Climate Action Kenya Project #9176

Combating Climate Change with Agroecology

by Village Volunteers

Project Report | Jun 21, 2019
In Honor of EarthDay

By Shana Greene | Executive Director/Village Volunteers

Dear Donor,

Planting moringa trees may not heal our suffering planet but it's something we can do in support of the environment and in the case of moringa, combat malnutrition. The nature of a moringa tree project is that they continue to grow and produce leaves and pods that have great nutritional benefits.

While moringa has not worked in Transmara and in some areas in the Rift Valley, it does work along the lake and in the hotter regions of Kenya. It's a drought tolerant plant that does need consistent heat and in some regions, the evenings are too cool for it to thrive. We understand its habits and have been very successful in the best of conditions.

In honor of Earthday, our goal is to plant more trees and to provide the powdered moringa to preschools in areas of extreme poverty with widespread malnutrition. The results with small amounts of powdered moringa for a preschool child are dramatic. It's important to catch malnutrition at this time to ensure the child's growth and development. We also are providing powdered moringa for prenatal and postnatal care. Moringa is very helpful for lactating mothers.

We thank you for your support in the past and always happy to share a report on trees and their benefits.

Happy EarthDay

Shana

Permalink

Mar 25, 2019
Nutrition and Malnutrition

By Shana Greene | Executive Director/Village Volunteers

Dear Donor,

Thank you for your past assistance in planting moringa trees to provide important nutrients and protein. Moringa is known to have more protein than soybean meal and provides children with accessible plant protein.

In the regions where we work, communities struggle with high rates of poverty and child malnutrition. Children are small and often fail to thrive. The traditional food of ugali (corn porridge) eaten as a staple in Kenya is lacking in protein, the building blocks for growth. In a country with widespread food and nutrition insecurity, keeping children well-nourished and healthy has been a constant struggle for families. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 45% of deaths among children under 5 years of age are linked to undernutrition.

While the effects of malnutrition are devastating, we've also seen the incredible progress that communities can make when given the education, skills, and resources needed to keep their families health. Teaching sustainable, organic farming skills have been important but also planting nutritional, protein-rich like beans and moringa to provide the best hope for the future. By powdering the leaves of the moringa, the powder can be added to porridge in the areas where moringa does not grow well. Kenya's weather in higher altitudes has not been the best conditions for moringa to thrive so we have had to depend on women's groups to grow the trees in the warmer regions. Providing them with the income from the powdered moringa helps everyone.

In the past, you have helped us to plant moringa throughout Ghana and Kenya. We have a way to go before we stop planting and spreading these "miracle trees" but we are committed to getting the powdered leaf to preschools where malnutrition can become chronic. With good nutrition, children are able to grow to their fullest potential, focus on their education and future and become forces of lasting positive change in their communities.

Please help us to provide the powdered supplement to children in areas that have devastating malnutrition and the tree where the tree does not thrive and give children the best chance at growing and reaching their intellectual capacity.

Thank you!

Shana

Permalink

Dec 26, 2018
The Miracle of Nutrition in Villages

By Shana Greene | Executive Director

Dear Donor,

Its my distinct pleasure to thank you each quarter and to report on the moringa and the project that your donation has supported.

Malnutrition is a major factor in the often high rates of infant and childhood mortality. Worldwide it is estimated that seven million people die each year from chronic undernutrition.

The Moringa oleifera, with its high proteing content and nutritional profile can turn the corner for children. The moringa tree withstands drought, grows quickly from seed or cuttings, and regenerates itself even after the most severe pruning. Although the tree is esteemed for its many medicinal uses, it was not commonly known that the leaves of this tree are extremely nutritious, or that the pods, flowers and growing tips of the tree are also edible. Moringa tree leaves, seeds and pods added on a regular basis to a child's diet, could prevent or cure malnutrition.

This project targets children of preschool age, infants, and women of child-bearing age, pregnant or nursing. Women's groups have been trained to dry the leaves into a powder which is used as a food additive in the treatment of malnourished children and provides their cooperative with an income..

The results are always that mothers and children thrive with a steady diet. and given a chance at being the best they can be. Malnutition is chronic and robs children of their academic and growth potential.

As always, your support is crucial in buying powdered moringa from women's groups to distribute to children in mountainous areas where the nighttime temperature drops too low for moringa to grow. In these areas, we target preschool feeding programs and prenatal and postnatal care programs.

Thank you for your donation in the past. If you would like to continue your support, the seeds you plant today, grow into healthy thriving individuals capable of anything.

You never know who you are nourishing.

Best wishes in this holiday season abd Thank YOU,

Shana Greene

Shana Greene
Executive Director

Permalink

‹ 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ... 17 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.