GrowingHope:ExecutiveSummary

MollyWayAndreaFaustTylerVeraghenHunterHill

Background
Theglobeconsistsof7,238,999,953peopletodaywithtwobillionofthosepeoplesuffering
fromvariousformsofmalnutrition.Malnutritionisatopcauseofdeathwithanumberof2.6million
childreneachyear,whichisonethirdoftotalchilddeaths.Malnutritionismorethanjustnutrient
deficiencyorhunger,itseffectingcountryseconomyaswell.Adultswhoweremalnourishedas
childrenearnatleast20%lessofanincomeonaveragethanthosewhowerentmalnourishedasa
child.Sonotonlydowewanttolowerthenumberofindividualsthataremalnourished,butwewantto
lowerthatnumberofhowmuchincometheyaremakingwhichthenpassestheproblemdowntotheir
offspring.
Intervention
TherearealotoforganizationsthatareinvolvedinBelizerightnowthatareworkingwithmore
thanmalnutritioninthecountry.Theyareworkingwithalldifferentages,involvedinalldifferentaspects
includingpoverty,violence,medicalandhumandevelopmenttonameafew.Povertyisoneofthemajor
probleminBelizewhichisaglobalissuethatmanycountriesstrugglewith.Thistypeofproblemis
somethingthataffectssomanyotherproblemsandstemsfrommanydifferentreasons.
Whenweweredecidingwhattodoourprojecton,weknewwewantedtodosomething
involvingmalnutrition.Wefiguredthatthisissomethingthatwecouldreallytryandmakeadifferencein
withoutdisruptingoralteringthecountriesculture.Forexample,youwouldn'tbeabletochangesome
typesofvoodooincountriesbecausethatswhattheybelieveinanditspartoftheirculture,goodor
bad.Whatwefiguredoutisthatalotoftheseproblems,notjusttheonesrelatedtomalnutrition,they
areallstemmedfromlackofeducation.Yes,therearealotofproblemsthatcomefromlackofmoney
andresourcesaswellbutifyoudonthaveaneducation,youdontknowevenwheretobeginorwhy
youwouldneedtodocertainthingstohelpcreatealifeforyouandyourfamily.Withourorganization,
wedidntwanttojusthandthemthegoodstheyneeded.Ourgoalwastogivethemtheresourcesand
directionstobeabletolearnalongthewaytoreachwheretheyneededtobetostartchangingtheir
agriculture,malnutritionandincomeproblems.Thisisanexampleofcapacitybasedaidbecauseinstead
ofjusthandingthemmoneyorfood,wegivethemthingstheycanlearnfromandcanmakeanimpact
ontheirfuture,notjustforthetimebeing.

Impact
MalnutritionhasahugeimpactoneveryoneinBelizeCity,especiallythoselivinginpoverty.
Vegetablesshouldbeapartofeverymeal,andrightnowthatisnotthecase.Thiscancausemany
diseasesanddeficiencies,stuntthegrowthofchildren,andevencauseproblemsinexpectantmothersif
apersondoesnothavetheproperdiet.
GrowingHopehashighexpectationsforourintervention.Thiscapacitybasedprogramshould
givethepeopleofBelizeCitytheresources,skills,andmotivationtoplantandgrowvegetablesfor
everydayeating.Weareexpectingthatthisprogramwillhaveasignificantimpactonmalnutritionin
Belize.Theknowledgeofvegetables,gardening,andagriculturewillhopefullybegintospreadandbe
passedontofuturegenerations.Wehopetoeventuallyimplementthisprogramintoschoolsandteach
thechildrenhowtosustainagarden.Wehopethatthiswillalsoimpacttheamountofagriculturalland
beingused.Ifthepeopleknowthattheyhaveunusedresourcesavailable,wewouldliketoteachthem
totakeadvantageofthat.

