With the Magic Muffin program we fight for malnourished children in the Cape region of South Africa. Thanks to your help, we have baked more than 3.0 million muffins and given them to needy children. But the demand for our Magic Muffin program is much higher than what we can currently finance.
The Challenge: Fighting Malnutrition
Malnutrition not only affects children's growth and mental as well as physical development, but also increases their susceptibility to disease and dysfunction. Adequate nutrition is a fundamental human right and is indispensable for harnessing a person's overall physical and mental capabilities. The improvement of the nutritional situation of the malnourished population is therefore not only a fellow human obligation, but also a sustainable economic investment.
Nutritional Undersupply and the Health Consequences
A study was conducted in schools in areas of particularly high unemployment in South Africa, whereby children were given a warm meal five times a week as part of a school lunch. Results showed that few children were found to be underweight, but had extremely low vitamin A, iodine and iron levels in their blood. This undersupply of minerals, trace elements and vitamins, even if invisible at first, has far-reaching health consequences, referred to as "hidden hunger".
Here, however, one assumes that positive conditions are in place in that the children at least get something to eat once a day. In many regions of the Cape of Good Hope this is by no means the case. We have seen children who have not eaten for days. How are children supposed to learn with an empty stomach? How is the brain supposed to develop properly?
The Solution to the Problem: The Magic Muffin
The "Magic Muffin" proved to be the optimal solution to this problem in many ways. Thoroughly enjoyed by the children as a child-friendly snack, its distribution has rapidly increased cognitive ability and dramatically reduced absenteeism at school or kindergarten due to respiratory and diarrheal diseases.
More than 3.0 Millions Muffins supplied and a new recipe developed
Since 2007 we have distributed over 3.0 million muffins! Recently, we decided to re-examine the mix nutritionally, and after a lot of research and benevolent support from various organisations as well as our friend Grant Mompel, a food technologist, we are proud to be able to distribute our new "Magic Muffin". See The Magic Muffin..
The Impact: Significant Improvement to the Life of Children and a better Chance for a brighter Future
The Magic Muffin very quickly improves the cognitive abilities of children and reduces absenteeism from school and créche due to respiratory and diarrhoeal diseases. The children learn better, have a higher chance of graduating school and also in vocational training, as well as a job - all in all, a brighter outlook on their future.
"Nowadays everyone should be adequately fed. This is a basic need not a luxury."