“Thabi” is watching her four children as they sit beside a dirt road in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. They are waiting for maize trucks to go past and hoping, as each rattles by, that it will drop a few kernels along the way, which they can pick up.
Thabi gives them maize porridge to eat. But not every day. Some days there is nothing to eat.
Thabi knows that a diet of maize alone is not healthy, especially for growing youngsters, but she cannot afford vegetables. She is glad when the children forage for wild fruit and insects, but sad that this uses up the little energy they have.
When they feel strong enough, Thabi’s children go to school (no fees to pay), but they cannot concentrate because they are so hungry. They are too weak and listless to participate properly in sports or other activities. Their teacher is patient with them, for most of the children in her class are the same. She understands that their hunger drags them down, affecting even their handwriting.
Give a child the gift of health and life for 14p ($0.18; €0.15) a day
Join with Barnabas Fund to give health and wholeness to hungry children in Zimbabwe.
A special porridge called ePap, made from maize and soya beans with added vitamins and minerals, brings health to malnourished children in a matter of weeks. It is easy to make, by simply adding water to the pre-cooked powder.
A child of seven or over needs a daily 50g (dry weight) of ePap, costing just 14p ($0.18; €0.15). Infants aged one to six need half that ration.
The poorest of the poor
Matabeleland is the poorest part of a desperately impoverished country.
It is also affected by the drought that grips the whole country. Worst of all is Bulawayo, the main city of Matabeleland, where taps in some parts have been dry for three months and many children, especially the under-fives, are falling sick from drinking water contaminated by sewage.
Barnabas Fund wants to provide four months of nutritious ePap for 3,602 children, aged 4 to 12, in the district of Lupane, in Matabeleland.
Why Lupane?
Lupane is rich in churches – typically six in every village – but poor in every other way.
Families in Lupane have an average monthly income of just £22 ($28; €24) – the lowest in Zimbabwe. Its people are suffering the highest food insecurity in the country and have the poorest diet. Without adequate diversity of food and often having to miss meals altogether, the children of Lupane are vulnerable to malnutrition, stunting, nutrient deficiencies that lead to illness, and death.
Bulk buy to save money
By buying ePap in bulk in South Africa and sending it to Zimbabwe, Barnabas Fund can reduce costs.
Our experienced project partners in Zimbabwe are ready and waiting to distribute the ePap to all the children in 15 primary schools in Lupane from 1 December until Easter. During term-time the children will be fed at school five days a week; during the school holidays they will be fed at home seven days a week.
Your gift will help make this goal a reality.
Please step in now with your gift of love and hope for our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe, a country where an estimated 93% of the population are members of churches.
Just £28.50 ($36; €31) will provide 10kg of ePap with its health-giving micronutrients and protein to nourish three children for two months.
