Arriving in Entebbe, we went to the customs staff to take delivery of 3 pallets of Plumpy'Nut baby food that we had arranged to ship from Paris to Entebbe. The customs staff had a problem with our paperwork, however, resulting in significant delays. Some of our team members stayed in the Kampala/Entebbe area to sort out the paperwork. The other team members went north to Gulu to prepare for and teach the training classes so that Plumpy'Nut could be produced and used locally.

In the market, we purchased the basic ingredients: raw peanuts, powdered milk, sugar, and vegetable oil. The only ingredient to be imported on an ongoing basis is a pre-mix additive from Nutriset. Combined, the basic ingredients and the pre-mix additive make 500kcal servings of a delicious baby food. 




We sorted the raw peanuts to remove those that might have mold and aflatoxins under the skin of the peanut.








We roasted the peanuts -- a smokey task!


We took the peanuts to a grinder to make peanut paste... somewhat like peanut butter.



Then we gathered our eager students and went through the process to make several batches of Plumpy'nut.












The doctors and nurses in our training group took the fresh Plumpy'Nut back to the hospitals and showed the mothers how to feed it to the babies. The babies like the taste and gulped it down -- We were delighted because 500 good kilocalories just went into those little tummies!








Two days before our departure, our team in Entebbe gained release of our pallets of pre-made Plumpy'Nut from customs, and trucked it to Gulu. This amount will allow the hospitals and clinics to use Plumpy'Nut in their malnutrition treatment right away, while our new trainees ramp up production on a weekly basis.






We learned a tremendous amount each day -- sharing our cultures, thoughts, ideas, insights, faith, problems, and solutions. The fellowship was wonderful; we all went home tired and happy.






Peace,
Donna Auguste
http://www.leavealittleroom.org/