From selling the best to consuming the best: as ENGINE closes, learn about our impact through Sintayehu’s story

“We used to sell the best product to get more money, now we consume the best and sell the rest. We did not know the value of our vegetables towards improving our health. Now we have become aware that nutrition is more important than money in the long run for our health and mental development which cannot be bought” says Sintayehu, describing how her life was changed by the project.  “After we received the sheep from ENGINE we reared them, sold some of them and bought a heifer and became financially stable.” she continues.  “Our food is so much richer now. We have milk and butter which I enjoy with my children.”

Sintayehu’s life has also been transformed through the WASH interventions of the USAID/ENGINE project. “We used to be infested with flies. We would also drink contaminated water from the local stream because we thought we had no options.” she says.  Sintayehu saw change in her and her children’s lives when she purchased a water filter for 310 ETB provided by the project. “I was happy to pay this money and drink clean water. I did not mind because our healthcare costs were much more. Before, we used rocks to cover our toilets which spread a lot of bacteria. Now we have slabs and use our tippy taps afterwards. My children hardly get ill now.”

Sintayehu Shimeles, 37, is a resident of the Nono Chemen Kebele, Yaya Gulele woreda, Oromia Regional State and mother of five children. Selected as a USAID/ENGINE target in 2013, Sintayehu was provided with homestead garden seeds consisting of Swiss chard, Cabbage, Carrot, Beetroot, Tomato, Kale as well as four Sheep. Through training she received from the project, Sintayehu managed to grow enough vegetables for her family’s consumption as well as sell in her local market and reared her livestock, greatly improving her financial standing by selling off some of her stock.

Save the Children led the implementation of Empowering New Generations to Improve Nutrition and Economic opportunities (ENGINE) – USAID’s flagship multi-sector nutrition project, which aimed to improve the nutritional status of Ethiopian women and children through sustainable, coordinated, and evidence-based interventions, enabling them to lead healthier and more productive lives.

The large scale five-year project (2011-2016) had a goal to prevent under-nutrition during the first 1,000 days by focusing on social behavior change, including linkages to livelihood and economic opportunities.  ENGINE built upon the Government of Ethiopia’s initiatives and renewed commitment to nutrition as well as the U.S. Government’s Global Health and Feed the Future initiatives.

On September 15, 2015, ENGINE will conduct a half day close out event to share the project’s work, achievements and lessons learnt over the past five years.

As follow-on to ENGINE, Save the Children has won a five year (2016-2021) $72.9 million USAID Nutrition Award to reduce undernutrition in Children and Women in Ethiopia. The new project, named Growth through Nutrition, will be implemented in selected Woredas of Amhara, Oromiya, SNNPR and Tigray regions.