Gardens For Health 2021 Annual Report by Gardens for Health International

ANNUAL REPORT 2021

CONTENTS LETTER FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

OUR MISSION AND MODEL

OUR COVID-19 RESPONSE

OUR CORE PROGRAMS

OUR PARTNERS

OUR IMPACT

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

OUR STRATEGIC PLAN

THANK YOU

FINANCES

28 A GHI data collector measures a child's height

Dear Friends, Despite 2021 being yet another destabilizing year, there’s so much to reflect upon and celebrate. Together with you and our entire community, we managed to weather several crises, nurtured and cultivated new connections, partnered with each other, adapted our programs meaningfully, and so much more. This year, our interventions focused on COVID-19 response support to partner health clinics, capacity building for community health workers, and nutrition counseling, awareness, and screenings for the community. We implemented a successful Maternal Nutrition Program that directly equipped approximately 1,000 families with the essential nutrition knowledge, skills, and resources to grow and consume healthy foods in their own backyards. We are also happy to report that our sustainability experiment in Musanze District turned out successfully: 1,236 former program graduates now operate savings and support groups autonomously and are proudly regarded as Nutrition Champions in their communities.

SOLOMON MAKUZA Executive Director Gardens for Health International

Through partnerships, we worked with 104 primary schools serving approximately 84,000 students giving them practical strategies to improve nutrition within school grounds and beyond into their communities. We implemented innovative agriculture trials at our farm and introduced more livestock and cutting-edge holistic approaches that are unlocking our farm’s natural potential of self-sufficiency. We also hosted ten organizations for a Training of Trainers workshop in regenerative farming. We doubled down on our efforts to keep the spark alive for our staff; we intentionally invested in staff’s wellness and professional growth through expert-led workshops, retreats, and learning opportunities. When we think about what the future holds for us, we couldn’t be more optimistic and convinced. We are at an inflection point and we are counting on your support to meet the moment’s challenges and opportunities. With love, gratitude, and vegetables,

Solomon

THE PROBLEM The majority of the world’s poor are farmers, yet millions are malnourished. In Rwanda, the disconnect between agriculture and nutrition is striking: 72% of families grow food for a living, yet 33% of young children are chronically malnourished. This simple concept, that food alone does not equal good nutrition, is at the heart of our mission. THE SOLUTION To tackle the root causes of malnutrition, we equip families with seeds, skills, and knowledge to create vegetable gardens, prepare balanced meals, and keep children healthy. Transformative impact is possible by investing in the nutrition of mothers and young children, because well-nourished children get sick less often, perform better in school, and are more likely to escape poverty.

ABOUT US Our roots are in Rwanda. Since 2009, Gardens for Health International has worked hand-in-hand with local communities to end malnutrition. Our innovative curriculum on agriculture, nutrition, and health topics was designed in partnership with local mothers; our trainings are led by talented educators who come directly from the communities they serve; and our dedicated staff is 96% Rwandan. We believe in changing systems, not treating symptoms. Integrating agriculture and nutrition into the health system is the only sustainable solution to effectively treat and prevent malnutrition. We work in close partnership with the Government of Rwanda by teaming up with community health workers, delivering trainings at local health clinics, and advising policy.

AGRICULTURE: Farming for life, not just a living The long-term cure for chronic malnutrition isn’t found at a health clinic, but it can be grown in one’s own backyard. We partner with malnourished families to enable them to plant home gardens full of diverse vegetables so they have a lasting source of nutrition. We provide seeds and hands-on trainings in skills like composting, creating pesticides, and other techniques to maximize crop yields using the limited resources already available to families in rural Rwanda. NUTRITION: Knowledge is the key to change For parents to provide their families with nutritious foods, they must first understand what nutrition is. We teach parents essential knowledge like the benefits of a healthy diet, what makes a balanced meal, and breastfeeding best practices. Our innovative One Pot One Hour lesson demonstrates how to cook a healthy meal with limited time and resources, so that every mother can provide her children with the nutrients they need to thrive. HEALTH: A comprehensive approach to a complex problem Sick children often become malnourished, which makes them more likely to get sick yet again. Breaking this cycle requires addressing all the factors that lead to malnutrition. In engaging trainings full of song and dance, we educate mothers and their partners to identify symptoms of common illnesses and teach proper hygiene practices. Our comprehensive curriculum goes beyond the basics, promoting family planning and creating a safe space to discuss gender-based violence.

