Bahoneza – Kinyarwanda, Rwanda Welfare, Social Welfare, Rwanda People, Nutrition and Diet, Rwanda Habitat, Living in Kigali

To maintain hygiene and eat balanced foods, a program to promote health sector was established and measures to prevent malnutrition and poor hygiene related diseases were taken.

Residents have been sensitized to have kitchen gardens and health officials were trained to better protect the lives of residents.

Agakono k’umudugudu program promotes healthy eating in families

A school “agakono k’umudugudu” throughout 473 sectors of Nyabihu was set up where parents learn how to prepare balanced diet, explains Pierre Dusenge in charge of health in Nyabihu district.

Dusenge reveals that 316 kitchen gardens were made to help parents get fresh vegetables rich in vitamins to prepare balanced foods and fight malnutrition.

On children development program, children in 12 sectors of the district are weighed to record the weight and their physical growth is monitored by 1792 community health workers, Dusenge denotes

Pierre Dusenge adds that Directors of health centre and Nyabihu district administration signed performance contracts to care about the health of the residents and to do their work efficiently.

Wilelimini Nzabahiranya, Head of Rubona Health Centre has revealed that residents of Mpara village, Cyome cell in Gatumba sector have gone far in fighting malnutrition.

Out of 130 children with undernourishment problems, 127 have completely cured from it.

Mpara village community health worker explains that to achieve this big step in fighting malnutrition is because of akarima k’igikoni (kitchen garden) and “agakono k’umwana” programs.

Also, associations were formed to help poor parents. Eugenie Musengimana confessed that she had a malnourished child but with the help of associations, she was able to buy food and milk and now the child is better.

Musengimana is grateful for the advice she got to make agakono k’umwana which helped her to care for the baby better. At first she was giving adult food to her breastfeeding baby.

Telesifori Bihoyiki for social affairs in Gatumba sector told women that eating balanced food is not eating chips and meat as some of them think.

Clothilde Nyiraneza, Vice Mayor for social affairs in Ngororero district thanked Mpara residents for finding solutions to the problems without waiting for help from leaders. Solutions are akarima k’igikoni, agakono k’umwana and credit associations

She requested that these decisions become part of their daily lives and that preparing balanced diet be done weekly instead of monthly.

However, Nyiraneza wishes that good nutrition be accompanied by sanitation for clothes and personal hygiene, young and old. She reminded parents to embrace all government programs of which they are the beneficiaries.

Ministry of health agreed to give parents materials to use in their program of learning how to prepare balanced diet. Materials include big sauce pans to prepare food for many children.

Clothilde Nyiraneza request that residents with cows give milk to the remaining three children with malnutrition problems so that the whole village wave good bye to malnutrition problems.