Karongi father: Malnutrition almost saw my son kiss death

When the gates of prison were flung open for Samuel Ntawigira, the 41uear-old was relieved having served his sentence for genocide crimes. But the desolate home that welcomed him was a harsh reality that life was going to have from scratch all over again.“I was homeless. I found when my land was sold by relatives. I decided to marry so that as a family we can work hard to forge a better life,” Ntawigira said.Two months after his jail term, Ntawigira married Claudine Mukagahire. The couple now have four children in their village in Burunga Village, Bwisyhura Sector in Karongi District (Western Province). Unfortunately, one of Ntawigira’s children, now aged four, almost died because of malnutrition. Little did the family know that it was because of poor feeding. “We rushed him to Karongi health centre in a very critical condition. He was treated but the doctor told us we were not feeding him well”, narrates the mother. As they both narrate on, you clearly observe they had no knowledge about how to feed their children. The Ministry of Health runs an aggressive campaign aimed at eradicating Malnutrition in Rwanda. Karongi is one of the districts in with high cases of malnutrition according to the Ministry reports. Through its Nutrition Programme, the Society for Family Health (SFH) Rwanda supplements government initiatives to eradicate malnutrition. Jean Pierre Nsenga, the SFH nutrition, malaria, safe water and family planning manager said: “Our interventions in Karongi Districts are more to do with creating more awareness about proper Nutrition habits among families through radio talk shows held by nutrition specialist from MOH in collaboration with SFH western regional office and Inter Personal Contacts (IPCs)”.SFH runs a nutrition Programme called “Ongera Umubiri” on Insangano Radio—a community-based radio in Karongi. Through this programme, families in Karongi District have improved their knowledge about how to feed their families. In addition, SFH disseminates reader-friendly published materials to families in the district through community based health workers.As poor as Samuel’s family is, he has no electricity and no radio. His wife listens to “Ongera Umubiri” programme at a neighbour’s home. Still, she confesses, she did not know exactly how to feed her malnourished son. David Rukinishya, volunteers as a community-based health worker in Bwisyhura Sector. He visits homes, door-to-door, sensitising families about nutrition, HIV/Aids, family planning, drinking safe water- among other societal health-related programmes. In a week, Rukinishya visits at least three families in the evenings. “This family is one of those that were identified by Karongi District authorities as most vulnerable. As such, they were given a free cow. I also visit them regularly to sensitise them on proper nutrition. In the whole of Bwisyhura Sector, six children were identified as malnourished, including Samuel’s. I am glad to report that all have now healed except one and he’s also making progress,” Rukinishya said. The fight against malnutrition programme targets children between six to 23 months. Rukinishya said: “We give families free special food supplement packed in sachets. It is in form of flour and has many ingredients. You use one sachet per day for 30 days on a malnourished child. The child must be strictly fed this food when warm—within 30mins.” But this was just a treatment, proper feeding must continue throughout the child’s lifetime. Meaning, the family has to devise ways and means of ensuring consistent quality food supplies. They have been taught how to grow vegetables in sacks filled with soil and manure since they lack enough land to grow food on a large scale. The wife is prepared to start growing vegetables when the rains start soon. The husband is also working hard to improve his income in order to feed his family better. They both say the important lesson learnt from this experience is that to feed a child properly is not about the quantity of food but rather the quality and how it is balanced. Through donor funding, SFH is able to develop high quality printed materials, design and support radio programs, and explore the use of the existing network of Rwandan partner organisations structure to support the nutrition program implementation.