The pandemic raged on in 2021 as we weathered months-long lockdowns and curfews and the lasting effects of COVID-19 prevention policies. In response, we continued to meet the nutritional needs of our community and bringing nutrition-sensitive agriculture to families. We distributed food from our organic farm to our partner families to help them sustain proper nutrition during the pandemic. We also donated fruit tree seedlings to plant in their homes for sustainable sources of healthy food. Government health clinics were in need of support in managing the overarching effects of the pandemic. We leveraged our existing relationships to build the capacity of the overwhelmed health system by screening children for malnutrition, providing life-saving face masks and handwashing stations, and training community health workers in the effects of the pandemic on nutrition. We increased community understanding of COVID-19 and provided support to overburdened health clinics at the frontlines, meeting parents at the point-of-care and delivering essential COVID-19 prevention and nutrition counseling to thousands.

SUCCESS STORY

Illuminee is a mother of two and a government Community Health Worker at Rwaza health clinic located in Musanze District. With her husband and two children, she practices small-scale farming to support the family. Illuminee first partnered with GHI in 2017, enrolling in the Child Nutrition Program. During her weeks in the program, she learned how to grow healthy vegetables at home, prepare a balanced meal, and breastfeed her newborn. As part of GHI’s sustainability efforts, Iluminee now as the opportunity to engage with GHI past her graduation. She’s now a member of a GHI peer support group where she joins other women to maintain healthy habits together. Illuminee was excited to join a group of peers. Together, they put together their savings as a team, supported and learnt from each other, and shared seedlings for their vegetable gardens. Illuminee has always wanted to expand her financial management skills and share her experience in agriculture and nutrition with her peers in the community. The peer support groups allowed her to do exactly that. When COVID-19 hit, many of the members of her group lost their jobs during lock-down as a result of the preventive measures that were put in place to curb the spread of the virus. They were able to rely on the support group to provide for their basic needs.

“Being part of GHI’s program helped us a lot. They taught us to make kitchen gardens and that has been our main way of survival. We can enjoy vegetables that we have grown ourselves without spending any money.” Iluminee is excited to see what she and fellow graduates in her peer support group can achieve together.

OUR CORE PROGRAMS

WE KEPT DADS INVOLVED We completed our second year of inviting fathers to enroll in our program alongside their partners. Fathers attended a two-day work chock full of essential information and we saw the highest numbers of father graduating yet.

MATERNAL NUTRITION PROGRAM In 2021, we celebrated 503 mothers and 185 fathers who graduated from our program. These graduates and expectant parents learned how to prevent malnutrition before it even begins through knowledge in agriculture, nutrition and health. They also started their own home vegetable gardens with which to feed their families.

GRADUATE PEER SUPPORT GROUPS 2021 saw us continuing our efforts to engage program participants beyond graduation. 1,500 mothers joined graduate peer support groups which went on to elect 30 mothers to serve as Nutrition Champions in their communities.

CORE PROGRAMS

Staff Christine and Betty have a little fun in our outdoor kitchen before lunch! A GHI nutrition champion in Musanze District NUTRITION CHAMPIONS We also wanted to couple our sustainability efforts with leadership opportunities for graduates. To do this, the graduate support groups nominated 30 Nutrition Champions - graduates who will receive training to serve as nutrition and agriculture leaders in their communities. The program centers women’s empowerment as these leaders share essential health knowledge with those around them.

STAFF WELLNESS We doubled down on our efforts to keep the spark alive for our staff; we intentionally invested in staff’s wellness and professional growth through expert-led workshops, retreats, and learning opportunities.

INTEGRATION OF OUR MODEL In our efforts to make agriculture a part of the treatment of malnutrition, we work closely with the government. GHI was invited as a thought partner and technical contributor in the development of the National kitchen garden guide and cooking demonstration recipe booklet. We also trained government Community Health Workers in our model.

Francine: a 5th grader passionate about gardening Francine is a 12-year-old fifth grader and a passionate gardener, thanks to her new nutrition and agriculture lessons at school. GHI’s program reaches Francine through our partnership with the World Food Programme. After learning how to grow and eat healthy food at school, Francine had the opportunity to take her lessons home with her. With resources from the program, she started her own vegetable garden at home with encouragement from her mother and teacher. Her garden is now one of her favorite places to spend time. “If I am not at school, I am most likely in my garden either irrigating, weeding, or fertilizing. My best days of the week are the ones when I get to spend time in my garden,” Francine shared.

OUR PARTNERS 2021 was a great year as far as our partnership is concerned. We now celebrate 5 years of great partnership in schools with the World Food Programme. We reached 82,000 students at 104 schools in bringing hands-on agriculture and nutrition education at school. WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME We partnered with the World Food Programme to implement phase I of the Home Grown School Feeding Project and Phase II for another 5 years (2021-2025) has been approved.

