Alice’s youngest child suffered from stunting. With other parents, Alice has been learning about nutrition and a balanced diet. Preparing healthy meals at home, Alice is working to ensure her family recovers from malnutrition.
Alice, a mother of 8, faced significant challenges, particularly when her youngest child suffered from stunting due to a lack of nutritional knowledge, a common issue among parents in her community. One of the root causes was limited awareness of proper nutrition.
Alice decided to attend sessions at her local home-based early childhood development (ECD) centre, which provided essential knowledge and skills that helped parents, like Alice and others, transform their approach to nutrition and childcare.
“Lacking knowledge on how to prepare a balanced diet affects families, particularly on children’s growth. My family went through this, and it distabilised my children’s wellbeing as well,” Alice reflects.
Families improve their nutritional knowledge
In her local community, Alice strives alongside her husband to provide for their family. Despite having access to food, their children’s poor health persisted due to a lack of understanding of healthy cooking practices.
“I had food to cook for my family, but my priority was ensuring my children shared the same meal as me. Then, I faced an issue with the 8 children I take care of at home, where the youngest of them experienced stunting.”
Alice
“I had food to cook for my family, but my priority was ensuring my children shared the same meal as me. Then, I faced an issue with the 8 children I take care of at home, where the youngest of them experienced stunting,”
“At the centre, my peers and I learnt how to prepare a balanced diet with 3 types of foods: energy yielding, body building and body protecting. Now, we prepare nutritious meals at home, and I am striving to recover from malnutrition.”
“At the centre, my peers and I learnt how to prepare a balanced diet with 3 types of foods: energy yielding, body building and body protecting. Now, we prepare nutritious meals at home, and I am striving to recover from malnutrition,” Alice shares.
Other techniques for families, she says, include establishing kitchen gardens at their homes, as a grass-root solution to get vegetables free of charge.
Alice adopted this technique of creating a kitchen garden, as a simple and sustainable way to grow vegetables at home without additional costs.
Supporting children’s education through nutrition
Antoine and Beatrice, parents of 8, also faced challenges in providing for their family. As a result, food insecurity, as Antoine explains, affected their children’s education.
“Not having enough food in my family negatively affected my children’s academic performance. They could either miss class or not perform well in class, which ultimately led to their poor results.”
Antoine
“Not having enough food in my family negatively affected my children’s academic performance. They could either miss class or not perform well in class, which ultimately led to their poor results,” witnesses Antoine.
Antoine and Beatrice decided to enrol their children in a school-based Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre. Beatrice, Antoine’s wife, attributes this to the significant improvement in their children’s education.
“With access to balanced meals, my children are now thriving at school. They are happier, enjoy playing with their peers, and perform better academically. One of my children, who used to rank tenth or lower, is now consistently among the top five.”
Beatrice
“With access to balanced meals, my children are now thriving at school. They are happier, enjoy playing with their peers, and perform better academically. One of my children, who used to rank tenth or lower, is now consistently among the top five,” Beatrice explains.
Financial savings groups for family empowerment
Each early childhood development centre is complemented by a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA), offering financial support to families. Adeline, a member of local savings group, highlights its importance.
“Our group is very important to us. Firstly, it is where we meet, learn, exchange knowledge, and save for our future. It also enables us to buy nutritious food for our children,” Adeline shares.
Adeline adds that members save up to Rwf 1,000 per week, which they use to purchase healthy food for their children and families.
“When I need fruits, or other nutritious foods, I borrow money from the group. It helps me overcome financial struggles, afford essentials, and even secure small loans to start a business,” Adeline explains.
About Plan International and partners’ early childhood development centres
Plan International Rwanda, in partnership with Caritas Rwanda, implements the ‘home and school-based early childhood development (ECD) centres’ initiative to support children’s growth and learning across the Bugesera, Gatsibo, and Nyaruguru Districts.
Todate, 96 home-based early childhood development centres support 2,406 children, including 1,224 boys and 1,182 girls, while 10 school-based early childhood development centres support 678 children, including 317 boys and 361.
The programme operates under six pillars of Early Childhood Development (ECD), namely: Adequate Nutrition; Health; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH); Child Protection and Inclusiveness; School Readiness/ Opportunities for Early Learning; and Parenting Education.
Participants also engage in savings groups, empowering parents to support their families and centres sustainably.
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