Around the world 690 million people go to bed hungry every night. In Kenya alone, around half the population lives below the poverty line. The country is dealing with huge challenges including extreme drought and malnutrition.
With a hunger crisis looming and children’s lives at risk from severe malnutrition, a group of remarkable women in Murombus village are making a positive and lasting change in their community.
Women support each other to fight hunger
With help from Action Against Hunger, women in the village formed their own mothers’ support group. The group is already having a positive impact on women like Silvia.
“I had seven miscarriages and gave up on becoming a mother.”
The mothers’ support group is helping women like Silvia access vital information about maternal and child health and nutrition. During these sessions, the women learn how to give their child the best start in life. They learn about the right nutrition during pregnancy and in the first years of their child’s life and about the importance of breastfeeding. After becoming a member of the support group, Silvia’s life has changed for the better.
“I learned about the need to take iron and folic acid supplements and I now visit the hospital regularly,” says Silvia.
Iron and folic acid are crucial for pregnant women. Without it, they risk becoming anaemic which could have devastating consequences for them if they lose a lot of blood while giving birth. It’s also important for the development of a foetus as it cannot grow without energy. If a foetus doesn’t develop, it can lead to miscarriages.
After joining the group, Silvia gave birth to her daughter Faith, who is now five-years-old.
Kitchen garden project
As part of the mothers’ support group, the women meet up to learn about farming techniques. Every week, a farming expert joins their meeting to teach the women new skills and help them sustain a healthy garden.
“I always look forward to the Saturday meetings,” says Silvia.
The mothers were able to launch the kitchen garden project thanks to a waterpoint built by Action Against Hunger. Through this project, the women have learned to raise chickens and plant vegetables like beetroots and tomatoes. The garden project has also enabled mothers like Silvia to use the skills they’ve learnt in their own gardens.
“I learn what other people must go to school to learn, such as which vegetables to plant, how to water them as well as how to prepare and eat them,” explains Silvia.
By learning to grow vegetables at home, women like Silvia are empowering themselves and securing steady access to nutritious food for both their children and the community as a whole.
Since setting up the mothers’ support group the women have seen positive changes in their community. The children of Murombus are eating well and are much healthier.
“It’s a win-win situation. I can feed my children and earn some money.”
Action Against Hunger’s work in Kenya
We’ve been working in Kenya since 2014. In 2020, we reached over 600,000 people in the country. Our teams are responding to the current food shortage and supported over 100,000 people with nutrition treatment, including nearly 70,000 children. We’re also supporting women by distributing cash to eight mothers’ support groups.