FEEDING PROGRAM

WE PROVIDE FOOD AID TO CHILDREN AND NURSING MOTHERS IN THE GONDAR JEWISH COMPOUND

Why is our Feeding Program so Important?

On our first trip to Gondar in 2014 we could see that the kids in the Jewish compound were clearly malnourished. So in 2017, in cooperation with pediatrician Prof. Arthur Eidelman from Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, we conducted a malnutrition study and found that nearly 50% of children ages five and under in the Jewish community were suffering from severe malnutrition according to the criteria established by the WHO.

Based on this, together with SSEJ (Struggle to Save Ethiopian Jewry) we started a feeding program for children ages 0-5, and nursing mothers, in the Gondar Jewish compound.

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The program currently feeds 500 children and 200 nursing mothers. The participants receive one stable meal per day, and all of the food is procured locally, and local community members are employed to prepare and serve the meals. A nurse is on-site daily, and he weighs and measures the kids weekly. An amazing and unique benefit of our program is that all of the children get  pediatric care at the local Noor General Hospital in Gondar as part of the program. These are children who otherwise would have no access to pediatric care. Their medical costs are fully covered by our program.

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How is the Program Doing?

The children are each tracked for height, weight, and BMI. Of the 500 kids, 90% get on a healthy growth curve within six months in the program. Their overall health, energy level, and rate of illness shows marked improvement as well. The program has and continues to have a dramatic impact on the children, their families, and the community.