The Growth of Esperance Family through Nutrition.
A few days ago, we visited Esperance Turacumbitse, one of our well-performing graduate mothers. During the 2022 Mothers Nutrition Training Program (MNP), she stood out as one of the most determined and enthusiastic trainees. During the 14 weeks of training, Esperance walked about 8 miles from home to the training site and remained to be one with the most fun in the classroom.
On our visit, we learned how differently Esperance is raising her children after the training. For 4 years, Esperance shares she did not know how to properly feed her children. This posed a struggle with her older child’s growth, who got sick often.
In addition to limited knowledge of caring for her children, she also indulged in habits that deteriorated her health. After each birth of her 2 children, Esperance shares that she coped with the pain unhealthily
“I took a mixture of beer made of clay & sorghum to distract me from the aches after birth,” says Esperance.
Espe and her husband in their home garden
However, things started to improve after joining the MNP program, and Esperance shares what aspects were most critical to the changes he has implemented in her home.
“I learned new health, nutrition, and agricultural skills. I also learned family planning, most importantly, caring about my baby during pregnancy and after birth.” She adds,
“For my two older girls, I only breastfed them for just a month. I learned I should breastfeed my newborns for 6-8 months to build their immune system early."
Today, Esperance cooks each meal, ensuring it contains a variety of food, especially fruits, and vegetables. She shares that her goal is to feed even the older two with enough vegetables for recovery and healthier growth.
Esperance is also taking better care of her third newborn baby to ensure healthy development. She has been exclusively breastfeeding through the day, and she noticed that the baby is much stabler than her siblings.
“I had a smooth birth with my last born, and I can attribute the ease to the proper care through the pregnancy and eating vegetables,” she adds.
To mothers like Esperance, this is the start of a new journey to equip more families to lead healthy lives.
Photos by Prince Mwenimana