Food Security for 3,000 Women & Children in Rwanda

2,110. That is the number of children who have been reached by our nutrition and micro-gardening trainings since we started this project. We have also been able to train 28 nutrition, health and education specialists in Spirulina farming and 65 staff from orphanages, schools, community centers, and cooperatives in micro-gardening, proper nutrition and hygiene practices. But, do you know what? Not only did we train youth over these past three months, we also reached out to new schools and cooperatives to provide them with various kinds of seeds that yield nutritious local crops. One of these was the Twihangirimirimo Women’s Cooperative.

At this women’s cooperative, located in the District of Gasabo, women grow amaranth -among other vegetables- locally known as “imbwija.” We assist these women to increase the cultivation of this plant, as it is very rich in potassium, vitamins, amino acids and protein. Amaranth is also very resistant to adverse weather, which makes it likely to be a yearlong source of nutrition. Part of the harvest is used directly by the women and their families for their own consumption while the rest is sold on the market for a profit. We provided the women with 4kg of amaranth seeds to grow on two acres of land for a total expected yield of 1,400-2,000kg of crops.

Thanks to this additional stock of seeds, the women of Twihangirimirimo will now have a more secure source of nutrition for themselves and their children, as well as an increased source of income to reinvest in the cooperative or to purchase more expensive food items to supplement their families’ diet. 

These women are now empowered to transfer their knowledge to dozens of their peers and, thanks to the seeds and tools we provided, they are also able to grow more food of better quality. Just think about the long-term possibilities: through the sharing of good nutrition practices and increased cultivating capacities, a significant number of children in Kigali will benefit from our project and will have their daily diet improved. Your support makes it possible to truly make a change in people’s lives.

And we are not stopping here! In fact, we are now partnering with the City of Kigali to implement our nutrition and micro-gardening program in five new schools within the newly launched national School Feeding Program. We will provide seeds and fertilizer to grow crops – including the protein-rich alga, Spirulina – in micro-gardens, on the one hand; and nutrition and agriculture trainings, as well as culinary workshops for teachers, canteen cooks and other school staff, on the other. This way, we will reach hundreds more children and their caregivers, and keep doing everything we can to improve the food security of the children of Kigali.

Links:

• Our new website