Standing with Agnes: Nutrition as a response to COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic is hitting the world’s poor the hardest, and the number of malnourished children is rising. Community-based missions like ours are vital to the survival of the world’s most vulnerable, including families like Agnes’. Together, we can make a difference. Support GHI’s COVID-19 response by making a donation today.
Agnes and her three-year-old son Belbine receive much-needed nutrient-packed veggies from Gardens for Health.
Recently, we met mother of two Agnes at Bumbogo Health Center, a few minutes’ drive from our farm headquarters in Rwanda. She and other highly vulnerable families were there to receive vegetables donated from GHI’s farm to supplement her family’s sparse meals. Since the pandemic hit Rwanda, Agnes’ husband has been out of a job. Like most rural families, they don’t have savings, and Agnes has struggled to cover basic expenses for her family.
“GHI helped us with food to eat during these times,” Agnes explains. Otherwise, “we only ate when neighboring families helped. I’m so worried. I don’t know how we’ll survive, because we don’t have enough food or work.”
Agnes only has enough food to feed her family once per day, even with the food rations she receives from the Government of Rwanda. Her priority is her children: “before, when my husband was working, I could buy vegetables so our children would have nutritious meals. But now, that’s not possible. I’m no longer able to provide a balanced meal.” Agnes has a small home garden, but the veggies she’s growing are only sprouting, and the impending dry season means even smaller harvests to come.
“I need food support; it’s been hard to find enough food. I just wish I were able to provide for my children.”
Gardens for Health is filling the gap. As part of our COVID-19 response, we're providing direct food aid, including nutrient-packed veggies, straight from our farm to highly vulnerable families like Agnes' across the country.
Since March, GHI has played an integral part in local COVID-19 response efforts. In addition to distributing nutritious food, we’ve also partnered with community health clinics to:
Provide nutrition and COVID-19 prevention trainings to expectant mothers at prenatal visits
Screen young children for malnutrition
Donate life-saving masks to community health care workers, and more.
This vital work eases the burden on increasingly overwhelmed health clinics so they can focus their efforts on COVID-19 prevention while we continue our mission to eradicate child malnutrition.
In Agnes’ words: “I am sincerely grateful for all the things you have done for us. We were lucky to receive GHI’s vegetables and support.”
Here’s how you can get involved:
Photos and story by Jessica Wright.