The Moringa (Miracle) Tree

Health for Babies, Hope for Mothers

Samfya, Zambia
Project Overview
The Samfya Community of Care Providers (SCCP) is a coalition of 24 churches in Samfya, Zambia that have come together to provide care and support for over 1,000 AIDS orphans and the guardian families that have adopted them. One aspect of this holistic program is to provide nutritional support for newborn babies that are born to mothers with AIDS. The following was exerpted from the 2012 Activity Plan for the (SCCP): 2. INFANT FORMULA SUPPLIMENT 2.1 Distribution of Infant Formula: SCCP will be continuing its infant milk supplement program. In 2011 SCCP was distributing an average of 50-60 tins of milk per months which still was not quite meeting demand. SCCP has budged for 70 tins per month for 2012. The Zambian Government advocates that HIV positive mothers breast feed for the first 6 months and then switch over entirely to formula and other appropriate foods. The milk formula program provides supplementary milk for infants from age 6 months through to 18 months. 2.2 2.4 Moringa Tree Program: Milk formula is extremely expensive; most client families are unable to afford it. Without SCCPs milk program, most mothers would continue to breast feed, thereby increasing the risk of HIV transmission. If mothers did stop breast feeding it is likely that these young babies would not receive a balanced diet and be at risk to malnutrition. One product that can provide nutrition to both breast-feeding mothers and infants and help in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of AIDS is Moringa leaf powder. The Moringa tree; particularly the leaves of the Moringa are high in vitamins minerals, calcium and protein. The following table indicates the percentage of RDA for various nutrients and minerals for a nursing mother eating 50g of Moringa per day and a 1-3 year old child eating 25g of Moringa per day.

Table 1: Moringa nutrition information

Mother Protein Calcium Magnesium Potassium Iron Vitamin A Vitamin C 21% 84% 54% 22% 94% 143% 9%

Child 42% 125% 61% 41% 71% 272% 22%

The Moringa tree program would train families living with HIV+/AIDS in Moringa tree cultivation. For 2012, 100 families would be targeted; each family will be trained in the benefits of Moringa and in the cultivation of the trees. If SCCP can find a sufficient seed, each family will receive 5 seedlings to plant around their homes. SCCP will provide these families with a market by buying back leaves from the families. SCCP would like to buy 100 kg of leaves in the first year, hopefully purchasing more in the years to come. SCCP will dry and process the leaves into leave powder and distribute the Moringa powder to infants on milk support and to critically sick people. The Moringa program should be able to lower the cost of the milk formula program by replacing some of the milk distributed. Babies age 6 to 12 months will still receive milk their regular formula distribution however infants age 12 to 18 months will eventually have their milk formula replaced by Moringa powder. After one year of age, infants are eating a variety of solid foods, the fresh Moringa leaf from the family trees and the Moringa powder that they receive from SCCP will boost their protein, calcium and vitamin levels, replacing the need for milk formula. Our hope is that families that grow the Moringa tree will see an overall improvement in family health a possibly in family incomes. 2012 will be trial year but SCCP believes that the benefits will be worth the effort. It also moves the program in a more sustainable direction by providing a local alternative to milk formula and by reducing project costs.

Next Steps
The total cost for this program in 2012 is $9,600. This will provide: 1. 70 tins of of milk formula per month to be distributed to needy families with babies at-risk of mother-to-child transmission of AIDS 2. 5 moringa trees to 100 families so they can begin producing their own Moringa powder for their personal use and potential sale A gift of $22 will provide a months supply of milk formula. A gift of $25 will provide 5 Morigna trees to a family.