LifePack Impact Stories

Thank you for your partnership with LifePack. In the fight against malnutrition, these are a few of the stories of impact when we work together to get RUTF to the places it’s needed most. @lifepacksaves

1/2 CHICKEN BREAST 1 BUNCH OF SPINACH 3 CUPS OF MILK 1/2 CUP OF OLIVE OIL 1/3 STICK OF BUTTER 1 ORANGE 2 MEAT PATTIES 1 1/2 C ARROTS 9 ASPARAGUS SPEARS Made of peanut butter, evaporated milk, nutrients and minerals, a single packet of RUTF has a nutritional value equal to all of this. And each packet costs 25¢.

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“I want her to go to school and have a better life than what we have now.

For now, I am just so happy to see my daughter at her best again.”

– Fatuma*

*Names have been changed.

Halima* is the daughter of Fatuma. They live in Somalia, a country in crisis. Conflict, drought, floods and locust swarms have left many Somalis unable to feed their families.

While in the care of her father in a displacement camp, Halima started suffering from diarrhea. When she was reunited with her mother, Fatuma knew she was not well.

When Fatuma went to buy medicine, she learned of a Health and Nutrition Center supported by Action Against Hunger that could help Halima. Fatuma took her there the next day, and she was diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition, the deadliest form of hunger, and admitted for treatment.

When she was healthy enough to go home, Fatuma continued to treat her daughter using RUTF (Readyto-Use Therapeutic Food), which contains all of the calories, vitamins and minerals Halima needed to fully recover. After weeks of treatment at home, Halima was healthy.

*Names have been changed.

100% of funds raised through LifePack go to partners like Action Against Hunger to provide life-saving RUTF for children like Halima.

@lifepacksaves

Her hands and feet were swollen. Inflamed patches on her skin had darkened and peeled. Her hair was falling out. She was two years old.

“The RUTF and syrup that they gave her to take at home really helped her get healthy again.”

– Ahada

When her 13-month-old daughter Suldana fell sick with a high fever and started losing weight rapidly, Ahada was alarmed. Drought and locusts had created a food shortage for Ahada’s family, but it was children under five who were the most vulnerable.

When Suldana’s condition worsened, Ahada brought her to a Health and Nutrition Treatment Center run by Action Against Hunger in South West Somalia.

Suldana was examined and diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition and immediately admitted for treatment, where she received RUTF (Ready-toUse Therapeutic Food). While she was there, Ahada participated in health and nutrition sessions and received regular support from health workers. After eight weeks, her daughter had recovered and was discharged.

@lifepacksaves

Suldana’s family grows maize, millet and beans. Most years, the harvest from their farm is enough, but with the drought and locusts, those times are gone.

100% of funds raised through LifePack go to partners like Action Against Hunger to purchase and deliver lifesaving RUTF for severely malnourished children like Suldana. By uniting the video game industry against this solvable problem, we can save a lot of lives. And supporters like you make it happen. Thank you.

“My dream for Robert is that he will grow up to become a doctor and support others the way he was helped. ” – Claudia

Claudia is from Tanzania, and she is looking forward to celebrating her grandson Robert’s first birthday.

Just three months ago, she wasn’t sure if he would even make it this far: he nearly lost his life to severe malnutrition.

Living off cow’s milk, baby Robert developed diarrhea and lost his appetite. His family thought he was reacting to the milk, hoping it would get better with time. By the time Robert was eight months old, he was so weak, he couldn’t even crawl, and he barely weighed 11 pounds—far less than the average boy his age. His family began to panic at his decline.

Claudia brought Robert to the closest health facility, where he was diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. He was referred to the Mpwapwa District Hospital and admitted for treatment.

After a month in the hospital, Robert’s health improved and he had gained weight. When he was finally discharged, Claudia was taught how to give him RUTF (Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food) to help him fully recover at home.

Robert is now doing well. He is happy, playful, and learning to walk—things he could not do before. And workers from Action Against Hunger check on Robert at his home often and teach his grandmother about nutrition, hygiene, and sanitation.

Robert’s grandmother now sees a future that was hard to imagine three months ago.

When children receive RUTF, they receive a chance to make their dreams come true. 100% of funds raised through LifePack go to partners like Action Against Hunger to purchase and deliver life-saving RUTF for children like Robert.

