Lifesaving Plumpy'Nut for Children in the Sahel

2015 was truly an incredible year for Edesia. In our humble little factory in Providence, Rhode Island, we broke all of our old records and helped one million malnourished children along the way.

Six years ago when we opened Edesia's first factory, images of Haitians desperate to overcome the tragic earthquake kept our hearts racing while we worked relentlessly to fill orders going to Port-au-Prince. Now we're working around the clock to ship orders to Syria and Ethiopia and dozens of other countries in deep crisis. We're moving as fast as ever, because severely malnourished children can't wait.

Edesia 2.0 is finally here, which means in the year to come and beyond, we can help more malnourished children than ever before. If you aren't up to speed on what "Edesia 2.0" means, let me explain. For most of 2015, builders were hard at work, constructing a brand-new, state-of-the-art factory for Edesia in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. We got the keys last week. We're celebrating our grand opening in a big way on May 6, 2016.

A brand-new factory — with the potential to help two million malnourished children a year — is a beautiful thing. For the first time, we'll have loading docks connected to our very own warehouse. There’s an innovation center where expanded research and development efforts will help us find new ways to reach more people with our ready-to-use foods. The quality lab, which we rely on to keep our products safe, is about three times the size of the one we use now.

After my team relocates to Edesia 2.0 in the spring, we will have more space to brainstorm answers to the complex questions that keep our hearts racing, but really, our main goal in moving was always to create a more lean and efficient factory. The more we reduce our costs, the more malnourished children we can reach with the same dollar—and this is the equation that drives the humanity of what we do.

Thank you again for being part of Edesia's tireless efforts to not only build a new factory but a new world where no child is malnourished.

Navyn Salem, Founder and CEO

P.S. Not only did we build a new factory, we also built a new logo and a new website. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Your support saves the lives of vulnerable children who live in one of the most volatile climates on earth, the Sahel. The growing season of the Sahel got off to a poor start as a result of this year's powerful El Nino. Surrounding areas, impacted by the Ebola crisis and conflict, strained valuable resources that would have otherwise provided a safety net for what is anticipated to be a long lean season.  

1-year-old Naomi, whose life was saved after being treated for Severe Acute Malnutirion (SAM), clearly illustrates the impact of your contributions.  She was able to make a full recovery through treatment with Plumpy'Nut.

Naomi was treated with Plumpy’Nut, a peanut-based ready-to-use therapeutic food, and to the surprise of her mother and other family members, Naomi became healthy again. "I used to wonder what magic was in the treatment that made her recover so soon,” says Frances, Naomi's mother. “I was so surprised about the improvement in her look, just a few weeks after she started eating those packets.”

Nearly one half of all deaths in children under 5 are attributable to undernutrition which translates to about three million children each year. -- UN Source.

Thanks to you, we are saving children like Naomi so they are able to grow and thrive as all children should. Thank you for your ongoing support to the children of the Sahel.

Links:

• Malnutrition In The Sahel Strip