One by One

The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are critical to his or her long-term health and physical development, particularly in regards to nutrition.

A recent report by UNICEF reveals that 1 in 4 children under five suffer from chronic undernutrition, and that damage caused by undernutrition is largely irreversible.

Through our expertise in nutrition through Amway’s Nutrilite vitamins and supplements, we continue to expand out Nutrilite Little Bits initiative to address this need, and to introduce our plant-based micronutrient through nonprofit partners in more countries in the near future.

The first step toward action is awareness. Today, we are more aware of the issue than ever. It will take many partners from the public and private sector working together to make sure children reach their potential, with a good nutritional foundation in their first 1,000 days.

In Africa, two significant partnerships became a focus in 2012. One was in our flagship country of South Africa, the other in Zambia.

First, we expanded on a program that addresses the need for more desks in schools located in high poverty communities. Approximately 4 million South African children do not have a classrooms desk and there is little space to put desks in many schools, even if they were available.

Amway is partnering with the Archbishop Desmond Tutu to provide lapdesks to children, called “Tutudesks” in South Africa and beyond. Amway has already provided hundreds of lapdesks, and hopes to deliver 7,000 in 2013, with support from Amway distributors and employees in Europe as well.

Further North in the country of Zambia, Amway continued to invest and monitor a program with a micronutrient solution developed by our scientists, called Nutrilite Little Bits. Designed to work within local health programs for young children at risk of chronic malnutrition, Nutrilite Little Bits is showing incredible promise. In a single year, the children we first met showed dramatic signs of improvement in health, energy level and enthusiasm.

Through partnerships with local organizations and leaders, and commitments to leverage our expertise to create solutions for those most in need, 2012 was a year of hope and opportunity in Southern Africa.

In recent years, Amway Latin America focused its efforts through Amway One by One.

While there are still many grassroots outreach taking place in orphanages and schools, the primary focus has been building homes across the region through Habitat for Humanity, and developing a nutrition program that will soon grow into other surrounding countries.

Here’s what happened in 2012:

In Mexico, 400 children were nourished with Nutrilite Little Bits products and other health services with partner Un Kilo de Ayuda:

120 Amway volunteers continued the annual tradition of traveling to Guatemala. This year, 10 homes were built in Usumatlán:

One special family moved into a new home with support from 29 volunteers in Zambrano, Honduras:

In Tijuana, Mexico, 40 Amway volunteers built 2 homes alongside the families who would live there:

One new home was completed by 10 Amway volunteers in San Isidro de Heredia, Costa Rica:

Another home in La Libertad, El Salvador, was completed by 20 Amway volunteers:

Finally, 15 houses were built by 45 Amway volunteers in São Paulo, Brazil, and a donation was made to build 35 more homes affected by recent flooding:

… which means the tradition will continue in 2013!

In July, Amway staff visited Lusaka, Zambia to monitor a program that uses Nutrilite Little Bits to support the nutritional health of children. We partner with the Christian Alliance for Children in Zambia, an agency on the ground that provides food, medicine and education to support mothers and children.

Chronic malnutrition affects roughly 45 percent of children in Zambia, and the Nutrilite Little Bits micronutrient intervention, added to any native food, contains 15 vitamins and minerals that provide nourishment and fortification to a child. Currently, 229 children in six communities in Zambia benefit from Nutrilite Little Bits.

The monitoring trip highlighted dramatic improvement in health of the children in the program, both in technical results and real-life stories.

Amway team members who were in Zambia last year were deeply moved by the improvements in the children – with greater health, higher activity levels … and more smiles. A little bit is going a long way!

Thanks to Jeff Terry for sharing this story.

According to the World Health Organization, a child dies every six seconds due to complications onset by malnutrition.

Every four years, world business and economic experts and leaders – including many Nobel Laureates in Economics – gather to identify the greatest global challenges and the most effective solutions. The findings are called the Copenhagen Consensus.

The 2012 Copenhagen Consensus set priorities for confronting ten of the world’s most important challenges. At the very top of the list was the issue of Hunger and Malnutrition.

Malnutrition is not just a health challenge, but an economic risk. According to the World Bank, as a result of malnutrition, individuals lose more than 10 percent of lifetime earnings because of decreased productivity. The Lancet has reported that proper nutrition during the first two years of life can result in an increase in lifetime earnings by as much as 46 percent.

So what is the best way to help? The Copenhagen Consensus says that the most effective solution is “bundled interventions to reduce under-nutrition in pre-school children.” This includes micronutrients given with complementary foods, treatment of safe water or de-worming to avoid diarrhea, and behavior change communications and education.

The findings confirm the 2008 Copenhagen Consensus, and highlight the importance of micronutrient products like our own Nutrilite Little Bits, to address undernutrition in young children.

Amway is already working with partners in Mexico and Zambia to provide Nutrilite Little Bits to children under five years old. Our CSR staff is currently working with Nutrilite experts to develop a formula that can be registered in multiple countries around the world, and engage Amway distributors and employees in providing this solution.

Global problems require collaborative, expert solutions. Amway is making a contribution to helping eliminate malnutrition in young children, and we are just getting started.

Thanks to Jeff Terry for sharing this story.

Last year, we introduced the Nutrilite Little Bits program to Amway Business Owners and employees in Mexico, in partnership with Un Kilo de Ayuda.

Victor and Eli Estrada, Victoria Cervantes and Francisco Medina were our Star Sponsors recognized for their outstanding participation in the program. They were recently invited to make a delivery of Nutrilite Little Bits in Villa Victoria.

That day, children received check ups from Un Kilo de Ayuda health staff, monitoring the children’s weight, size and hemoglobin content in blood.

Currently, 357 children participate in the program, and we plan to expand our reach when the sponsorship program is renewed this summer.

Thanks to all of the dedicated Amway employees and business owners who are making a profound difference in the lives of these children.

Thanks to Nancy Cortez for sharing this story.