Topic > What is malnutrition? - 2451

First of all, the most important way to fight malnutrition is to educate people. Many Swazis lack the basic knowledge about human health that Americans learn in school. They should be educated to know what constitutes a healthy and balanced diet. You can even teach them how to get it. Some children in Swaziland are taught basic agricultural skills, so if they have no money or way to go to the grocery store or to the market, they can have some vegetables or fruit in their home (UN World Food Programme). They could grow corn or cabbage. This would help exponentially because if children were orphaned, or if they became orphaned, they will still be able to eat some foods that grow in their garden. Children will also have knowledge of how to grow things. They will also know or continue to learn in school what they need to eat to stay healthy. We need to work with the Swazis so we can learn what works with their culture and what doesn't. For example, the co-founder of SOHO told us the story of an agricultural club that came to Swaziland to plant fruit and vegetables for the people. The group did not work with the Swazis; they simply planted their food in many large gardens everywhere in the hope that it would feed a few people. The only problem was that they did not take into account the cultural beliefs of the Swazis. Once the gardeners were gone, many Swazis went and destroyed every garden