Who We Are // GlobeMed at Middlebury

Founded in 2008, GlobeMed at Middlebury College is one of 50 GlobeMed chapters working to improve the health of people living in poverty around the world. Our chapter of 60 students works to raise funds and awareness to support the work of Gardens for Health International, a grassroots organization in Rwanda that strives to provide agricultural solutions to the problem of malnutrition.

Our Partner // Gardens for Health International in Gasabo, Rwanda

The GHI model represents a sustainable alternative to food aid packages, which can bring immediate results but offer little incentive for self-sufficiency. Gardens for Health aims to improve the health and socioeconomic status of Rwandans living with HIV/AIDS by equipping them with a different kind of package:

(1) Cooperative formation & land advocacy
(2) Inputs for community & home gardens
(3) Agriculture & nutrition training
(4) Income generation through agribusiness

Gardens for Health does not promise participants an immediate solution; rather, the gardens serve as places for those facing similar challenges to mobilize and work together to produce their own high-nutrient food and generate income. By working with existing community groups, GHI strengthens local, existing infrastructure rather than impose new protocols and structures.

Our Project // $20,000 to fund a Health Center Program for one year

When a patient is diagnosed with malnutrition at GHI's partner health clinic, the child is prescribed ready-to-use therapeutic food, and the caregiver is referred and enrolled in GHI's Health Center Program.

The Health Center Program model is designed to shift the paradigm of dependency to one of prevention and self-sufficiency, moving away from providing short-term handouts and towards equipping farmers with the skills and resources to grow their own nutritious food. GHI does this by meeting people and families where they are, bringing agricultural solutions to rural health centers in regions with a high prevalence of chronic childhood malnutrition. Families enrolled in our program receive health and nutrition training and targeted agricultural support.

During one year, the program serves a minimum of 120 households/year (~600 individuals), distributes 240 chickens (2/household), constructs 120 Home Gardens (3 seasons worth of seeds/household), conducts 36 Community Cooking Demonstrations, and runs 48 Health Center Training Sessions.