Greetings! My name is Mwaka Serge. I am the CEO of Food for Life. We sell porridge flour to tackle malnutrition among children in the South-Kibu region of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) is one of the largest countries in Africa with so much potential in terms of precious stones. Its vast land is rich in minerals, such as gold, copper, tin, uranium, and cobalt. Unfortunately, this brings covetousness to different people, even our neighbors. Since 1996 the DRC has been at war over its resources. In particular, the Second Congo War was the deadliest war since the Second World War. More than 5 million people have abandoned agriculture and immigrated to towns. This exodus is the cause of severe malnutrition in our country. Children are the hardest hit by this catastrophe.

The DRC has one of the highest rates of chronic child malnutrition in the world. According to a World Food Programme 2023 report, 2.8 million children in the DRC suffer from chronic malnutrition. About 45 percent of deaths among children under five are also directly or indirectly related to malnutrition. Experiencing malnutrition in childhood not only affects survival but also long-term well-being. Even if children who have suffered severe malnutrition survive, they often suffer a lifetime of low disease resistance, which impairs their social and mental abilities. Prevention is key when it comes to malnutrition. That's why we need to take action now to prevent children from succumbing to malnutrition.

As I said before, people living in villages were forced to migrate to cities, abandoning their fields and other assets and moving to refugee camps. When I worked for the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), I was in a refugee camp where I found people living in extreme conditions. They were waiting for NGOs to come and give them food. My job was to identify beneficiaries before distributing food. One day, while I was identifying beneficiaries, I saw two cases of starvation deaths. Unfortunately, they died just before my team arrived at the camp. It shocked me. I said to myself that I have to do something to contribute as much as I can to help people, especially children.

I wondered what I could do to help malnourished children. In the DRC, children are fed porridge made from finely ground grains, but I realized that most of the powdered porridge was imported at a high cost. It was a big burden for low-income families, and children from poor families were more likely to be at risk of malnutrition. So I decided with friends to start a project with the aim to address the problem of child malnutrition. This is how Food for Life started.

Children are doctors, engineers, leaders, and change makers of tomorrow. We need to take care of them today. Tomorrow it will be later. Please support the future of children with Impact Donation!