Blooming in Care

It’s that time of year again – time to roll up your sleeves, get dirt under your fingernails, and try to transform your outside space into that garden oasis you’ve always dreamed of.

A group of women in Kisii County, Kenya, recently did the same thing – but instead of daffodils or tulips they planted the seeds for better maternal and child nutrition.

Our partners in Kenya work to reduce rates of infant, child, and maternal mortality through community-driven health education and health facility improvements. One key tool used to accomplish this is the care group, which are groups of 10-15 pregnant women and mothers of young children who meet twice a month to learn about new health behaviors, such as regular handwashing, breastfeeding, and nutrition. Each group is led by a local mother.

Community members at a kitchen garden in Kisii County, Kenya

One care group lesson centered on kitchen gardens, a way of growing fruits and vegetables at home to supplement nutrition. Instead of using their extra land to grow cash crops such as tea or coffee, women who participated in our care group began using their land to grow nutritious vegetables for themselves, their children, and to sell at the market, not only giving them an additional source of nutrition at home but also a way to earn supplemental cash at the market. Upon learning that kitchen gardens were becoming popular, we worked with local health promoters to arrange learning exchange visits between communities. Women could visit one another’s gardens and learn from each other what was working well.

In addition to kitchen gardens, care group leaders also started working together to create a community poultry farm. They pooled the monthly stipend that they receive leading groups and worked with neighbors to donate unused land to the effort. The poultry farm now provides an extra source of nutrition for the community. At the end of the year, the volunteers sell any extra animals and split the earnings.

Malnutrition is a leading cause of child mortality, accounting for nearly half of deaths in children under five years old. We are hopeful that we can continue to encourage innovative approaches to improving childhood health, like kitchen gardens and poultry farms, across our communities.