We’ve been working in Nicaragua since 2012 and have found the people we work with to be smart, resilient, and full of fun.  Despite improvements in their economy and a drop in the percentage of people living in poverty over the last 10 years, the World Bank still considers Nicaragua to be one of Latin America’s least developed countries.

14.9% of Nicaraguan children under 5 years of age are stunted due to malnutrition.

17% of the people don’t have access to clean drinking water.

3.9% of the population lives on less than $2.15 USD per day.

Moringa can address these issues for Nicaraguan families.

Because people in all settings, from urban to rural, need good nutrition, clean water, and economic opportunities, we’ve trained Peer Educators wherever we’ve found a need:  in cities, small towns, and remote villages. Moringa knows no boundaries and can be grown wherever it’s needed in Nicaragua – will you help us take it there?

Lesly and his wife, Maria, love working with Strong Harvest and sharing the good news that moringa brings to families. Lesly says, “The moringa tree is a gift from God, because it provides people with what they cannot afford in my country, nutritious food and better health. People do not need to spend money to obtain this, with moringa they just need to start eating it. That is amazing for the poor people in Nicaragua!” Lesly and Maria have good reason to love moringa as its rich nutrition played a vital role in bringing their youngest son back to health when he had been so ill that they had feared losing him. Lesly shares, “I am part of Strong Harvest because we provide the knowledge that people need to start using moringa. I want to help people to have a better life physically and spiritually and to provide a better future for our children.” While Lesly has worked with us since 2013, he officially started coordinating Strong Harvest’s work in Nicaragua in 2015, working with our Peer Educators there, providing trainings in new areas, representing SHI at conferences, and coordinating our team travel. Lesly is an amazing asset to the Strong Harvest team!

Strong Harvest founders, Rick and Jeri Kemmer, lived in Tanzania for a number of years and their work with moringa was born there (see our Founders’ Story).  Since 2014, when they returned to Tanzania with Strong Harvest, they have been working with old friends and making new ones as they train Peer Educators across the country.

30.6% of Tanzanian children under 5 years of age are stunted due to malnutrition

23% of the people don’t have access to clean drinking water

44.9% of Tanzanians live on less than US$2.15 per day

Moringa grows quickly in Tanzania’s rich soil, providing sustainable benefits for the country’s many small-holder farmers. In 2017, our work expanded beyond Tanzania as we partnered with the ECHO East Africa Impact Center to provide Moringa Peer Educator training to more than 50 people from Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and even The Philippines.  These new Peer Educators are all deeply involved in healing and transforming their communities through agriculture, healthcare, education, reconciliation, and pastoral work.  In their capable hands, moringa is a powerful tool in the fight against hunger, poverty, and land degradation and we are excited to see them spreading the knowledge of moringa across East Africa so that more and more families will experience improved lives. You can join us to train even more Peer Educators and be a part of the positive changes that moringa is bringing to families across East Africa!

Raymond is passionate about improving the lives of families who are struggling to obtain the basics:  a secure source of nutritious food, clean drinking water, and healthy and productive land that provides enough income for themselves and their children.  He and his wife, Agnes, have served the people of Tanzania for years through their work with the Church of God where Raymond held many positions, including treasurer of the National Church of God of Tanzania, assistant director for the Safina child sponsorship program, and manager of Aldersgate Secondary School. Strong Harvest founders, Rick and Jeri Kemmer have been friends with Raymond for many years, and are excited for the opportunity to again partner with someone who cares so deeply about transforming lives and communities.  Raymond is well-connected in Tanzania and has many ideas of how to expand the work and bring even more benefits to families through the simplicity of moringa. Raymond shares, “I like working with Strong Harvest because it touches my heart.  Most Tanzanians live on less than a dollar a day and they can grow and use moringa for free!  It has the nutrition they need to build their bodies.  Many people are telling me that their health issues improved when they started eating moringa.”

Laata (third from the left), pictured here with his family, lives in the Maasai village of Gelai Bomba in northern Tanzania. With Laata’s personal knowledge of Maasai culture and his language skills – he’s fluent in Maa, Swahili, and English – he plays a pivotal role in helping his community to achieve food security as they transition from a herder/nomadic lifestyle to a more settled life that includes farming as well as herding. The traditional Maasai diet of milk and blood is severely lacking in the broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals that moringa easily provides. We are looking forward to healthier families in the Gelai area as Laata continues to share his knowledge! Laata is excited about the changes moringa is bringing to his community. He shared with us that one of the village leaders who received Strong Harvest training in 2014 is now growing moringa at his home and eating it regularly. This gentleman had been suffering from a skin condition, which has been healed since he’s added vitamin-rich moringa to his diet. He exclaimed that, “Moringa is a wonderful tree!” Laata shares that in the Maasai’s dry and rugged landscape, “Moringa can be a suitable solution for our health challenges.”