Berta Breakfast Program
Fighting Malnutrition, Changing Lives & Feeding Hungry Children.
The Berta Breakfast Program serves a nutritient enriched meal in the form of a pancake specifically designed for undernourished children, five days a week and for some it is their largest meal of the day. Many families in Korah eat only once a day and the quality of food is extremely poor. Most boys and girls living in Korah are underweight. It is common for these children to have poor participation (some actually fainting) in school because they have not eaten.
A child in enrolled in our Berta Program will receive a nutritious, life-changing meal everyday before school and also bi-weekly vitamins and bi-annual deworming medication. All children are measured against the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. These measurements are tracked by medical staff and those identified as severely malnourished are upgraded and put on a precribed Plumpy Nut* regime.
Berta is typically served as a porridge, but in Ethiopia, traditional foods such as injera are eaten with ones’ hands, therefore we have found children much prefer eating a large pancake which they can dip into their sweetened tea. Berta Pancakes are also easy to transport and bring home to sick siblings or others who are not able to make it on a particular morning.
*Plumpy Nut is a prescribed, high protein based product used to fight severe malnutrition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hope for Korah has two feeding centres, one is located in the heart of Korah at HFK's Youth Empowerment Centre and the other is situated next to the trash dump at Abune Basilios School.
Hope for Korah launched the Berta Breakfast Program in May 2011 with 40 children and it has now grown to feed over 350 children from the Korah community. It is the first program of its kind in Korah and serves breakfast each morning before school to children ages 1 - 18 years old. In addition, nursing mothers and other adults who are identified as malnourished or having critical health issues requiring additional nutrition are also added to the program.
Berta and Faffa (similar products used to make HFK pancakes) are distributed by the UN and other AID organizations throughout Africa.
Berta pancakes are made from one of two products: Berta or Faffa. Both are protein enriched fortified blended food products made with a wheat, maize and soya blend and enriched with vitamins and minerals, made specifically for undernourished children. Ingredients include: cereals, legumes, soybeans, skimmed milk powder, raw organic sugar, iodized salt, vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, folic acid, iron, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, zinc selenium and iodine.
HFK’s ongoing purchase of Berta/Faffa supports the Ethiopian economy. All ingredients are sourced in Ethiopia and manufactured by Faffa Foodshare Company, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
BERTA IN AMHARIC MEANS "STRONG".
Berta changes lives!! After only a few short months on Berta the difference is often astounding. Children typically begin to gain weight, have a healthier skin tone and experience change in hair colour, texture and an overall increase in energy. Berta brings HOPE! Not only to the child, but to their parent as well. The visible relief and comfort it brings to a mother or father, knowing that their child is being fed is huge. So many parents, often mothers are widowed, abandoned and left surviving on their own, struggling to keep their family together and fed. Berta is a source of hope and life!
The breakfast program is a wonderful intervention that is badly needed. It really gives these children a future. Because education is the way out (of poverty) for most and you can't do that with an empty stomach. Keep it up!”
Just $12 per month will feed one child Berta for one month! As food prices continue to rise in Ethiopia, so does the cost of Berta. The Berta product itself makes up 50% of the overall Berta Breakfast Program costs. Additional direct costs associated with this program are sugar and tea, bread, firewood, kitchen supplies, feeding center, cooks and guards. 100% of each Berta donation goes towards these direct program costs.
Become a Berta Sponsor by making a monthly commitment to the Berta Breakfast Program or give a one-time donation and help bring immediate hope and change into the life of a child.
- Your gift matters to that one! Just $12 per month will feed one child Berta for one month!
- A gift of $60 will feed 5 children for one month.
- Feed 100 children Berta for $1200!
- A gift of $12,000 would support 200 children in the Berta Breakfast Program for 6 months.
If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one”
Berta Breakfast Program Blog Posts
Visit our Blog to read Berta Breakfast Feeding Program updates, news and stories.
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