Francine’s garden is filled with healthy looking carrots because that’s her favorite veggie. “I love vegetables because without them, my family couldn’t afford to eat a balanced meal. I am lucky to have gone to a school that teaches us about starting our own vegetable garden,” Francine shared. Francine encourages her peers to start their own gardens at home because just like her, they would also enjoy the experience of harvesting food they grew themselves and having a project all their own. We are excited to see where Francine’s passion for gardening takes her!

SUCCESS STORY

REGENEROSITY OUR PARTNERS

We also kicked off a new partnership with Regenerosity to improve regenerative agriculture on the farm. Part of our regenerative agriculture efforts on the farm include training families in livestock farming. We ourselves added five turkeys and two pigs to the farm.

VANGUARD ECONOMICS We partnered with Vanguard Economics to spread knowledge about fortified whole-grains in schools.

RECYCOAL We partnered with Recycoal and trained community leaders on the production of biochar and natural soil fertilizers using crop residues.

TRAINING OF TRAINERS We also held a twoday regenerative agriculture Training of Trainers where we trained representatives from ten organizations on how to bring sustainable agriculture to their communities.

OUR IMPACT

OUR CORE PROGRAM MATERNAL NUTRITION PROGRAM Health and Nutrition Training

Since January 2021, 503 mothers and 185 fathers graduated from our Maternal Nutrition Program (MNP) which equips families with skills to maintain healthy habits and practice nutrition sensitive agriculture. At graduation, an average of 72% of program graduates scored 70% or higher on the knowledge test

Home Garden

Families that graduate from our program grew an average of 3 vegetables in their household in comparison to 1.5 vegetables before they join the program

Cooking Demonstrations

In partnership with community health workers, we conducted 42 cooking demonstrations both on the field and at our farm that were attended by around 500 mothers and fathers.

Minimum Dietary Diversity (Women and children

who consume 5 food groups or more out of 10 groups) The number of women who met the Minimum Dietary Diversity increased from 49% at the start of the program to 80% and 62% at exit and one-year follow-up survey respectively.

Seeds donation

We donated around 2350 seed packets of various vegetable, potato, and fruit plants from our farm to 322 families to promote sustainable and diverse gardening and nutrition in our community households.

3,617

COVID-19 RECOVERY

mothers & partners received nutrition sensitive training

844 KGS

of direct food aid to 28 families

1,092

face masks donated

PROGRAM SUSTAINABILITY PLAN 15 sector agronomists and 16 health center nutritionists in Musanze trained on home gardening techniques and nutrition. Started the Nutrition Champions Program in Musanze which aims to empower graduates of our core Maternal Nutrition Program to replicate GHI's model in the larger community. 1,236 program in Musanze graduates mobilised to start 45 saving groups and trained on group saving and credit principles.

SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMME In partnership with community and health leaders, we established kitchen gardens at 15 Sectors and 16 Health Centers. We provided capacity building to 352 government Community Health Workers, training them in our model including how to screen children for malnutrition, basic nutrition knowledge, and our signature cooking method.

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

82,000

Students reached from 104 schools participating in the programme.

10,000

Community members reached, including parents, teachers, health workers and local leaders.

60,242

Vegetable seed packages distibuted to schools.

15,348

Agroforestry trees distibuted to schools.

Established compost piles and vermi composting techniques on the farm.

Fruit tree trees distibuted to schools.

Established a nursery with indigenous vegetables and agroforestry trees.

4,007

150 40

Families received vegetable seedlings to plant in their home gardens. Families graduated from GHI' core programme to recieve training on regenerative agriculture and health education. Constructed a livestock shed for pigs and turkeys on the farm.

One Parent’s Passion for Growing and Cooking Healthy Food SUCCESS STORY

Rosa Mukamasaba, a mother of six children, is one of the parents we have reached through our partnership in schools across the country with the UN World Food Programme. She’s attended trainings on essential agriculture and nutrition topics and is now the happy owner of a vegetable garden. Rosa never used to pay much attention to what foods she prepared for her family to eat. The family’s daily meals mostly consisted of potatoes. But all that has changed. She now always makes sure to serve her family nutritious vegetables she grew herself. Since attending the training, she now applies the signature GHI cooking method: One Pot, One Hour which allows families to cook a nutritious meal in an hour using limited resources. “My husband was shocked the first time I cooked this way because he couldn’t believe I had prepared it in such a short time until I told him all about our lessons that day,” she says.

