Lufina is a young mother living in a food-insecure region in Malawi. Like so many other families, Lufina and her husband often struggled to find enough to eat, especially during the dry season when food is even more scarce. So when Lufina became pregnant, she worried that her baby was not getting the proper nutrition and would not be born healthy.

In 2018, World Renew and its local partner started a nutrition program to address the needs of pregnant women, mothers, and young children in Lufina’s village of Chiguwo. Health volunteers taught the importance of maternal and child health, discussing topics like prenatal care, breastfeeding, and nutrition. One key feature of the program was to teach mothers how to grow sustainable kitchen gardens and raise chickens, so that they and their children can have easy access to nutritious food throughout the year.

The results were beyond what Lufina imagined: “This is the dry season, but unlike before, I can now easily access fresh vegetables in my backyard.” Before World Renew started working in Lufina’s village, very few households grew kitchen gardens, but today, over 70 percent of families here can get fresh vegetables and eggs in their own backyards.

Being able to feed her children nutritious food and watch her baby grow up without health issues is a huge relief for Lufina. “A sickly child takes away some of your productive time but I am happy that my child is healthy, which lets me concentrate on other important chores,” shares Lufina.