MAMA Lends a Hand
“Hunger is real and it is tragic,” said internal medicine physician Priscilla Benner, MD. “It is never necessary and it is 100 percent curable.”
That’s why Benner started MAMA Project Inc.—Mujeres Amigas (Women Friends) Miles Apart—bringing desperately needed health care, education, and nutrition to poor families and malnourished children in Honduras, Haiti, and Nigeria. Started more than 20 years ago, MAMA addresses health issues through community education and prevention rather than short-term treatment.
In poor countries, malnutrition is the root cause of most health problems, so Dr. Benner created “Super Cookies”—protein-packed, vitamin-fortified cookies that are distributed in preschools and nutrition education centers. Each four-cookie serving contains nearly 100 percent of daily vitamin and mineral requirements for a 1- to 3-year-old child and can be made in villages without electricity.
Beyond the super cookies, MAMA lends a helping hand to the Honduran Ministry of Health in an ongoing de-worming program and vitamin A project. In Nigeria, they’re working to eradicate noma, a facial gangrene that affects mostly poor, malnourished African children. And in Haiti, MAMA Project helps fund scholarships for children of all ages.
Last Updated: 2/25/2009