Anyone for some Chiponde?

On one of my first days here I had a Chiponde/supplementary food tasting. Let me tell you- I don't hate it. Chiponde is my favorite and it kind of tastes like a really sugary Cliff Bar.

One of the problems that we have is that sometimes a mother will share the Chiponde with other people in the family. While it's understandable, it also means that the child who really needs the nutrients will not recover fully. Another big no-no is feeding the child other foods along with the Chiponde. Chiponde is so energy dense that if you give a child other food, they won't be able to eat all of their therapy food.

It's very important to educate the mothers about these issues so our nurses teach a mini lesson at every site. Part of teaching is always singing. We sing songs that the village women already know and add parts about Chiponde. One of the songs we sing, for example, says "Chiponde ndi mankwala" which means Chiponde is therapy. I tried to post a video but blogger didn't like whatever format my camera recorded it in. Probably for the better as my skills as a videographer are more closely alinged with the creators of the Blair Witch Project then Ken Burns. You would most likely be upchucking your Chiponde if you watched it so a picture will have to do.