Nutrition and Health.....
Growing Children: the Need for Protein.....
Porridge of maize meal and sugar is served for morning break.
If one were to describe the typical Ugandan diet two words immediately come to mind: "predictable and starchy." Among the orphans and vulnerable children we serve, you could add "not enough calories" and "lacking safe drinking water." Our friend and Tree of Life Ministries Board member "Dr. Peter" Kizza remarked to us early in the project that half the health problems in Uganda would go away if children simply had enough to eat. It rings so true now as we observed with joy the growth and relatively good health of students at Mustard Seed Academy. But the challenge remains of balancing the diet. At MSA the children are served beans nearly every school day, but even more protein of diverse types is needed.
So RPU has supported several approaches to improving diet quality for our students and staff. A small poultry project has been going for about a year to provide the occasional supplement of a hard boiled egg for each students. Plans for the new America campus include a much larger poultry operation that will significantly boost egg production, and enable MSA to regularly provide a high quality protein and lipid supplement for all the kids.
So RPU has supported several approaches to improving diet quality for our students and staff. A small poultry project has been going for about a year to provide the occasional supplement of a hard boiled egg for each students. Plans for the new America campus include a much larger poultry operation that will significantly boost egg production, and enable MSA to regularly provide a high quality protein and lipid supplement for all the kids.
 Laying hens provide a greaat protein and lipid supplement. |  Moringa: The miracle tree makes a living fence. |
Our new America campus was fenced with posts and barbed wire in the beginning, but now a "living fence" is being installed by teams of parents and workers. The living fence consists of closely spaced Moringa saplings that grow quickly from cuttings (branches) of mature trees. As they grow and form the fences, leaves will be harvested regularly for protein and a multitude of nutrients! As strange as it sounds, Moringa leaves are very high in protein, and if they are harvested, dried and crushed into a powder, starchy foods get a big protein boost. And Moringa is not just for protein; its bark, roots, and branches all have medicinal properties. It is "The Miracle Tree."
The Challenge of HIV/AIDS....
See caption below in white print
Average life expectancy in Uganda is about 51 years. Most people know about the modern scourge of HIV/AIDS that has decimated the young adult populations of many African nations. Uganda has made an aggressive national effort, largely through education, to reduce the HIV infection rate--now down to 5%. In Lukaya, along the AIDS Highway, infection rates are three times as high. Since many HIV positive adults can neither afford nor get treatment, many die. The living victims are their children who may or may not have AIDS. Many kids at MSA are AIDS orphans who are left to live with relatives or guardians. Without the sponsors provided by Real Partners Uganda, their prospects would be very poor.
The longer term struggle to prevent infection is a goal of most schools in Uganda. One immediate approach is to provide economic opportunities for poor single women who otherwise may fall into prostitution in a desperate attempt to feed their children and keep a place to live. We continue to look for opportunities to complement the Lukaya Artisans Guild that encourage women to develop craft skills and make products for sale from our storefront on the main highway.
Another approach is through the Community Scholars Program supported by special donors to RPU. About twenty girls who have completed primary school are supported in continuing on to the secondary level and/or pursuing trade schools that prepare them to be independent and make a living when they finish. The Nancy's Girls program, described above is complemented by support for a few highly selected boys who are also supported in continuing their secondary educations or special trade schools. For the girls, economic independence means they can avoid sexual exploitation and HIV infection. For the boys, it means a much brighter future, and hopefully a means to support their own families.
Mustard Seed Academy is actively involved in HIV/AIDS education starting in P-3. Taking the message they have learned to other children is a part of our new Child to Child program.
The photo above, taken in 2006, shows a young woman 18 years old. She was infected with HIV while still in high school by an older man. She developed the dreaded disease and passed away a few months after the photo was taken. Her child was able to stay in the community at our school because of a generous American donor.
The longer term struggle to prevent infection is a goal of most schools in Uganda. One immediate approach is to provide economic opportunities for poor single women who otherwise may fall into prostitution in a desperate attempt to feed their children and keep a place to live. We continue to look for opportunities to complement the Lukaya Artisans Guild that encourage women to develop craft skills and make products for sale from our storefront on the main highway.
