Under the leadership of Country Director Julie Carney, Gardens for Health International (GHI) is an organization that provides sustainable agricultural solutions and comprehensive health education to alleviate childhood malnutrition in Rwanda. Through GHI’s program, rural health centers can offer seeds, livestock, agricultural training, and nutrition education to local families in need. Some mothers walk for up to 2 hours, twice a week, to take part in the health and agriculture trainings offered, which is a testament to the powerful impact of the organization’s efforts.
GHI works in 4 partner health centers in the Gasabo District and 4 partner health centers in the Musanze District, with attendance rates across these 8 health centers consistently above 80%. Due to the overwhelming success of their model, as of September 2014, GHI will be working in 14 health centers in Musanze, reaching 1,680 families in that district alone.
Julie was kind enough to share her incredible story with me, and I have included part of my interview here.
Q: Please share the path you followed to become a co-founder and Country Director of Gardens for Health International.
A: I first became interested in the intersection of agriculture and health in 2006 – 2007, when I studied abroad in Mali. Upon my return to Yale University, I began working with fellow college students Emma Clippinger and Emily Morell to design an organization that would bring lasting agricultural solutions to bear on pressing public health challenges. In 2008, after securing initial seed funding from the Clinton Health Access Initiative and JP Morgan Chase, I moved to Rwanda to launch GHI’s pilot project.
We chose Rwanda because my co-founders, Emma and Emily, had worked as interns with the Clinton Health Access Initiative there. It was the country where we had the deepest roots and the most support, so it is where we decided to launch our program.
Q: What makes your Health Center Program unique?
A: Instead of considering the families who need to feed themselves and their children daily, most agricultural development initiatives focus on improving yield of commodity or cash crops, and investing in smallholder farm families as commodity farmers. While evidence certainly suggests that growth in agricultural productivity can help reduce poverty in developing nations, it also has a very tenuous relationship with reducing child malnutrition.
In designing our health center program, it became clear that while agriculture was critically important in providing families with a roadmap out of malnutrition, it was not enough. That is why, in addition to designing a home garden model that focuses on promoting both household dietary diversity and crop biodiversity, we developed a comprehensive health curriculum that addresses the myriad factors – from hygiene, to complementary feeding practices, to maternal depression – that make it harder to families to feed their children. The result is a program that looks at the whole picture, and seeks to equip families with the inputs, knowledge, and support, to make lasting changes in their food and nutrient security.
Q: Much of your work involves empowering Rwandan mothers to break the cycle of malnutrition in their households and become advocates for change in their community. How have you and your organization gained the trust of the women of Rwanda?
A: My team and I approached the design and implementation of our health center program, and the policy and capacity building work that has stemmed from it, through the lens of true community-led development. Our curriculum and training methodology was designed in partnership with mothers that we serve, while our agriculture innovation team works cross-culturally to continue to design interventions that are not only effective, but also culturally adaptable. The result is an organization that meets and responds to the needs of individuals and communities, while simultaneously demonstrating the immense potential that agriculture has to improve health and nutrition throughout the region.
Q: Where do you obtain the funding/resources necessary to provide each family in need with a home garden package?
A: Our funding comes about 50% from individuals and 50% from foundations. This year, we have had over 500 individuals support our work.
Q: Your work profoundly impacts the lives of malnourished children in Rwanda. What do you see as the rewards and challenges of the position you hold?
A: My work is both incredibly rewarding and incredibly challenging. Every day we are confronted with the immense challenges facing vulnerable families. These extend far beyond malnutrition – families in our program often deal with issues ranging from HIV/AIDS, to domestic violence, to mental health challenges. We do our best to be advocates for each family we serve, and to help connect them with the resources to address the struggles they face, however it is hard to be faced with such dramatic inequality on a daily basis.
While the challenges are immense, the most rewarding part of my work comes from seeing the positive changes mothers and families are able to create in their own lives. Not only does it make me incredibly happy to see children improving, I love witnessing mothers and families becoming more empowered.
How can you support GHI?
Like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their newsletter. I encourage you to check out their blog (the link is on their website) to read about the lives who are being touched by their work.
They are always in need of financial contributions and there are many ways you can donate. Contact the U.S. Operations Manager, Eve, (eve@gardensforhealth.org) to find out more information.