Technically, it’s called a high performance blender - which is a bit like calling Michelangelo a house painter.

I started using the machine itself a few years back when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. As he suffered through chemotherapy and his appetite waned, we made delicious whole-food juices and hot soups. Next to prayer, it was the best way we could help. According to their website - “Vita Mix processing breaks open the cell walls to release maximum nutrition from whole foods, more than you can get any other way.” Maximum nutrition - that sounds good to someone fighting to regain their health and strength.

This year, the CEO of Vita Mix, John Barnard, donated a custom-made machine for Hope Village Malawi to help the children in our home-based orphan care program. These children come to Hope Village a few times a week. On Saturdays, they eat a hot meal of nsima, chicken or beans, and vegetables.

Mid-week, they eat biscuits, fruit, and peanut butter sandwiches. On the days that the children eat in their villages, food is often scarce. Breakfast is out of the question. Those who are lucky enough to attend school, work on empty bellies. At lunch time, they may have nsima and a small amount of boiled okra for dipping. Usually, dinner is the same. Sometimes the children eat only once a day, other times, not at all. One boy told us that they have gone as long as three days and nights in the village without food. To combat this, WVI recently bought 4 tons of maize, which will be portioned out in weekly amounts for the children to take home. The problem is, there are alot of mouths to feed at home. And as orphans, they are at the bottom of the pecking order.

The other problem is when the children do have something to eat, it is not necessarily nutritious. Some of my Malawian friends swear that nsima is one of the most nutritious foods in the world - and personally, I happen to love it. But the truth is, nsima made from maize flour and water is high in carbohydrates and not much else to grow healthy young bodies and minds. But you make the most out of what you have.

And this is where the Vita Mix machine comes in. To make the most of our midweek meals, we decided to produce homemade peanut butter. At first, the boys were a bit skeptical - groundnuts need to be pounded into flour, putting your whole back and strong arms into it.

How could this little machine do the same thing? But they decided to humor us and give it a try - Malawi style. Which means, everything is done in community, making the work easier - and much more fun.

We started out with a trip to the village market to buy fresh groundnuts. The harvest wasn’t great this year due to disappointing rains, but groundnuts are still easy to find and fairly inexpensive.

Back at Hope Village, some of the kids shell the nuts, and others start the fire. Pan after pan of nuts is roasted, then dumped steaming hot into a flat basket where the paper-thin skins are rubbed off.

Next the boys take turns - under close supervision - using the Vita Mix. They watch with wonder, as the nuts are ground into a thick, creamy butter. They can’t believe it when the peanut butter comes out warm. They really can’t believe it when we tell them that you can make hot soup and frozen ice cream in the same machine.

As they scoop the finished product into clean jars, the boys lick their fingers, the container,and lastly the spoons - declaring it the most delicious peanut butter they have ever tasted. And, of course, wishing that they had nisma to go with it.

They start thinking like the young business men they are - or that they have to be to survive. Let’s see… 4 full jars from one batch of peanuts - how much did it cost for each jar? What else can this little machine do? What else could we make?

They want to start a business. And who knows? They just might.

But for today, we’re just thrilled that children who are hungry - like little Missi - will have a healthy meal, chock full of protein and vitamins and minerals. Thank you Vita Mix Corporation!

NOTE: All pictures, except for the Vita Mix machine, Dorika pounding groundnuts, and Missi with the balloon, were taken by 13-year-old Greshan - a young man in our orphan care program. Greshan participated in the photography project this summer. Like all the children, this was his first time to use a camera. To see more of Greshan’s photos, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/22877141@N02/sets/72157607293173109/

Greshan, the photographer, roasting corn for his younger brother, Bernard.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at 12:32 pm and is filed under WorldView International. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.