Africa-Press – Lesotho. Mamatšeliso Motseki’s 15-month-old daughter looked frail. Worried that the child could succumb to malnutrition, she asked for advice and was told of what was supposed to be a simple solution: feed the baby with nutritious food.
“It was not easy to do as recommended as I was struggling to make ends meet,” she says.
The only thing readily available was spinach that she had planted in her garden. The child’s condition worsened and had to be admitted at a hospital for three weeks.
“She really did not look good, it was sad to see her like that,” Motseki said of her child who weighed less than 8kg.
All that changed with the establishment of the ‘Mate Nutrition Club funded by World Vision in February 2019. Her daughter was able to get nutritious food, and thankfully recovered.
Nursing mothers have come together with the support of World vision, Food and Nutrition Coordinating Officers (FNCO), Nutrition Officers and Extension Agents to set up a club to educate each other about nutrition and ensure that none of their children are malnourished.
Motseki says they agreed on a regular feeding schedule and they grow their own food that they preserve. Now a bubbly four-year-old, the child is fast gaining weight since Motseki became a member of the club.
“I can see the importance of the club now. I don’t regret joining this club, it saved my child’s life,” she says. The club started with 15 nursing mothers and two pregnant women and has grown to 72 members.
‘Matseko Khoarai, a nursing mother, says they formed the club following World Vision’s encouragement to end malnutrition after cases of malnourishment among children in the community spiked.
She says club members received training on different ways of preparing soft porridge (Lesheleshele), fish, peanut butter, tomato, eggs and spinach. Each member was also bound to have a seed bed (lentloane) and tippy taps at home.
“We no longer have stunted nor malnourished children in this area since the establishment of the club,” Khoarai says. She thanked World Vision for moulding them into strong women who are able to prepare nutritious food for their children.
Club members also received seeds and food parcels from the Prime Minister’s Office as motivation to keep up their good work. She said they encounter several problems that include failure to meet and prepare food when it rains as they cook outside.
Some members also struggle to access clinics that are located far from the village. FNCO’s Limakatso Koae says people in Leribe, like in many other districts, faced food challenges resulting in poor nutrition which led to malnutrition and stunting.
She commended World Vision for supporting the establishment of nutrition clubs. Koae says such clubs should be spread to all the 10 districts of the country.
“I swear nutrition will be improved in our country and we will never experience malnutrition,” she says. Leribe District Agriculture Officer (DAO), Nyakallo Pokocho, encouraged farmers to collaborate and ensure each other’s success.
“We do not just encourage plantation, they should also ensure that once harvested, the foods are well prepared in the home,” she says, adding that Leribe has ample fertile soil for farming activities.
World Vision General Secretary, ‘Mathapelo Letho, says the organisation funded the project after receiving reports of malnourished children, and also started offering training and counselling to pregnant women and their families at health centres.
“Our aim was to ensure that they attend the clinic and that they give birth in a safe environment at clinics,” she says, adding: “This has indeed yielded positive results.
” Letho urged Prime Minister Majoro to push for sustainability of the project by ensuring that government ministries chip in with support. Pela-Ts’oeu MP Mphosi Nkhasi says government ministries should move in with support when the World Vision’s project ends next year.
Speaking on behalf of the Principal Chief, Chief Selabalo Selebalo said the project should be replicated across Leribe and other districts in the country.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Minister Tefo Mapesela said the government was committed to protecting nursing mothers. According to Prime Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro, two in every five children under five years old are malnourished.
“Why can’t Lesotho, with its rich soil and water, feed Basotho?” he queried.
“It is wrong that two in five children are malnourished in a country that has land to grow its own food as such children will not fully participate in life,” Dr Majoro said.
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