Before joining Gardens for Health International (GHI), Rachel’s two-year-old daughter Delphina was severely malnourished. To help her daughter, Rachel started preparing the balanced meals she learned to make in the GHI trainings. At first, Delphine and her three other children didn’t like vegetables, but now they always ask to have dodo, a local green, in their meals! Rachel is so grateful to GHI — Delphine is healthy and her children have discovered a new love for vegetables!

Located in the Gasabo District of Rwanda, GHI offers gardening kits and nutrition education to families in need so they can work towards better food security and overall health.

Thank you Tony, Theresa, Amy and Marie for supporting Rachel and her family.

Two months ago, after finding out that her two young boys were malnourished, Donatille joined the Gardens for Health International (GHI) program. Since then, she has learned how to feed her sons a balanced, four-color meal and they are happier and healthier than ever!

Located in the Gasabo District of Rwanda, GHI offers gardening kits and nutrition education to families in need so they can work towards better food security and overall health.

Thank you Tim and Sherie, John, Tony and Linda for ensuring Donatille and her family are armed against the threat of malnourishment.

We met Liberata and her two children when they were brought to one of our health clinic partners with severe malnutrition. After four months of enrollment in our program, where Rachel and her family received seeds and seedlings, two chickens, and the opportunity to participate in health education sessions, her children are gaining good health.

Liberata is pictured here with her children on distribution day at a health clinic, where she was given fruit trees and chickens. The rest of the seeds she has planted have been delivered to her home by GHI’s agricultural agent. She is now growing maize, beans, beets, carrots, orange sweet potatoes, and amaranth, and has just planted an avocado tree and a papaya tree. She also learned how to save money for the first time, after participating in the education sessions held at her health center-with the money she saved over the past few months, she was able to pay for health insurance for her children.

Thanks to your generosity, this investment in Liberata is empowering her to improve the health of her children and invest in their future. With much gratitude!

We met Francine and her four children when her three-year old was diagnosed with malnutrition and she was brought into one of our health clinic partners for treatment.

After enrolling in the Gardens for Health program following a prescription from the health clinic nutritionist, Francine received seeds, seedlings and two chickens, technical assistance from agricultural agents, and an opportunity to participate in education sessions on the medical causes and social determinants to malnutrition.

Now, Francine’s chickens have now multiplied into ten, and all are giving eggs to her children. She is growing papaya, carrots, peanuts, orange sweet potatoes and spinach. Further, the education sessions and cooking demonstrations have given Francine the skills to feed her children balanced meals. In the last six months, her three year old has gained over six pounds, and no longer carries the tell tale signs of malnutrition–like the oedema and extended belly.

Thanks to your generosity, Francine and her four children are growing better health.

Gratitude, love and vegetables! Thank you from Francine and Gardens for Health!

We met Rachel and her two children when one of her children was brought to one of our health center partners with severe malnutrition. After four months of enrollment in our program, where Rachel and her family received seeds and seedlings, two chickens, and the opportunity to participate in health education sessions, her child has gained over five pounds, and now longer carries with him the tell-tale signs of malnutrition.

Rachel said that the first time she grew vegetables was during the last season, and now in addition maize, beans and soy, Rachel is growing beets, carrots, orange sweet potatoes, and amaranth. She also learned how to save money for the first time, after participating in the education sessions held at her health center–with the money she saved over the past few months, she was able to pay for health insurance for her children.

Thanks to your generosity, this investment in Rachel is empowering her to improve the health of her children and her family. Lasting change is home-grown. Thank you!

We partnered with Filomina and her family when her children were diagnosed with malnutrition. She is incredibly committed to the health of her family and has been an inspiration to us all at Gardens for Health. Since we met Filomina at a health clinic, we provided her with seeds for fruits and vegetables and two chickens for raising eggs. With the help of Gardens for Health agricultural staff, Filomina is now growing orange sweet potatoes, beans, amaranth, cassava leaves, carrots and passion fruit and avocadoes. Filomina also participated in health education sessions led by Gardens for Health community educators on topics related to the physical causes of malnutrition, like breastfeeding and making balanced meals, as well as the social determinants of malnutrition, like gender-based violence and family planning.

