A mother to all children in the community

Tangara Village, Ngozi, Burundi - Under the straw hut in front of Bibiane Basabakwishi's house in Tangara village, the atmosphere is joyful. About ten mothers sit on the ground on mats, laughing as they feed their children. Obviously, the little ones agree with the menu: they smear themselves with the dish, a purée made from sweet potatoes, beans, green vegetables, bananas, manioc and palm oil. Big brothers and sisters don't miss an opportunity to steal from the plate.

Earlier in the morning, Bibiane led the cooking workshop: she oversees teaching mothers of moderately malnourished children how to prepare foods from local produce that will provide young children with the nutrients they need.

Bibiane Basabakwishi is what is called in Kirundi an “Light mother”. The 56-year-old farmer, mother of seven children and four times a grandmother, was elected five years ago by the people on her hill to look after the children's nutrition. Bibiane therefore regularly visits her neighbors, measuring the circumference of the arms of small children. When one of them is severely malnourished, she refers him to the nearest health centre. If the child is less severely affected, she invites the family to the cooking workshops.

In five years, Bibiane has organized 33 cooking demonstrations with mothers.

"I show women how to balance food, how to give the right proportions of protein, carbohydrates and fat to children," she explains. “We try to prepare with the products from our fields, and foods that are easy to find around here."

Several decades ago, Bibiane saw one of her first children suffering from malnutrition. At the time, she was completely unaware of the basic principles she now applies. "I took him to the hospital, they cured him, but when I got home I didn't know what to do to prevent it from happening again!”.

Thanks to UNICEF's support, Bibiane has been trained in the basics of nutrition, as well as screening for malnutrition in children under 5 years of age. "Once mothers are taught that they can properly feed their children with local products, they continue to do so with all subsequent ones. As time goes by, there are fewer sick children on the hill," she says...” Maybe soon I'll be useless! “

Since 2013, UNICEF has supported the training of a thousand "Light Mothers" in Burundi. A community-based approach that focuses in particular on combating chronic malnutrition. This country of 11 million inhabitants, extremely poor and one of the most densely populated on the African continent, has one of the highest chronic malnutrition rates in the world: 56 per cent of children under five suffer from stunting, an indicator that is however improving since the rate was 58 per cent in 2010.

"Light mothers are our best asset to help Burundian children get out of malnutrition," said Elisabeth Zanou, UNICEF Burundi's nutrition specialist. “Their permanent presence with families and the simple recipes they implement provide an effective response to the structural problem of nutrition in Burundi.”

Proving that a child can be properly fed with local produce without using products that are inaccessible to the poorest families: for households that survive mainly on their small agricultural production, this can make all the difference for a child’s future.