Mothers of malnourished babies are easily deceived into believing that their child will be better off relinquishing their child to the predatory orphanage with hopes that their child will be fed. If the child manages to stay at home they still face a lifetime of increased vulnerability including stunting, health issues, and intellectual disabilities.

Africa Youth Rising works with Ghana Health Services Nutrition Officer to increase distribution of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUFT), commercially known as Plumpy Nut. This is a medically formulated peanut based paste that has the most absorbable ratio of protein, fat, and carbs. We purchase this locally from another NGO called Project Peanut Butter.

RUFT also plays a critical role at Grace House. Several of our children have cerebral palsy (CP) and CP children burn up to twice as many calories as children without CP which puts them at particular risk of malnutrition. We provide one packet of RUFT to each of our underweight children daily. Those that are particularly underweight we also provide packets for weekends and holidays to ensure that they are receiving enough vital nutrition to grow and thrive.