Happy Mother’s Day!

Holly and her daughter Josie, Elsipogtog First Nation

Although fully masked, you can see the smiles in Holly’s and Josie’s eyes

8-year-old Josie and her mother Holly in Elsipogtog First Nation love gardening and cooking with what they harvest. Healthy nutrition has always been important to Holly, especially as her children have specific dietary needs.  

The garden programs they take part in have made a big difference for the family. Not only do they supply accessible, healthy ingredients for meals, they also give Josie, Holly and the rest of the family a good opportunity to learn about growing food together. 

Holly: “In the lockdown we made our own maple syrup, we tapped the trees, got it, cooked it, and made pancakes with it. My daughter made banana pancakes.” 

Josie: “I learned how to make cookies! Chocolate cookies!”  

Holly (laughing): “… chocolate zucchini cookies. Okay, sometimes we have treats!” 

Lidia and her daughter Priscilla, Bolivia

Lidia (in blue) smiles with four of her children, including her only daughter Priscilla to her right.

When school moved to remote learning, 15-year-old Priscilla’s family didn’t have access to a device. To her mother Lidia, education is the most important priority for her children. She told us that since she did not finish school, she wants to ensure all five of her children have the opportunity to do so. 

During remote learning, Lidia kept on top of obtaining paper learning materials for her children, but she knew they were missing out on the online classes. Thanks to donor support, Lidia was able to get a cell phone for Priscilla. 

Lidia: “I didn’t have a cell phone; the centre donated a cell phone to my little daughter so she could take classes.” 

Priscilla: “My mom knows how to attend virtual classes and she helped me to do my homework, she helped me with the math exercises.”  

Lidia: “I want to keep working, supporting them, and sending them to the Centre [for school support]. Thank you for all the help you give us!” 

Sikeina and her son Suhuyini, Ghana

Sikeina and her children at home in Ghana

Sikeina says that her 13-year-old son Suhuyini was often unwell, but things have improved since she took a donor-supported food safety and cooking course.  

Because of his frequent illness, Suhuyini missed a lot of school. He wasn’t the only student affected by this, so the school created a health course to both improve nutrition and increase knowledge of hygiene practices that reduce the spread of sickness. Sikeina was only too happy to attend. 

Sikeina: “The training was in two parts; safe handling of food and using local food to prepare balanced meals. One of the key learnings for me was learning how long to cook food under heat in order to keep nutrition in the meal. Before, I usually cooked my vegetables under high heat for longer time, but this leads to the loss of the nutrients in the meal.” 

Suhuyini: “It was a good thing that my mother participated because our meals have changed in nutrients and taste!” 

Sikeina: “The interesting aspect of it is that it has helped reduce illness in my family. The children do not get sick as much as before … and I am so happy! 

Happy Mother’s Day to you Holly, Lidia and Sikeina!