“I am now able to cook vegetables from my own garden for my family every day” Rosa, mother and garden owner

SUCCESS STORY

Our farm staff keep us growing

“I am proud of everything I have learnt working for GHI. People, including local leaders, visit my home to see what my garden looks like. I also keep getting requests from the community to help them construct their own gardens.” Alfred, GHI Farm Staff

We don’t just teach sustainable agriculture methods, we also practice them ourselves. GHI’s demonstration farm headquarters is only able to serve as a thriving organic garden because of the dedication of our farm staff who tend to it everyday. One such staff member is Alfred, who has worked with us for the past twelve years.

At GHI, Alfred has learned new sustainable, organic ways of growing crops and was introduced to a wide array of new vegetables like beets and broccoli. He has been able to bring these lessons home with him: growing his own nutritious food at home and serving as an example in his community. We are so proud to see Alfred inspiring and teaching families in his community to grow their own vegetables and eat nutritious homegrown food.

LOOKING AHEAD

2021-2023 Strategic Plan ADAPTATION We’re adapting our programs to respond to global pandemics and climate change. We’ll continue to deliver food and seed packages to affected families and review our agriculture package for climate resilience. LEARNING We’re learning from program evaluations and sharing with partners, using updated mobile data collection and engaging stakeholders online. PARTNERSHIP We’re partnering with local communities, governments, and on-the-ground experts in agriculture, health, and education. INTEGRATION We’re integrating our key trainings and messages into local systems and participating in national-level technical working groups. COMMITMENT We’re committing to local leadership, equity, and sustainability.

THANK YOU

INDIVIDUALS Alyssa Palmquist Andrea Asaro Andrew Bryan Anne Colman Anne Hafrey Anny Ewing Archie and Nina McIntyre Arlene Bernstein Barbara and Victor Klein Betsy Caney Carole Levin Cecilia Yu and Michael Wong Charles Harding Cricket Beauregard Lewis

ORGANIZATIONS

Greatergood.org

Regenerosity

Amazon Smile

Imago Dei

Bon Marche Thrift Store

IZUMI Foundation

Rosenkranz Foundation

Buckminster Fuller Institute

Laurie M Tisch Illumination Foundation

CLIF Bar Family Foundation

New England Internaitonal Donors

End World Hunger Foundation

Oppenheimer Foundation

Segal Family Foundation T&J Meyer Family Foundation Together Women Rise Vanguard Economics

The Waterloo Foundation Wong Family Foundation World Food Programme

Cyndi Pogue Danielle Bazinet Daphne Petri and Paul Schwartz Debora Booth Donald Lehmann Emily Morell Eric and Patsy Decker

Eslee Samberg and Eric Marcus Frederick and Margaret Weiss Geoffrey Morris Grace Glenny Hal and Laurie Curtis Heather Gerken and David Simon Heather Lee Helen Weld and Robert Strachan Howard Gross

Kathy Weinman

Nick Baer

Katie Andresen

Nina Stout

Katya and John Redpath

Oliver L Ho

Kristi Zea Kristin and Terrence Finn Lauren Mendell Lida Lafferty Linda Slamon Lisa Abad Liza Mundy Loretta Talios

Peter Haines Peter Hardy and Gail Koehler Phyllis Gardiner Rachel Cohen Regina DeAngelo Regina Edmonds Richard Weiss Roberta Guthrie

Louise Bray

Ronald and Elizabeth Sugameli

Lynn Yangchana

Sandford Schlussman

Jeanette Perdigon

Lynne Joiner

Sarah Holmes

Jennifer Huntington

Marcia Hoffer

Scheryn Pratt

Jennifer Peterson

Marcia Israeloff

Scott Warren

John and Marsha Shyer

Mark Bamforth

John Clippinger

Mary Nutt

Selina and Allen Rossiter

John LeClaire and Ruth Hodges

Maximillian Greenwald

Jane Gottlieb Jean Roiphe and Michael Herz

Sheffield Van Buren Stephen Neel

Joyce Fletcher

May Wakamatsu and John Berk

Julie Carney

Michael Rendich

Susan Woskie

Kathie and Andy Wold

Nancy and John Newman

Thomas Faletti

Kathleen Lynch

Nancy Reynolds

Susan Price

Thomas Shapiro

INCOME 11%

EXPENSES 6%

85%

89%

PROGRAM

$529,683

FOUNDATIONS $664,488

ADMINISTRATION

$39,111

INDIVIDUALS

$82,228

DEVELOPMENT

TOTAL INCOME

$ 746,716

TOTAL EXPENSES

$55,445 $624,239