Minneapolis E4E… this month, East Africa!

posted: Saturday, February 13th, 2010

This month, come to East Africa.

Eat good food, drink good drinks, enjoy good people. And do some small good for a larger community in need at this month’s benefit shindig. Last month, we raised a incredible, whopping $2,080 for Partners in Health‘s earthquake relief work in Haiti. Thank you, thank you for coming out, crowding together, and smashing an Eat for Equity record!

We’re turning our attention now to East Africa, and two public health projects in Zambia and Tanzania. Just Health Network is a new Minneapolis-based non-profit formed by a group of local medical students, in hopes of connecting people in the US with international communities in need. Just Health Network believes that a community’s health is best addressed from within, and from the ground up. Collectively, its founders have worked directly with organizations abroad that are striving to improve the health and well-being of those that they serve.

Your supper money will go directly to projects supported by Just Health Network: the John Laing Supplemental Nutrition Program in Zambia and Survive and Thrive groups in Tanzania.

The supplemental nutrition program distributes high protein, locally sourced, culturally appropriate food to the families of a growing number of HIV+ kids in a community in Lusaka, Zambia. When antiretroviral (ARV) medications are taken without food, the side effects can be strong enough to prevent a child from attending school, and the risk of making their child sick provides a disincentive for caregivers to administer the medications at all. However, even a few missed doses each month is enough for drug resistant viruses to develop, which can be a death sentence in Zambia, where few treatment options are available for kids with drug-resistant HIV.

The Survive and Thrive groups in Tanzania provide young single pregnant women and mothers with health education and opportunities to learn income generating skills. These groups were created three years ago by the local community health workers in Karatu with the assistance of WellShare International, a Minnesota-based public health NGO. Mothers receive peer support, early treatment, health education on topics related to pregnancy and maternal and child health, and small business opportunities. Just Health Network supports programs that its members have developed personal relationships with: Ben Pederson of Just Health worked with the Survive and Thrive Groups and Abe Markin worked with the John Laing Supplemental Nutrition Program.

You’ll feast on…
Ugali, a maize porridge
Lamb Groundnut Stew
Kunde na nazi, Chickpeas in Coconut Milk
Greens with Tomato and Onion
Homebrew
And more surprises…

EAT FOR EQUITY
Hosted by the Just Health Network fellas: Abe, Ben, Curt, Evan, and Nathan
Saturday, February 27

For address and directions, email Emily: [email protected]

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