@lifepacksaves

When Robert was eight months old, he was so malnourished, he couldn’t even crawl.

“Only now, when I see his eyes open again, have I found hope.”

– Aminata

@lifepacksaves

Last year, one hospital in Mauritania treated 2,795 people for severe malnutrition. Almost all of them were under five years old.

In the Sahel region of West Africa, it’s called the “hunger gap” – the time between the two annual harvests. Each June to September, water sources dry up and food supplies dwindle. At Selibaby Hospital’s Nutrition Center in Mauritania, open beds are few and far between – sometimes, the hospital runs out of space completely. Most of the hospital’s patients are struggling with malnutrition and related diseases. The hospital’s Nutrition Center is run by Action Against Hunger, a LifePack partner.

In the middle of this heart-wrenching environment is Pape Sall, a psychosocial worker who treats children as if they were his own. Organizing counselling sessions with their mothers and hosting group play dates, Pape makes everyone around him feel more comfortable despite the gravity of the situation.

Pape Sall’s work is crucial to helping mothers like Aminata and her 18-month-old son, Ousmane.

Desperate to save his life, she carried him for days to reach Selibaby Hospital.

Ousmane does not open his eyes - diarrhea, vomiting, and malnutrition have left him without strength.

Occasionally, he wakes up with the bursts of pain, but then he falls quiet again, as if surrendering.

Nurses weigh and measure Ousmane and take his temperature. All the indicators confirm that the little boy suffers from severe acute malnutrition, and treatment begins immediately.

On the third day, Ousmane opens his eyes – he is hungry. By day four, Ousmane has a big appetite and starts a new phase of his treatment: the nurses give him RUTF (Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food), the power-packed, nutrient-filled peanut paste that will bring him back to full health.

On the fifth day since their arrival, Aminata hears the joyful news: Ousmane is well enough to be discharged.

Arriving at his village in the desert and seeing his family waiting for him in the shade of a thatched roof, it seems as if Ousmane finally understands that he has been saved and begins to cry. It starts low, and then becomes strong – a victory cry.

LifePack is rallying the video game industry to give children like Ousmane the power to play again. Thank you for supporting LifePack!

“I like to help as others have helped me.”

– Elisabeth

100% of funds raised through LifePack go to partners like Action Against Hunger to purchase and deliver lifesaving RUTF for children. Our first focus country will be Kenya, where we will be supporting families like Elisabeth’s.

Last year, Elisabeth’s youngest daughter suffered from malnutrition – thankfully, the little girl received RUTF, the treatment she needed to regain her health. While she recovered, Elisabeth learned how to use a simple life-saving tool: the middle-upper arm circumference (MUAC) band. This color-coded measuring tape allows anyone to detect acute malnutrition. Now, Elisabeth can screen her own children – and help other families, too. Today, Elisabeth is a lead volunteer in her community.

11:30 AM. Elisabeth takes the donkeys out of the house and walks them to the woods so they can eat some grass. Because they carry the firewood that she cuts in the forest and sells to her neighbors, the donkeys are the most precious animals she owns.

1:30 PM. Back in the village, Elisabeth cuts the firewood she gathered into small pieces. A woman comes by and buys a bundle, and another quickly follows. It’s a good day: Elisabeth sells everything in just four hours.

5:30 PM. Elisabeth walks to the market to buy some food.

6:00 PM. Everyone is back home. While the children play, Elisabeth prepares dinner: Ugali, made by cooking cornmeal and vegetables in boiling water.

A day in the life of Elisabeth.

6:40 PM. The family eats together, sitting on the ground and sharing the meal.

7:30 AM. Elisabeth wakes up with the rooster’s crow.

Her husband is already awake and dressed. He gives her a kiss on the cheek and leaves for work.

7:00 PM. Elisabeth cleans the kitchen, and when the sun goes down, everyone goes to sleep.

8:00 AM. She helps her children get ready for school.

8:30 AM. Elisabeth is back at home with two of her daughters. The one-year-old s too young for school and the three-year-old is home sick today. She prepares breakfast for the three of them: milk tea with puff–puff, a deep-fried dough.

9:00 AM. All three of them sit and eat together.

10:30 AM. While her daughters play at her feet, Elisabeth washes the dishes. Some relatives stop by for a visit.

@lifepacksaves

After her youngest daughter almost died from malnutrition, Elisabeth could not keep what she learned to herself.

TM