The Best Solution Against Malnutrition in East Africa
Have you ever meet with a child who is affected by malnutrition disease?
If yes, how did you feel? If no, what could you do to avoid it?
Written by: Charlotte Musengimana, current TWB Bakery Operations Manager Intern
Have you ever meet with a child who is affected by malnutrition disease?
If yes, how did you feel? If no, what could you do to avoid it?
Some children in Africa, and specifically, Rwanda, are poorly fed because they are not consuming foods that provide the proper nutrients for growing. This is a serious problem as malnutrition can lead to serious effects for children, and especially as they become adults.
Good news!
The Women’s Bakery (TWB) is coming throughout East Africa as a social change maker to train and empower women how to source local ingredients FOR healthier, more nutritious products.
Women that go through the TWB training program receive knowledge to bake the best nutritious bread for their family and serve it to the community for an affordable price.
In this work, TWB is hoping to improve the standards of life for the women we work with, and eventually, for those whom consume our bread.
To prevent malnutrition in Africa, lets gather together with this opportunity from TWB by supporting these women who are the backbone of their families.
There are so many ways to support: through buying at least one piece of bread every day, or through supporting our programs so we can do this work.
Enjoy life with healthy bread!
Permagardens & Peanut Butter
If there is anything I have learned about my experience working at TWB it is that women’s empowerment and education can be used to combat food insecurity and malnutrition in the home.
Written by Britni Stupin, TWB Intern
For the past three months, I’ve been living and learning in Kenya as part of a study abroad program at St. Lawrence University. The last month of this program is spent completing an Independent Study anywhere of our choosing, and that’s how I ended up in Rwanda. I heard about The Women’s Bakery from a few past interns, and they always lit up when they shared about their experiences. TWB, I decided, was the right placement for my internship.
Food insecurity and malnutrition are significant issues within Rwanda, and I spent internship working on two main projects that intertwined with these issues.
First, I researched and created an implementation plan for a permagarden that TWB would create at the Kagina and Ndera bakeries.
What is a permagarden?
In short, it is a sustainable approach to increasing food security by giving control over water use and nutrition within an individuals' own home. I spent a good deal of time researching the specifics of what a permagarden is, how to create one, and its benefits for women at TWB. Part of this research was meeting with women at both bakery sites to discuss the best way to complete this project. Each bakery now plans to plant carrots, beets, and cabbage next planting season.
The second, and tastiest, project, was aptly named “The Peanut Butter Project.” I worked with another intern, Martha, to create a nutritional lesson about the health benefits of peanut butter and how to make it in their homes.
The women at the Ndera and Kagina bakeries were engaged during the lesson and everyone pitched in to help. I’d say it was a success! All the peanut butter was gone almost as soon as we had made it, and the women told me they would be making this nutritious snack to eat for breakfast.
I walked away with a huge smile on my face that day.
If there is anything I have learned about my experience working at TWB it is that women’s empowerment and education can be used to combat food insecurity and malnutrition in the home. By helping women understand the impact food has on their body, TWB is giving women the knowledge they need to feed their families and nurture their health. That's bread power.
Global Health Corps Fellowship with TWB
Now, as Nutrition Coordinator for The Women’s Bakery, I am working on nutrition and health programming at bakeries in Kigali and beyond. I am so enthusiastic to see the impact The Women’s Bakery is having in the communities of which we work.
First, I squealed, then I teared up: this was finally happening.
Several months ago, I received word that after a six-month application process I had been accepted into the 2017-2018 Global Health Corps Fellowship cohort and was placed at The Women’s Bakery, in Rwanda. I was thrilled, excited, and ready. After months of consideration, it was humbling and energizing to know that I was going to move forward with work that motivates and inspires me.
In September 2016, I moved to Rwanda with the intention of working in health development. Just before leaving the United States, a good friend of mine mentioned a great organization working to empower women through baking: The Women’s Bakery. This friend of mine knew TWB Founder & Co-Director, Markey, from Furman University. As she told me more, I thought I should check it out.
After arriving in Kigali, I quickly engaged with TWB Staff, Meg and Julie, and was intrigued and motivated by the work that TWB was doing with vocational training and business launch. Simultaneously, I heard about the fellowship with Global Health Corps, a program that offers fellowships to those interested in working in the field of global health. I began an application. After months of interviews and documentation, the opportunity I had been waiting for was here! I was working for TWB. It was real, and it was happening.
Now, as Nutrition Coordinator for The Women’s Bakery, I am working on nutrition and health programming at bakeries in Kigali and beyond. I am so enthusiastic to see the impact The Women’s Bakery is having in the communities of which we work.
From women’s health, to mental health, to home health, we have so many programs and ideas to improve the lives of the women we serve. I’ve been given the opportunity to see at a ground level what training and engagement with a group of women can accomplish.
On a daily basis, lives are being impacted one muffin or roll at a time, and I can’t wait to continue to be a part of the change being made through The Women’s Bakery.
Healthy Bakers = Happy Bakers
In Remera, Kigali part of the benefit package for the women working in the bakery is Mutuelle coverage for their whole families. Last week, women were provided funds to sign-up their families. For approximately $160, we were able to insure eight women and their families.
In Rwanda, the national, comprehensive health insurance plan is called Mutuelle.
This plan allows families to access governmental health services at a free or reduced rate after they sign-up annually. The cost is 3,000 RWF (approximately $3.50) per person per year. However, individuals that are part of a family are required to sign-up the whole family at one time. So, for a family of six, the cost for one year of Mutuelle is 18,000 RWF (approximately $22.50). While this seems like an extremely affordable price, many families report making below 30,000 RWF (approximately $37) per month and have household expenses closer to 60,000 RWF (approximately $75) per month. This makes it just out of reach to save for and invest 18,000 RWF in Mutuelle yearly.
In Remera, Kigali part of the benefit package for the women working in the bakery is Mutuelle coverage for their whole families. Last week, women were provided funds to sign-up their families. For approximately $160, we were able to insure eight women and their families.
What does this mean for the women?
It means malaria treatment, access to family planning services, pre-natal care, emergency services, and treatment for minor illnesses which often become significant health concerns when basic healthcare services cannot be accessed early enough.
The impact of this coverage for TWB women is indescribable. Previously a service far out of reach, their work in the bakery has made access to healthcare a reality.
For $3.50 per person per year we can ensure that our bakers have access to basic healthcare coverage meaning healthier and happier employees, lower levels of stress, and healthier families overall.
