5 QUESTIONS FOR BIANCA OEBEL: PROTEIN RICH

1. Ms. Oebel, can you describe the problem situation in your project country?

The population suffers from hunger and malnutrition. Particularly dramatic is the situation before the harvest, when all the supplies are exhausted and the people can no longer feed their families. They are often weakened already because they lack vitamins and other nutrients, which are important for an intact immune system and other vital bodily functions. The mission of ProSAR is therefore to convince households to eat in a more varied way, to prevent malnutrition and to fight hunger in time.

2. Is a balanced diet more of a problem of availability or traditional eating habits?

Unfortunately, both are a challenge. For example, cow's milk must be imported in large quantities and is therefore prohibitive for most households. Thus, availability and poverty are a major obstacle.  Also, for cultural reasons, eggs and meat are rejected as food for children. Other sources of protein are usually sold and are rarely consumed by themselves.

3. What can ProSAR do about it?

We have different projects. Women's groups learn to produce a soy-based flour mix, the so-called Farine enrichie. It can serve as baby food, but also as a strengthening breakfast for entire families. Soy milk is another possible source of protein and can be produced locally. In order to be able to optimally store and preserve them, we have organized further training courses.

We also want to make particularly nutritious products known. It is important that the plants can be cultivated near the houses. Baobab, moringa, shrimp and some fruit trees were planted in this manner with little effort. Baobabs have already been harvested several times and serve as a basis for the weekly cooking demonstrations. These discuss, for example, the ideal cooking point for leaf vegetables, so that as many vitamins as possible remain.

Every woman who sees an improvement in her life situation through our work is a success

4. What challenges do you face in your work?

With all the actions that have been taken so far, one thing has become particularly clear: Without a fundamental improvement in the level of education, a long-term change cannot be achieved. Because the problems cannot be explained solely by poverty or lack of essentials. In many families, small children have a low profile and the educational facilities are particularly disappointing in rural areas. There is a lack of well-trained and motivated teachers. This leads to a steady decrease in the number of pupils because the parents doubt success.

Another point is family planning. There is hardly any awareness, nor are there any reasonable offers; gynecologists and the midwives lack training and material. A new pregnancy of the mother is very often the cause of the malnutrition of the child.

5. What Changes Do You Make With Your Work?

A woman who sees an improvement in her own life situation through one of our training courses is a success. We are also trying to advance the work done in villages. So-called community helpers were trained in the foundations of healthy nutrition. They can now diagnose nutritional deficiency in children. If deficiencies are recognized early, long-term damage can be prevented or at least mitigated. In the future, the community helpers will also look after these children in the long term, as the general problem is only very slowly improved.