STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Growing the cure for malnutrition

After a routine screening at her local health clinic, Eliminatha learned that her daughter was malnourished. “I was surprised and sad that my daughter was malnourished, but I was also eager to learn how to help her.” Determined to acquire the necessary tools to better the health of her family, Eliminatha joined other mothers from her village to attend GHI’s agriculture and health trainings.

There, she learned hands-on, sustainable agriculture methods that would enable her to build her own home garden. “When I joined GHI, I learned the double-dug bed-building method, how to grow nutritious food, and how to diversify the crops that I grow.” These agriculture techniques are not only good for the earth, but are also beneficial for the health of Eliminatha’s family, allowing her to feed her family nutritious vegetables she grew herself. Combined with the health topics she learned, such as proper handwashing, Eliminatha is equipped with the knowledge to care holistically for her children’s health and wellbeing.

Today, Eliminatha’s children are growing strong and healthy. “All our meals have four nutritious colors: green, white, brown, and orange, and when my children see all the vibrant colors, they are eager to eat!” Eliminatha walks around her home garden with a radiant smile, pointing out each vegetable and fruit tree: “amaranth, collard greens, tree tomatoes, onions.” Her list goes on. To Eliminatha, her home garden has become a source of joy, health, and a way to give back to her community. “I teach the skills that I learned to my neighbors and give them seeds to start their own healthy home gardens!” Eliminatha has committed to carrying on GHI’s work to neighboring families in her community so they can grow the cure to malnutrition in their gardens as well.