My name is Kinleigh Wiedeman and I am a business student at a Canadian university. I am a member of a team of four business students living in Oyugis, a rural town in western Kenya. We are working with an organization – Western Heads East – that has developed probiotic yogurt kitchens throughout East Africa. There are three main goals of each Fiti Probiotic Yogurt kitchen: to empower women and youth, to increase the nutritional status of the community and to ensure sustainability of the kitchens for future generations. I have included some background information on the project and the details of my research this summer:

Western Heads East

Western Heads East (WHE) created the Fiti Yogurt project in response to the growing HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, with the intention of empowering women through the establishment of micro-operations. These micro-operations are kitchens that produce and sell probiotic yogurt. The technology behind the probiotic culture was developed in Canada at the University of Western Ontario and has been provided to various women’s groups throughout Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.

Probiotics & HIV/AIDS

Probiotics are live, good bacteria that have numerous health benefits. The primary benefits of probiotics involve strengthening the immune system, regulating the digestive system and helping to alleviate infectious diseases. While the probiotics in the yogurt are beneficial to everyone, the intention of the project is to help people infected with HIV/AIDs.

HIV/AIDS destroys CD4 cells and weakens the immune system. Infected individuals take antiretroviral drugs (ARV’s) which help to reduce the mortality rate of HIV. The non-scientific explanation is that the ARV’s bother the patient’s stomach and intestines and so they often stop taking the drug. The probiotics in the yogurt help to strengthen the intestines and gut, making it more pleasant for them to continue with their medication. In addition, the yogurt is a great source of nutrients and a healthy meal.  One of the issues that we have to address is that some people think that the yogurt is an alternative drug that will cure HIV/AIDS and they stop taking their medication. It is a wonderful project that benefits the women and youth selling the yogurt as well as everyone in the community who take the yogurt.

The Yogurt Kitchens

Mwanza, Tanzania

The yogurt kitchen in Mwanza is run by a local women’s group, Tukwamuane. There are approximately 10 mamas that work in the kitchen. This kitchen has been operating for 5 years now, however there are still many kinks that have to be worked out in the business model. I spent two weeks observing the operations of this kitchen before heading off to Kenya to ensure the sustainability of two new kitchens.

Oyugis and Kadongo, Kenya

The kitchen in Oyugis was established a year ago and is running fairly smoothly. The most recent addition to the Fiti franchise is the kitchen in Kadongo, a small town 30 minutes outside of Oyugis. These kitchens are run by three different women’s groups: Orande in Oyugis and Baraka and Besigre in Kadongo. There is a fourth women’s group, Nyanam, who is in charge of advocacy of the Fiti franchise and educating the population on the benefits of probiotics.

I have been documenting my experiences living and working in both Tanzania and Kenya in the blog below:

kinleighheadseast.blogspot.com

I have been discussing my research in detail and the ups and downs of working in Africa. I hope you enjoy my blog and please feel free to contact me should you have any questions. Best of luck to all the other SDF interns and I highly encourage all students to participate in these kinds of initiatives in developing countries – it is an absolutely incredible experience!

Categorie : Kenya, Durant le stage // 1 commentaire »