Cost/Benefit
Manypeoplearelosteachyeartomalnutritionrelatedissues.Thecostofcollectingandsending
overtheseedsiswellworththeoutcomeofbetternutrition,thespreadingofknowledge,andthe
paradigmshiftoftheBelizeanculturetomotivationandselfsustainability.GrowingHopewouldliketo
doasmuchfundraisingaspossible,buttosendseedsto1,000familieswouldrequirearound$2500.
However,wehopetoreceivedonationsofseedsfromwillingcompaniesanddonatedservicesfrom
localorbiggerscaleprintingcompaniestoprintthebooklets.
Onceourprogramspreads,thepeopleofBelizeCitywillbenefitfromthisrightnowandinthe
longrun.Familieswillhavefreshvegetablestoputontheirtablesandmalnutritionrateswillbeginto
decrease.Ourprogramisdesignedtohelpthemhelpthemselves.Thiswillnotjustbenefitthemnow,
butwillhopefullyspreadlikewildfirethroughoutthecityandthecountry.
Familieswillalsobenefitfromthiswhentheymakeaprofitsellingthevegetablesnotusedby
theirownfamilies.Theyhavethepotentialtosetupalocalmarketwithinthecommunityandsell
vegetablestothosenotcapableofgrowinggardens.Thiswillgivethemthecapacitytothinkfor
themselvesanddevelopentrepreneurialandmarketingskills,andeventuallytheinnovationtocomeup
withnewideas.
LessonsLearned
Therearealotofdifferentlessonslearnedfrommanydifferentangles.First,therearethe
lessonsthatwelearnedbydoingthisprojectaboutBelizeandotherpartsofCentralAmericaandhow
theyhealthandeconomyoftheircountriesare.Second,thepeoplewhowesendourinterventionsto
willalsolearnlessonsfromtheaidthatwewillbeprovidingthem.Lastly,differentcountries,including
theUnitedStatesshouldbelearningmoreaboutcapacitybasedcareratherthanaidbasedcarewhich
doesnttrulychangeorsolvetheproblemasmuchascapacitybasedcarecould.
Thelessonsthatwelearnedfromdoingthisprojectwasjusteyeopeningtoseehowotherparts
oftheworldliveandhowmuchwetakeforgranted.Thisistrueespeciallywhenitcomestohealth
issuesandhowblessedwearetojusthaveclean,sanitaryfacilitiesandwater.Itwasinterestingtosee
howmanyorganizationstherearethatarereallytryingtochangesomuchandworkingtofundraise
moneytohelpthesecountriesimprovetheirqualityoflife.Alongwiththis,welearnedhowimportantit
istoreallygetdowntotherootoftheproblemratherthanjustsupportingorganizationsthatwilljust
sendmoneyandfoodtoanywherenotknowingwhereitsactuallygoing.Thisdirectlyconnectstohow
othercountriesneedtolearnthatwherewearesendingtheaid,theydontnecessarilyknowwhattodo
withtheaidtheyreceivefromthesecountries.Thefoodwillbegoneinstantly,themoneymaynotgoto
whereitisneededthemost,thatiswhyitissoimportantthatpeoplelearntosendresourcesand
educationwheretheycanlearnhowtosustainandexpandonthesolutionfortheirproblems.
ThelessonsthatwewanttheBelizeanstolearnareonesthattheycanteachtotheirkids,
familiesandcommunitiestoimprovenotonlytheirqualityoflife,buttheirnutritionaswellandgivethem
anopportunitytomakesomemoney.Wewillprovidethemwithdirectionsonhowtoplant,growand
careforaplantwhichtheycanusefortherestoflife,inanygenerationiftheypassdownthe
informationaswell.InBelize,theyonlyuse1015%oftheagriculturelandthatisavailabletothem,
leavingsomuchroomformoreindividualstoplantandsellcropstomakeasustainableincometo
providefortheirfamily.Alongwithmakemoney,theyareprovidingtheircountrywithhealthieroptions
forfoodsratherthanthefoodandfruitthattheyhavethataresohighinsugar.
References
http://www.gainhealth.org/aboutmalnutrition/fastfacts
IFAD/FAO/WFP(2011)TheStateofFoodInsecurityintheWorld2011,In.Rome,Italy:FAO.
R E Black, L H Allen, Z A Bhutta, et al (2008) Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional
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UN Interagency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2011) Levels & Trends in Child Mortality:
Report2011,NewYork:UNICEF.
M de Onis, M Blossne and E Borghi (2011) Prevalence of stunting among preschool children
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