In Arusha in February I was teaching the Healthcare module. Quite honestly I had already decided that in the big curriculum update we are in the middle of working on, we would ax some of this material. But I started to go through the basics of nutrition, going quickly through the major food groups, essential minerals, and vitamins. I was “rudely” stopped by the group who said I needed to slow down. To the vast majority of our participants this was new information. I slowed down, but internally I was reeling. I was again hit by the reality of what a lack of knowledge does to a parent, does to a child.
I was raised in a home where you ate what was on your plate and fruit and vegetables were included. Soda was a special event and sugar was a limited treat. I can remember learning about nutrients and food pyramids in my health class at school when I was nine years old. But I have come to realize that was a luxury. So many of those we work with did not have access to this knowledge. Shocked to know that sugar was bad for them, people were delighted to learn that with the staples available in their area they could give their children healthy nutritious food, and that the basic diet of rice, beans and greens gave them much of what was needed.
We still have a huge knowledge gap in today’s world. This has been driven home to us as we have worked among the most economically vulnerable. This is why we are so determined to push forward with our training and center our work in Loom on multiplying our training and equipping grassroots facilitators. This is the foundation on which our work stands. All the extra layers of early childhood education and healthcare stand on the shoulders of this core truth – that God has intentions for how our brain develops and what is needed for that to happen, for the growth of our emotional capacity, as well as the knowledge we need for life, for growing spiritually and becoming strong members in a thriving community.
As we train the early childhood educators, healthcare workers, the parents and the Sunday school teachers we are part of creating the thriving communities for which we long.