Another approach is through the Community Scholars Program supported by special donors to RPU. About twenty girls who have completed primary school are supported in continuing on to the secondary level and/or pursuing trade schools that prepare them to be independent and make a living when they finish. The Nancy's Girls program, described above is complemented by support for a few highly selected boys who are also supported in continuing their secondary educations or special trade schools. For the girls, economic independence means they can avoid sexual exploitation and HIV infection. For the boys, it means a much brighter future, and hopefully a means to support their own families.
Mustard Seed Academy is actively involved in HIV/AIDS education starting in P-3. Taking the message they have learned to other children is a part of our new Child to Child program.
The photo above, taken in 2006, shows a young woman 18 years old. She was infected with HIV while still in high school by an older man. She developed the dreaded disease and passed away a few months after the photo was taken. Her child was able to stay in the community at our school because of a generous American donor.
Medicinal Gardens: A New Project at Mustard Seed.....
The Story of Malaria...Malaria is the largest killer of Ugandan children under the age of 5. Nearly all Ugandans suffer from Malaria at least couple times each year, usually during the two rainy seasons. Ugandans cannot afford the anti-malarial medications that western visitors take, so they must seek treatment, if they can afford it, or suffer through a week or more in bed. Chills, high fevers, head and body aches, and dehydration are some of the symptoms. Many small kids don't survive malaria, succumbing to dehydration, high fevers, or other complications. It is a preventable disease that is devastating, year after year.
RPU has worked with Tree of Life Ministries to combat malaria in a number of ways. We support medical treatment for MSA children and staff who are sick with medicines and rehydration therapy from a local clinic. Three years ago RPU ran a campaign in the US to provide every Mustard Seed child with a mosquito net. Since the mosquitos are primarily active after dark, sleeping under treated nets can cut down significantly on infection.
Even with the nets, there is still an unacceptable incidence of malaria. Hopefully, that is about to end at Mustard Seed. Scientific research from Germany shows that leaves of an easily grown plant, Artemisia, have strong anti-malarial action. The approach is to grow the plants, harvest and dry the leaves, and then steep the crushed leaves in hot water to produce a tea. Taken 2 times a week during the rainy season, the tea prevents malaria from developing, even when a person receives mosquito bites. So why aren't all Ugandans sipping Artemisia tea? We don't know, but hope that will change--at least in Lukaya. It certainly involves education and "proof" that convinces the Ugandans.
Even with the nets, there is still an unacceptable incidence of malaria. Hopefully, that is about to end at Mustard Seed. Scientific research from Germany shows that leaves of an easily grown plant, Artemisia, have strong anti-malarial action. The approach is to grow the plants, harvest and dry the leaves, and then steep the crushed leaves in hot water to produce a tea. Taken 2 times a week during the rainy season, the tea prevents malaria from developing, even when a person receives mosquito bites. So why aren't all Ugandans sipping Artemisia tea? We don't know, but hope that will change--at least in Lukaya. It certainly involves education and "proof" that convinces the Ugandans.
The New Medicinal Gardens at MSA.....RPU has received a generous donation from a long time friend, Ken Bennett, to install a medicinal garden on the lower section of the new America campus in memory of his wife, Diane. Agi James and Mirembe Grace (see above), two outstanding teachers at MSA, have completed a week-long workshop given by ANAMED (Action for Natural Medicine), a pan-African organization that trains people to do medicinal farming and supplies seeds as well.
Among the first plants being grown are Moringa and Artemisia. There will be many other plants harvested and processed into natural medicines for the children and staff at Mustard Seed Academy as well. When enough is produced, the herbal products will be packaged for sale. This is part of our ongoing campaign to make the project self-sustaining.
Among the first plants being grown are Moringa and Artemisia. There will be many other plants harvested and processed into natural medicines for the children and staff at Mustard Seed Academy as well. When enough is produced, the herbal products will be packaged for sale. This is part of our ongoing campaign to make the project self-sustaining.
