Suubi Centre Update Blog

Having access to food is one thing, knowing its nutritional value is another. What about the way food is handled? Is it hygienic? If not, what can be done about this for better health?

The Nutrition and Sanitation training day that took place at Suubi on Friday 14^th August helped to answer some of these questions for close to 40 members of the community that attended. A team of medical personnel from Community Welfare Services (COWESER) nursing school, lead by Dr. Herbert Lwanga, came to the centre to educate participants on how best to keep themselves and their families healthy.

David introduces the guest speakers.

The importance of eating a variety of food was one of the points highlighted to the many mothers in the audience. Although people around Suubi Centre are fortunate to have access to a variety of fruit and vegetables, prior to hearing the medical team speak, they had very little knowledge of how to use this food in a useful way.  In the past many families would eat only matooke (a banana that grows abundantly in the area) for each meal of the day. Even though they had access to fruits such as paw paw these were often fed to livestock as people were unaware of its nutritional value! Doctor Lwanga and his team explained that, children in particular, need a variety of foods to maintain a healthy body and also a healthy mind that will enable them to learn better at school. 

Women attentively listening and learning the importance of providing their families with a nutritious diet.

The medical team then moved on to the importance of sanitation in leading a healthy life. They went ahead to construct a traditional cookery hanging facility, rubbish bin and tip-tap which they explained should be installed at every homestead to promote proper sanitation. The necessity for thorough cleaning and proper storage of utensils used for cooking and eating was stressed to everyone. 

The team begins work on a variety of sanitation facilities that were installed at Suubi. They will be used for demonstration purposes for all visitors to the centre.

The katandaalo, a traditional drying and storage rack for pots, pans, plates etc.

A tip-tap facility that is used for washing hands after visiting the pit latrine was also put up at Suubi.

The day was concluded with participants being shown how to set up a variety of simple vegetable gardens. A Kitchen and Verandah Garden were both constructed to emphasize that having a garden close to the kitchen, with a variety of vegetables readily available, will help to improve nutrition practices for better health. 

The Kitchen Garden will now be planted with a variety of vegetables. The centre of the garden is used as a compost area that returns nutrients back to the soil.

So as you can see, last Friday was another great day for the community around Suubi. They continue to enthusiastically participate and learn from the wide variety of training that is on offer and hope (suubi) continues to grow. Very exciting!

HUGs from David and Helen (this week's blog post - a team effort!) 

PS. For all of you watching the banda construction, rendering has begun and the doors and windows have now been installed!