Heroes of Change: Pastor helping malnourished children in Northern, Upper West Regions

A 65-year-old Public Health Nurse has earned a nomination in this year’s MTN Heroes of Change due to her dedication to tackling malnutrition in the Northern region.

Rev. Mrs. Sanatu Nantogma who is also the Executive Director of Tuma Kavi Development Association (TKDA), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) said she was motivated by the challenge with malnutrition for children under 5 leading to underdevelopment and high child mortality.

“What motived me to establish the TKDA was that I realised there was malnutrition among children under 5 leading to underdevelopment and high child mortality in the various communities of the two regions.

“I started educating women in my spare time on preparing a balanced diet for children. During the famine of 1983, women were unable to obtain ingredients for meals and yet did not farm due to traditions,” Mrs Nantogma noted.

According to her, this, among other factors, drove her to begin an initiative to support women and also provide healthy meals for children in the two regions.

Mrs Nantogma disclosed that her outfit’s first intervention was providing women in Moglaa of the Northern Region with seedlings and basic inputs through donations from concerned family and friends.

She pointed out that the husbands of these women were engaged as stakeholders and agreed to provide an acre with each to their wives.

The 65-year-old public health nurse indicated that the success of her project led to the formation of cooperatives, which were supported by formal funding agencies.

Continuing, she said that she brings women in the Northern and Upper East Regions together and get professionals to take to them through vocations like soap making, dressmaking and farming.

“Those who come out successful, I try setting them with little funds or equipment,” she said.

“We also educate mothers on how to feed their wards and what to feed them with. We donate certain basic needs to communities who lack,” she added.

Mrs Nantogma pointed out that 96 Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) in Saboba and Yendi Districts and the 76 VSLAs in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipal-implying 5,160 rural community members (80% females and 20% males) were benefiting from microcredit and financial inclusion project.

She averred that the stigma attached to female farming has been successfully erased.

She disclosed that about 32 Traditional Birth Attendance in rural communities were being supported to set up alternative income generation activities as she gets involved with projects that discourage TBAs from conducting deliveries outside the hospital system.

Mrs Nantogma, however, called for support from NGOs and government agencies to help address challenges facing underdeveloped children in the society.

According to her, this has become necessary because although TKDA has done a lot to improve girl-child education, women empowerment, eradication of poverty and health of babies, the association has found it extremely difficult to finance the project.

She said, for now, TKDA was relying on donations from individuals and organisations to address challenges with malnutrition amongst children in the Northern and Upper East Regions.