Red Cross launches campaign against poor feeding

Rwanda Red Cross (RRC) on Friday launched a campaign against poor feeding in Burera district, Northern Province.The NGO`s district activity Coordinator, Félicité Mukabalisa, said the campaign will focus on empowering the population with knowledge to produce and feed their families.“We are producing a variety of foodstuffs, but you find that most residents are mainly producing for the market; forgetting the welfare of their families,” said Mukabalisa.He warned that if there is no change in such actions, markets will be booming with business at the expense of people`s health.“Although it is important for farmers to sell some of their harvests, it is equally necessary that they feed their families well to keep them healthier,” he said.The campaign will involve expanding the kitchen garden initiative to more family`s to enable them grow a variety of vegetables. According to Mukabalisa some families do not utilize the availability of vegetables in the area.The head of RRC in Burera, Pierre Celestin Niyonsenga, said the exercise will also involve sensitization campaigns to promote hygiene.“According to a recent survey that aimed at identifying challenges our family’s face, we realized that some members of the community were still backward in terms of cleaning their backyard,”, adding that it directly affects families as it causes infections or diseases.Edissa Nyirantereye a resident who has been engaging in kitchen gardening, said it had helped her not only for consumption but also reduced on the quantity of foodstuff she used to sell from her harvest.