Situation

More than half of Zambian children grow up badly, because they don’t have enough good food and in some parts of year they don’t have any (mainly in the end of period of rains when it isn’t possible to cultivate anything and when supplies of previous harvest run out). Mothers give often to their children only one kind of food because they don’t know how to use other sources of alimentation. Malnutrition of children is the beginning of a tragedy, it’s connected with illnesses and in the end with death, if the children aren’t being taken care of. The state social structure doesn’t help with this problem. Infant mortality in the villages is 117 dead babies out of 1000 and mortality of children under the age of 5 is 82 dead children out of 1000 (to compare: in the Czech Republic the infant mortality is 4 dead babies out of 1000).

Current activities

• Regular program (once a week) about health. Partcipants are taught to use resources for children alimentation (which crops should be used and which meals are good to cook) and they are taught also how to breast-feed.

• Feeding 25 orphans who would die or would need expensive hospitalisation due tu malnutrition. This program is for children under the age of 4 (when they are in the gravest danger) and it is payed out of grant. The strategy is to give money to children (feeding them) and therefore prevent other problems and high costs for medical treatment and transport to the hospital.

Success

• Regular program with workshops about right feeding
• Children gaining on weight (weighed once a week)
• Taking care of orphans