ALIANA

On a warm day in Haiti, 18-month-old Aliana dances in the courtyard of her orphanage, tossing her doll in the air, seeming happy and content with her life.“She’s so happy and thriving,” says Julie Joseph, founder of Redeemer’s House Orphanage. “We are so thankful she’s healthy because her life could have turned out very differently.”

Aliana almost didn’t live past her first birthday. Not being able to provide for her in the chaotic and dangerous streets of Port-au-Prince, Aliana’s mother dropped her off at Redeemer’s House Orphanage. “She weighed only eight pounds and was so malnourished, I didn’t think she was going to make it,” says Joseph. “Here we were able to provide her formula and VitaMeal, which helped nurse her back to health.” 

Thanks to generous VitaMeal donations, Aliana and many others have a healthy, happy life.

PESINA CHIWETA

During the fourth quarter of 2011, FTC Malawi distributed 130,221 bags of VitaMeal to over 58,000 children in 684 centers. One of the orphans receiving VitaMeal is two-year-old Pesina Chiweta from Gomani village. She lives with her 53-year-old grandmother, Benadetta, who is also raising six other orphaned grandchildren. Bernadetta survives by farming a tiny half-acre plot with corn and peanuts. Pesina became severely malnourished and neighbors advised Bernadetta to take her to the Community Based Child Care Center for VitaMeal porridge which is served free to children under five. After a few weeks on Vita Meal, Pesina fully recovered and at 28 months, she now weighs 10.2 kgs." VitaMeal has saved the life of my grandchild," said Benadetta.

ALINAFE BILLIAT

“It was a ‘bad’ day, starting with heavy rainfall. Driving from Madalitso food plant to Malingunde trading center, one of our distribution centers, was not easy. But the bad weather did not bother Alinafe Billiat, a seven year old girl. Alinafe travelled 10 kilometers from her Chibimphi village to Malingunde trading center to get her packet of VitaMeal. Alinafe is the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Billiat both deceased. Alinafe and her two siblings, Michael and Charity, currently live with their grandmother who lost her husband a few years ago. In addition to these three kids the grandmother also takes care of four other orphans. Five of the seven orphans receive VitaMeal.”

Showing her appreciation Alinafe had this message for the VitaMeal donors. “I want to thank the donors who are making this possible, this is the only good meal that I and my relatives get. Our grandmother, she is too old to go out and work. I do not know what we would have done without this help. May the good Lord bless all the people who are working so hard in order to feed us; I know many other children are getting this food.” Alinafe expressed her appreciation while shivering in her wet dress soaked by the day’s heavy rainfall.

ROSE GAMA

“Sometimes you need a physician to prove that a child is malnourished and sometime you don’t. Sometimes you can tell just by looking at the face of a malnourished child. Such is the case with Rose Gama, a six year old girl from Mbanga village in the Masumba-nkhunda area of the Lilongwe district of Malawi. Rose lost her father when she was one year old, and her mother died when Rose was four years old. Now, two years since Rose lost her mother, life is not the same. She has been forced to stay with her aunt who is also taking care of other orphans. In many cases Rose only gets one meal a day and mostly the meal does not have enough nutrients to nourish her body. In December of last year, Rose was added to a list of kids who receive VitaMeal every month. Since she started getting VitaMeal her health has improved but she still has a long way to go before fully recovering from malnutrition. Troubled little Rose had this say when she was asked to say something to VitaMeal donors.

“My health has improved. I am 6 years old but still I have not yet started school. I did not have enough energy to go to school. I am happy that I am now able to walk this distance but it was not the case with me before, I was too weak to walk long distances. But since I started getting VitaMeal, my health has improved tremendously. I am hoping to start school this year because I feel I am able to walk from home to school and again I am able to sit in class and learn. Thank you Nourish the Children and thank you Nu Skin.” Rose commented as she held her packet of VitaMeal so tight, making sure that no one will take it away from her.

NOEL CHIBWE

“In many cultures, to be a first born son means good luck, because a first born son normally inherits the wealth and treasures of his parents. But a first born is also responsible to look after his siblings. And for Noel Chibwe, this means problems. Noel and his two siblings lost both parents at a very young age. By the time his parents died they had nothing to leave the children. They had no bank account, no estates, they had nothing. Once every month Noel travels from his village of Ndumira to Malingunde trading center to receive his packet of VitaMeal. For Noel this is the only nutritious food he receives. He lives with his grandparents who are old and unable to work. As a result, they are unable to provide all the necessities of life to Noel and his siblings. Even though Noel is very young, he is thinking of ways he can help his siblings.

When asked for a brief message to the donors, somber Noel had this to say as tears fell from his eyes. “I am glad that I am one of the beneficiaries, I don’t know if my siblings would have survived without VitaMeal. Our parents died when they were too little and our grandparent did not have any money to buy good food for us but we have been saved by VitaMeal. I want all the people who are giving us this food to know that they have saved the lives of my siblings who could have died by now. I don’t have much to say rather than to just say thank you Nu Skin.”

JANET BANDA

Janet Banda was severely malnourished and unable to walk or talk when an orphanage took her in. Within a week of receiving VitaMeal her tiny body began to normalize. Now she is able to run, play, and learn with the other children. Now she has hope.

SHUANG WU

Sixteen-year-old Shuang Wu is now studying at the special education school in Xiamen. When he was born, he was diagnosed with Down’s syndrome. Shuang Wu’s favorite activity is riding a bicycle and he wants to learn how to swim during his summer holiday. Shuang’s teacher says that he is an open-minded, thoughtful teenager, and that he received an award as one of the outstanding students in Xiamen.

When Shuang Wu received VitaMeal from Nu Skin, he kept saying “thank you” over and over again. To express his gratitude, he recited a beautiful Chinese poem for Nu Skin donors. His parents thanked Nu Skin donors for VitaMeal that will provide Shuang Wu with the vitamins and minerals needed for healthy growth.

XIE RONGXUE

Xie Rongxue is 11 and in the fourth grade. Her family’s annual income is the equivalent of US$75.  Her father is in the hospital for liver disease treatment, so her 16-year-old brother dropped out of school to help with the farm. VitaMeal donations assure that Xie and her family receives proper nutrition.

TUPIZA

Tupiza, a 7-year-old boy, works in the mines to help support his family since his father died a few years ago. He used to eat one meal a day and chew coca to calm the hunger and stay awake. Now he receives a second meal of VitaMeal, and he is doing much better in school.