The Valparaiso University grant has enabled us to conduct a series of 8 nutrition trainings in 3 different health centers. Average attendance is 15 people, including health center staff and lay health workers. The training topics include antenatal nutrition, growth monitoring, healthy complementary foods, recovery feeding, responsive feeding, and hygiene. We are also training folks to actually deliver nutrition education messages. It has been a really rich time for me ~ I’ve learned at least as much as I’ve taught! To celebrate completion of the fourth training session, I presented participants with brand new green “Byokuliya Bisemeye mu Bantu” t-shirts (Byokuliya Bisemeye mu Bantu means “good food for people”). On the front of the shirts, a groundnut plant is pictured, with a young girl going to school, a father digging in the garden, and a pregnant mother. The graphic represents a father supporting his daughter and pregnant wife by cultivating high protein foods in the garden, resulting in healthy children who are successful in school. On the back of the shirt is a paraphrase of 2 Corinthians 9:10 “God, who supplies seed to sow…will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.” It was such a joy to see people’s faces light up when they received this gift ~ thanks Valparaiso!!

Please continue to pray for enthusiasm, creativity, and wisdom for training preparation.