Help Ugandans Fight Famine: The Potato Vine Project

Give Ugandan families a sustainable solution to help fight hunger!

Uganda is in the midst of a food crisis. Families are facing food shortages due to widespread drought. Prior to this recent food crisis, malnutrition was rampant in Uganda. One out of three children is stunted due to undernourishment, and it is estimated that over half of the adults in Uganda were stunted as children. Each year, the country spends an average $254 million treating illnesses related to malnutrition, such as diarrhea, anemia and respirator infections.

Our partner in Uganda, Reach Out Nkokonjeru Parish HIV/AIDS Initiative (RONHAI), combats hunger by encouraging local children to act as agents of change. Students are taught to plant and harvest orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) vines. OFSPs are rich in Vitamin A, C and B12. Once they are trained in plant care, children bring OFSP vines home to be cultivated by the whole family. Once they take root and flourish, the vines are divided and distributed to other schools. The vine program is cost effective and easy to replicate - two important ingredients needed to maintain sustainability.

You can help. Each $5.00 donation covers the cost of a bag of orange-fleshed sweet potato vines.

Update from the Field
May 2017

Thanks to YOUR donations, Reach Out Nkokonjeru Parish has been able to reduce famine for 250 families. 250 children each received a bag of orange fleshed sweet potato vines for their families. Each bag contains 480 vines, which produce at least five potatoes, so each family got over 2,000 potatoes!

Sylvia (pictured to the right) was very excited to receive three varieties of sweet potatoes. She has been taking great care of the plants along with her grandmother. Sylvia hopes to become a crop breeder in the future so that she can continue to fight hunger in the community. The one sack of vines she received has produced enough food for their family, and then some. She has been able to grow a surplus of potatoes, which she is selling to the community in order to pay for her school supplies.

Reach Out Nkokonjeru Parish HIV/AIDS Initiative (RONHAI) primary mission is to serve the people with dignity and reduce human suffering by providing a food based approach to overcome poverty and hunger in families.