fruit have the highest vitamin and minerals content of any vegetable product, plus one essential amino-acid that is missing from groundnuts and other legumes. They also ad nitrates to the soil. For the project, we gave one kilo of legume to the families, plus Moringa, if their own trees were not big enough or had no leaves at the time.

We are doing the fourth weigh-in just now. This is what we find:

1. Lean times in Katete finish at harvest time about April/May and there should be enough food till December, but in 2019 the hunger started in October. (Over the years, Tiko has always provided hunger help from about January, but this time started in November, with only 25 kg of mealiemeal per family). So, assessing the effect of providing additional protein is counteracted by earlier hunger times than in the past. One way to check would be how often the crew members were sick. Analysis of the data will start when the raw data have been digitalized, which is happening now, as Tiko has just been happy to find a new intern who not only seems capable, but likes doing that sort of work. His name is Blessings.

2. Questionnaires and anecdotal information indicate that the crew did eat Moringa regularly as well as cowpeas, which would indicate great progress. Any change of mindset is a miraculous. Before there was only rape and dried pumpkin leaves and vegetable being seen as something unimportant and fruit important at best for children.

3. As to using the foodbox for extra food for the under-five children, results are not clear. Questionnnaires say they are used, but anecdotal information says people use the new containers more for carrying food around for the adults.

4. As to the weight-gains of the children according to the clinical under-five cards, again results that would predict normal development with proper food as provided by Moringa and legume, are marred by the lack of food from October..Out of 38 under-five children, 22 are fully above average or at least in the right direction, nine are below average, but not descending lower and only seven would raise an eyebrow of the clinician, none of them to be sent to the clinic, though. The results from the smaller control group are not yet available, as the early childhood centre is opening just now only. The only statistic we have is that in Katete district 43% of children are stunted in growth, which means not only less than potential height, but also medical problems. More information on that will come from the interviews, and in fact, anything conclusive will only be available from an additional weigh-in in April, if not July, when sufficient food supplies should have normalized weights and the comparison with last April would indicate the impact of famine minus the mitigation of Moringa plus legume. We wished we had started with the weights of adults of our other groups that do not get extra help as control groups, but that would need more money.

5. We would love to ask your feedback on:

• extending the present study for another half year and
• to include other groups for controls

6. One unexpected finding is that the Tiko crew is very much united and aware of fighting the general malaise of famine. It is a pleasure to be here and part of it is due to your help.

Zikomo kwambiri, thanks so much,

Elke

Not part of this GlobalGiving project, but an annual celebration for the community is our Christmas party with singing, dancing and games, the distribution of donated second hand shoes and clothes. The highlight of course is the feast of heaps of nsima, rice, two vegetables and meat!

A little extra is attached with our Christmas "report" by Elke to share more about life of Tiko and the crew.

Links:

• Latest Newsletters
• Facebook
• Youtube

• Additional 'Christmas' report 2019 (PDF)