The egg thing … and the fight against malnutrition
In addition to the most valuable protein, the egg also contains unsaturated fatty acids and minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, phosphorus, selenium, sulfur and iodine. The egg also contains vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin B2, nicotinamide, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6 and folic acid. An egg also covers around 35% of the daily vitamin B12 requirement of humans and the boiled egg provides biotin, also called vitamin B7, which is necessary for healthy hair, skin, metabolism and nerves. Only vitamin C is missing in the egg for absolute perfection, but it is always the most natural, unprocessed food …
The municipality of Koloko in Burkina Faso belongs administratively to the Hauts-Bassins region, and thus to the province of Kénédougou.
It includes 18 villages. On the other side of the border in Mali is the municipality of Finkolo with its 17 villages, it belongs to the district of Sikasso.
The municipalities of Finkolo and Koloko border one another, have the same climatic and agricultural conditions and, even in the historical context of the former prosperous kingdom of Kénédougou, which stretched here in the 17th century, form a unit that was only curtailed by an arbitrarily drawn national border .
In fact, the population of both locations consists essentially of the Sénoufo ethnic group with agricultural households that also raise small livestock.
The agricultural activities include growing grain with maize, sorghum, millet and some rice, the so-called “cash crops” such as cotton, as well as growing vegetables with potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, onions and poultry farming. Due to a lack of education, lack of capital and climate changes, people usually have to survive at over 38 degrees and the periods of drought. Poultry farming, as well as vegetable cultivation in terms of production and marketing in general, is still in its infancy and the poorest face a number of recurring difficulties which are ultimately of a structural nature.
In general, food is scarce in Burkina Faso and Mali and the survival of the large number of very poor households with mostly less than US $ 1.50 per day is forcing many people to flee.
The climatic changes, fluctuating or declining amounts of precipitation up to short-term periods of drought have a negative effect on agricultural production in the project area.
Low skill levels and a lack of education mean that people do not know how to market their products, which in turn contributes to a reduction in income and further restricts access to the food they need.
These facts, reinforced by the very limited nutritional knowledge of the households concerned, increase food insecurity and have a negative effect on the nutritional status of children aged 0-59 months, but especially on those in the age group from 0-23 months with symptoms of deficiency or deficiency Malnutrition.
Regularly one egg per day can counteract these symptoms with a reduction in the prevalence of impaired growth or stunting by up to 47% and of underweight by up to 74% and at the lowest possible cost.
And that’s where the egg comes in … and your donation!
Poor families are selected by the project team in Koloko and Finkolo. They earn significantly less than the state “guaranteed” minimum income of around € 50 per month, each take care of up to eight family members, they have small children and they are willing to take part in a short training course in poultry farming.
The project provides laying hens, roosters and poultry feed to these families, because: one egg a day can save a toddler’s life!
And it works!
A big thank you from the poorest families in Burkina Faso and Mali!
With a single donation of e.g. € 500.00, 16 families could be supported with the “Empowerment” program, laying hens, roosters and poultry feed!