Over the past three months, her five year old child, pictured here, has gained six pounds, and moved away from a diagnosis of severe acute malnutrition. His oedema, a result of the swelling due lack of nutrients, has significantly reduced, and Filomina notices that he is frequently less sick. Now, Filomina is excited about being able to send him to school for the first time.

The solution to malnutrition starts in the field of Filomina and in her home. Her commitment, coupled with your generosity and the right resources and education, is building healthy lives and lasting change.

Thank you.

We partnered with Verena and her family when her children were diagnosed with malnutrition. She is a single mother of three children and we met her at one of our health clinic partners when her youngest child was diagnosed with malnutrition. We provided Verena with seeds for fruits and vegetables and two chickens for raising eggs. With the help of Gardens for Health agricultural staff, Verena is now growing orange sweet potatoes, beets, amaranth, peanuts, cassava leaves, avocadoes and passion fruit. Venera also participated in health education sessions led by Gardens for Health community educators on topics related to the physical causes of malnutrition, like hygiene and making balanced meals, as well as the social determinants of malnutrition, like gender-based violence and family planning.

Over the past three months, her young child, pictured here, has gained two kilograms, and moved away from a diagnosis of severe acute malnutrition to moderate malnutrition. His oedema, a result of the swelling due lack of nutrients, has significantly reduced, as well as his hair color has changed from light brown (another sign of malnutrition) to black. Verena is working hard to make him, and all her children, healthy.

The solution to malnutrition starts in the field of Verena and in her home. Her commitment, coupled with your generosity and the right resources and education, is truly building healthy lives and lasting change.

Thank you.

Thanks to your support, Seraphina and her children are now on the path to good health. We met Seraphina when two of her children were brought into the health center diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. After over six months in our program, through a combination of seeds, training, and small livestock, Seraphina now has the resources to improve the health of her family. She is growing carrots, amaranth, soy, cassava leaves, orange sweet potatoes, beets and spinach in her home garden.  The trainings that she says have had the most impact are good nutrition, gender-based violence, and  hygiene and savings, because they have given her the resources to provide her own solutions. Most importantly, her children have gained weight and are no longer ‘in the red’.

Thank you Stacey, for your incredible generosity, and for changing one life and allowing her to change others.

We met Ancilla and her son when he was brought to a health clinic partner with severe acute malnutrition. Weighing just five kilograms at 1 year and eight months, her son was really on the brink.

Now, four months later, Ancilla, her son, and the whole family are moving back from the brink. With your support, Gardens for Health provided Ancilla with the seeds to grow orange sweet potatoes, beans, amaranth, cassava leaves, carrots, passion fruit, avocado, and papaya. GHI also provided Ancilla with two chickens for laying eggs.

Her favorite trainings have been on creating balanced meals, techniques for growing more vegetables over small spaces, and on better complementary feeding techniques for her young son.

Now her son has gained over three kilos and is moving from the brink into better health.

Thank you for investing in Ancilla to make her own family healthier!

Thanks to your incredible generosity, Emerita and her children are growing better health here in Rwanda. We met Emerita when a couple of her children were diagnosed with malnutrition. Her family was provided with home visits from Gardens for Health agricultural agents and seeds for nutritious crops like orange sweet potatoes, cabbages, amaranth, carrots, and peanuts, as well as two chickens for laying eggs.

Emerita also loved coming to weekly lessons at her health clinic where she learned improved agricultural techniques for growing a lot of food over small spaces, preparation of balanced meals using local ingredients and other health topics. Her two year old is now no longer severely acutely malnourished.  Thank you for providing such a sustainable gift!