We held an online class with the students from the Department of Nutrition at Seinan Women’s College. The theme this time was nutrition and school meal support in Malawi.

With the help of Louise, an intern with experience in public healthcare, we introduced the nutritional value of the school meals provided by the Seibo NPO in Malawi and discussed the challenges and added value of these meals. The meals, which include likuni phala (a cornmeal porridge reconstituted with water), are rich in protein, an essential nutrient for early brain development in the first 1,000 days after birth and foundational growth up to age five.

We also touched on a challenge: while the calories in the meals are adequate for infants, they may not be sufficient for older children, which highlighted an area for improvement in our activities.

With this nutritional perspective in mind, we hope that the nutrition students will connect what they’ve learned to find links between international support efforts and nutrition studies in Japan.

Lastly, during the college festival held from October 26–27, the students from the Department of Nutrition at Seinan Women’s College sold handmade sweets and coffee and also collected donations. Thanks to their efforts, we received enough support to provide approximately 1,300 school meals. We are truly grateful for your generosity! Thank you very much!