​School food programs:
We hired two mothers of children attending our early childhood education center to prepare food for the children, each school day. These meals, of rice and fish or yams, quickly addressed malnutrition concerns for the 80 children enrolled.

We also wanted to meet nutritional needs of children under five, who are not enrolled in our early childhood education programs, and who are at the highest risk of severe malnutrition. To do this, the community distributed food to mothers with children under five, during the season when food supplies are lowest between harvests.

​Farming education and resources
 Last year, we offered community trainings in fertilizer use, multi-cropping, and strategies to reduce soil degradation. Trainings were provided by a local agricultural organization. We will continue these trainings, offering topics selected by farmers and also topics specifically focusing on women and farming.

During their most recent community planning meetings, our partners identified improving farm production as their largest need. Nearly all members of the community are subsistence farmers and they have agreed that the access to a tractor would be the single best support we could offer to help address food security. Currently tractors have to be rented from far away and most farmers cannot afford the rental feed. As a result, farming is done by hand, often using traditional wooden tools. In 2018, we hope to purchase a used tractor to enable farmers within these villages to significantly increase their yields. Maintenance and fuel for the tractor will be funded through affordable rental fees.