For mothers like Anita in Burundi, raising a family used to be defined by frequent illness and constant fear.
All four of her children have suffered malnutrition at different points in their lives.
‘I felt hopeless,’ Anita shares quietly. ‘I was so worried and perplexed and didn’t know what to do.’
Before the local church stepped in with training, Anita’s children were frequently sick, suffered recurrent diarrhoea, and spent far too much time in hospital. ‘I was spending most of my days going to hospital with my kids because I didn’t know it was malnutrition, and I didn’t know about hygiene and sanitation,’ she recalls.
She felt helpless in other ways too. Without an income or knowledge of how to start a business, Anita felt entirely dependent on her husband who was away searching for work.
‘Before Tearfund and their partner FECABU brought these teachings to my village, I was a prisoner of poverty,’ Anita admits. ‘I depended on my husband, begging him for everything all the time. I felt like I was living a dog’s life because it was very hard.’
The recipe that changed everything
The turning point came when local churches began working alongside Tearfund’s partner, Evangelical Fraternity of Christ in Africa in Burundi (FECABU), and developed a new community programme to tackle malnutrition.
When concerned parents were invited to attend, Anita responded immediately, bringing her then 18-month-old son, Don Fleury, who was often extremely unwell.
Don Fleury was tested and admitted to an eight-week malnutrition programme which targeted children under five, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. While severe cases of malnutrition were referred to specialist health centres, moderate cases were supported right there in the community, through practical nutrition demonstrations.
Rather than relying on help from outside, community facilitators taught Anita and other mothers how to prepare a rich, nutrient-dense porridge using locally available ingredients: maize, peanuts, soya beans, water and salt. Parents learnt about essential food categories required for good health and how to maintain a balanced diet.
‘In two months, my child was healed,’ Anita says. ‘I gained a lot of skills in preparing a balanced diet for my family. I didn’t know how to cook before, and I was even skinny and unhealthy too, but things are so different now.’
The results across the community have been staggering. Before the local church and community took action, the malnutrition rate in Anita’s village stood at 71.5 per cent. Today, that figure has plummeted to five per cent. And local parents have now made it their mission to reach every single child and end malnutrition for good.
Desire Majambere, Tearfund’s Country Director in Burundi, says that infant and maternal mortality are both serious concerns, especially in the most remote areas of Burundi.
‘But this is a clear example of what a community can accomplish when they are given the knowledge they need to take action to rewrite their own story,’ he says.
‘There are communities I walk into today where I cannot find a single malnourished child because parents and leaders have been equipped to take hold of a healthier future. It is very inspiring to see.’
