Are You Eating Go, Grow, and Glow Foods?

On May 25th, my counterpart and I conducted a health talk and cooking demonstration in a nearby village. We began with discussing the importance of nutrition in the prevention of sicknesses such as diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria, and skin infections. Visual aids were used to help participants understand the importance of good nutrition and the necessary components of a nutritious diet. The method used for this health talk included the explanation of the Go, Glow, and Grow food groups, of which are to be eaten in addition to the main carbohydrate food (rice, bread, coos, cassava, potatoes, etc).

·         GO Foods (Energy Helpers)

o       Ex. Oil, Sugar, Fat, etc

·         GLOW Foods (Protective Helpers)

o       Ex. Fruits, Vegetables

§         (Tomato, Garden Egg, Sorrel, Cabbage, Mango, Orange, etc.)

·         GROW Foods (Protein/Body-Building Helpers)

o       Ex. Animal Products, Legumes, Nuts, etc.

§         (Meat, Fish, Egg, Milk, Cheese, Beans, Groundnut, etc)

            At the end of the presentation, multiple women confessed that their children were not receiving the necessary components of a balanced diet, especially those foods belonging to the GROW food group which includes the protein-rich food. They believed that this may be the cause of frequent illness among their under-5 population. They also promised to put this knowledge into practice. In response to the women’s desire to be able to continually monitor their children’s health, the Road to Health Chart was explained. 

            Next, the cooking demonstration was conducted where five groups of women each prepared a different food diet as described below:

·         Group 1: Mixture of vegetables, fish, eggs, and potato with bread & Papaya

·         Group 2: Coos porridge (powder coos, salt, sugar, butter, and egg)

·         Group 3: Groundnut porridge (groundnut seed, salt, sugar, water, and rice)

·         Group 4: Nyankatang/ Mbahal (steamed rice, groundnut seed, fish, vegetables)

·         Group 5: Sorrel Juice & Mbudakey/ Tiyoo Futo (dried bread, groundnut paste, sugar)

After all groups completed cooking, each group selected a representative to present their assigned diet and its ingredients. Following each presentation, staff members commented on the nutritious components of the food and how it includes ingredients from each necessary food group.           

            The meeting was concluded with remarks from the participants, CHWs and the alkalo, showing gratitude for the presentation, of which before this event had never been conducted in this community. They assured staff members that the information that was shared will greatly impact the health of their children and they will surely implement changes to their cooking methods immediately. Staff members also thanked all the CHWs, participants, alkalo, and all who made this event a success. Finally food was distributed among all in attendance.
             Omar and I presented this report to the Regional Health Team (RHT) in Essau at the monthly in-service meeting. The staff's response was extremely positive, praising us, the Peace Corps, and then saying they would like me to take this nutrition presentation to all areas of the region! YIKES! I totally do not deserve this much credit for the work done as Omar did the presentation and logistics and I came in with the idea of how to present the information (visual aids). Either way, I'm glad the RHT is happy with the work Omar and I have been doing.