Thanks from Nepal
Here’s an update on a World Vision project in Nepal that’s supported by 40 Hour Famine funds.
The problems in Jumla, Nepal
When World Vision first came to Jumla, Nepal, many children there were underweight. The community’s staple foods were rice and bread, made from varieties of grains that were difficult to grow in the mountainous climate and expensive for families to buy.
Because of the steep slopes of the mountains,
only about 15% of the land was being used for farming, and deforestation had made the soil less fertile, so their crop yield was low.
The community was also growing
apples, but because of poor roads it was
difficult to transport the apples to markets where they could sell them for a higher price, and they had
poor storage methods, so a large proportion of the apple crop was going rotten.
The results of these obstacles were
low incomes and a
high proportion of malnourished children. So World Vision
partnered with local government agencies, other
non-profit organisations and the
local community to come up with ways to tackle some of these problems.
The solutions
For starters, the community was
educated on how to grow
indigenous (local) varieties of seeds, grains and vegies in kitchen gardens and greenhouses. This gave them a wider range of fresh, healthy vegies to eat. One local said,
“We now eat a range of cereals and vegetables that we did not eat before. In the past, few people ate vegetables, and certainly not everybody could even afford rice, and some were only eating one meal per day.”In addition, farmers have established
five seed banks to collect and supply seeds for the community, so that in future they can keep growing their own food. They also learned techniques on how to terrace the steep land so that more of it can be farmed. This alone has doubled their crop yield, simply by making more land available to grow food.
A group also came together to build
apple storage cellars, which have proven so successful in preventing their apple crop from rotting that several more have been built.
Next, people from the community came together to
improve the roads connecting them to other communities. Now they are better able to sell their produce to other markets and increase their incomes.
The results
So what about the hungry kids? Locals say that malnutrition in children has dropped considerably. The chairwoman of one of the women’s groups says that before,
“there were many children underweight. Now there is only one or two.”The best part is, the community worked towards these goals themselves, with help and guidance from World Vision. Now they know what they can achieve, they have more confidence to carry on these amazing changes.
So thank you!
Your brilliant efforts in giving up something important to you for 40 hours really do make a difference. You should feel very proud.
Seeing Kenya for real
If you did the 40 Hour Famine last year, you might remember reading about a place in Kenya called Laisamis, and the food crisis there. Laisamis is stricken by drought – and even though the rains have been better this year, people still have to dig into the dry river bed looking for water.
Funds from the 40 Hour Famine have been
helping kids recover from malnutrition in Laisamis. The most vulnerable children are given a food called
‘Plumpy Nut’, which has been developed specially for kids who are malnourished. It’s packed with energy and micronutrients to help them gain weight.
World Vision worker Stuart Thompson visited Laisamis to see what your amazing 40 Hour Famine fundraising is achieving.