Cincinnati, Ohio – May 9 – As students at Saint Ursula Academy wrap up the 2016-2017 school year, the sophomore class made plans to help feed the children of Lesotho, one of the poorest countries in Africa and the world. By partnering with the Lesotho Nutrition Initiative (LNI), the class of 2019 was able to assemble and package over 21,000 meals to help feed the hundreds of thousands of malnourished children overseas.
The Lesotho Nutrition Initiative began three years ago after a group of Wittenberg University students traveled to Lesotho on a mission trip. They were moved by the amount of childhood poverty they witnessed and began looking for a solution. They began working to establish a non-profit organization that would purchase dry goods which would be assembled into a Nutri-Plenty Meal. Each mixture is packaged using rice, soy, vegetables, flavorings and a scientifically-proven blend of 21 vitamins and minerals shown to alleviate and reverse malnutrition in children. Each assembled pouch produces six nutritious meals when combined with water.
Saint Ursula students learned about this issues plaguing Lesotho through an alumna who has been involved in mission trips to the country. Kieran Conway ’12 attended Wittenberg University and was involved in the early stages with the Lesotho Nutrition Initiative.
Sophomore students decided they would be able to make a big difference for this small country by organizing a meal packaging event during a lunch bell. LNI provided the materials and the Saint Ursula gymnasium became a food packaging assembly line. Students measured rice, added nutrients and dried vegetables, sealed packages, and boxed meals for shipment. In all, 21,204 meals were assembled by the sophomore class.
These meals will be combined with 120,000 additional meals prepared by other organizations and then shipped to Lesotho. Once in Lesotho, the meals will be distributed to children by the Roman Catholic Church and Touching Tiny Lives. The Roman Catholic Church will distribute their meals to orphanages in Lesotho which are run by the Church. Touching Tiny Lives distributes the meals they receive to children to mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS on the most vulnerable infants and children under five years old.
Saint Ursula Academy is a Catholic, college-preparatory, secondary school for young women known for academic excellence and rich tradition. Saint Ursula welcomes students from more than 90 grade schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. The Academy is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School. The campus, located at 1339 E. McMillan Street in East Walnut Hills has been the home of St. Ursula Academy and Convent since 1910. 86% of the Class of 2016 earned college scholarships totaling more than $22-million.
###
Photo Caption: Saint Ursula Academy sophomores Kennedy Oaks of Anderson Township, Audrey Flynn of Hyde Park, and Maddie Bambauer of Montgomery assemble Nutri-Plenty meal packs to send to Lesotho through the Lesotho Nutrition Initiative.