The "Hungry Season"

In Malawi, October marks the beginning of a hungry season that can extend all the way until April. Most of the rural population practices subsistence farming, which often leaves people in a difficult and vulnerable situation. When the harvest comes in, maybe around April, families have food surpluses. They sell the majority of this food to acquire cash and keep the rest of the food to feed their families.

When October rolls around, however, families often start to run low on food. When they go to the market to purchase more food, they often find that most of the food from the past year's harvest has already been consumed by other families. They must then wait for the next harvest and suffer in the meantime, and this period of waiting is known as the "hungry season." The number of malnourished children we see at our Project Peanut Butter mobile clinics in Malawi rises dramatically during this time period. 

       

How does Project Peanut Butter Help?

Chikwawa District in southwestern Malawi, where the climate is extremely hot, is among the nation's hardest-hit districts in terms of food insecurity and malnutrition. Project Peanut Butter operates four mobile clinics in this district, the largest of which is based at Mitondo Health Center. Mothers who attend this clinic come from perhaps 10-15 different surrounding villages, sometimes walking for hours with their sick children. Project Peanut Butter nurses and volunteers visit Mitondo Health Clinic every two weeks and assess the children who come there, sometimes seeing between 60 and 100 children at the clinic during the hungry season.    

Hear Their Stories

Twenty-five year old Luvanes, who walked twenty minutes from her village of Savala to Mitondo Health Center today, is the mother of four girls. She was concerned about the health of her youngest daughter, 1 ½-year-old Thokozani. And rightfully so, for Thokozani was diagnosed with moderate malnutrition and given enough supplemental food to last until the next clinic visit, two weeks from today. Nurse Eleanor will counsel Luvanes about her child’s ailment and demonstrate how she needs to feed her child every day.

                         

Cecilia, from the nearby Nasi Village, is also the proud mother of four girls. Her husband ferries people across a river in his canoe for a living, and the family also grows maize to earn income. Today she has come to Mitondo Health Center with her youngest daughter, 9-month-old Mudzandifuna, to attend an "Under 5 Clinic." Some of the Health Surveillance Aides employed by Project Peanut Butter spotted her and informed her that her child's weight has been steadily decreasing. They referred her to PPB's mobile clinic to be assessed and treated for malnutrition. After her weight, height, and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) were taken, Mudzandifuna was diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition and started on a 4 to 8 week regimen of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and antibiotics. Cecilia stated that she appreciates Project Peanut Butter because she knows that other children who are on this treatment improve quickly. 

                                        

You can help malnourished children like Thokozani and Mudzandifuna make a full recovery by donating to this fundraiser. We aim to raise enough money to fund all of the operations of our largest clinic in Chikwawa, the Mitondo clinic, during the 2013-2014 hungry season.

What YOUR Donations Will Go Towards!

1. Food for Moderately Malnourished Children- $1, 920-HSAs and volunteers identify sick children in the community 

Thank you for your generous donation!