Soccer Balls and Soy in Africa

August 31


Today was the second day of the workshop and we presented our work with school nutrition programs around the world. It is always a excellent opportunity to share with new audiences all of the great work being done by WISHH/NSRL through the support of the Illinois Soybean Association for children around the world.


I have gotten into the habit of bringing footballs (soccer balls) with me on these travels to give to local children and schools. This trip I am also bringing footballs that were given by my family and friends. Several of these footballs were given to Dr. MacNamara to give to the villages near Njala University.


This afternoon, Karl and I returned to our journey by driving to the pier and boarding the ferry. The ferry is much better in the daylight when you can see Freetown, the port, and aren't just barreling across the water in the dark. We also enjoyed the local music which is played at loud volume throughout the trip! We then boarded the bus back to the airport. It was a bit of de ja vu in reverse today. We flew back to Accra and then embraced our overnight flight to Nairobi. We hoped for sleep and a quiet plane that night.


Nairobi is that capital of Kenya, and a hub of poverty, crime and desperation. These factors and others lead to high malnutrition in this city, which has its highest effect on children.


September 1


It is a new month and a new country. We arrived this morning at 7:30 am and drove to the workshop hotel. Nairobi has some of the most challenging traffic in the world and we spent a fair amount of the commute sitting still. High above in the trees were very large storks that flew over the traffic with what looked like a good laugh on their faces at our predicament.


Our hosts were kind and gave us an opportunity to clean up prior to the workshop. Somewhere along the way I acquired a cold including a nasty cough. Dr. Symon located cough syrup and kindly administered two teaspoons to me. I flashed back a little to my childhood! It did the trick and I was able to present without that annoying cough.


The workshop was a collaboration of organization by Egerton University and NSRL with Egerton doing the heavy lifting. We have been working on a project to include soy in local recipes for the students and staff to purchase in the Egerton cafeteria. The next steps are to expand this effort to the other universities in Kenya. The workshops included participation from the Ministries of Education, Agriculture, and Health as well as other Kenyan universities.


We were very pleased that the recent constitutional referendum was accomplished peacefully earlier this month. Kenya is a country of great opportunity but it is not without challenges. The infrastructure and food processing businesses are becoming established but there is room for continued expansion and development. Even in a more developed nation such as Kenya, malnutrition remains a challenge with half of the population living below the poverty line.


The Illinois Soybean Association has been working with WISHH/NSRL on a school feeding project in the Masai Mara, Kenya. This has been an excellent project and one very close to our hearts. Through ISA support, two schools began offering a hot school lunch to the students. The students, community, teachers, and parents learned about nutrition and its importance as well as about hygiene and food safety. The community has seen the results of this program in increased school hours and higher test scores, but most importantly in the energy and health of their children! The community is now supporting the school lunch program as it continues to offer the students the nutrition they need.


Upon completion of the workshop, we re-boarded a flight in the evening to Tanzania. When we landed, we had hoped for a glimpse of Mount Kilimanjaro, but due to that lovely local traffic, that was not to be. Instead we landed in the dark and traveled to our hotel for a short evening.


Regards,

Bridget