When World Renew talks about maternal and child health, we are really talking about the future of the communities we serve. Here in Malawi, I have seen firsthand how climate change, poverty, and food insecurity affect families, especially pregnant women and young children. When the rains fail, it is not just crops that are lost. Hope, opportunity, and potential are also put at risk.

In 2023, we experienced El Niño. The rains started and then suddenly, they stopped. Farmers planted their seeds with expectation, but the crops failed. That meant less food in households. And when food becomes scarce, children under five are the first to suffer. In the communities where we work, about 38% of children are stunted (physically, cognitively, and intellectually delayed) because of long-term malnutrition.

Stunting happens when children do not get enough nutritious food during the most critical years of life, from pregnancy to age two. I know this personally because I think I’m an example of that. In my family, food became limited, and I did not grow as tall as my siblings. Stunting affects physical growth, but it also affects learning and development. Children who are stunted may not do very well at school, and that limits their future, which in turn limits the future of the whole community.

This is why the church has such an important role to play.

The local church is close to the people. It is trusted, present, and connected to everyday life. Through church-based programs, families are taught not only what good nutrition looks like, but how to achieve it using what they already have. Mothers are brought into care groups where they learn about balanced diets, breastfeeding, child care, and food preparation. World Renew’s staff, partners, and community volunteers offer cooking demonstrations and teach families how to grow food and how to make extra income. I’m grateful that my own mother, early in my life, learned about this issue and made changes in our family’s nutrition that allowed me to continue my cognitive and social development and become what I wanted to be as an adult.

But education alone is not enough. People also need livelihoods. That is why savings groups are so important. Families save together, start small businesses, and use their income to buy food for their children. We also promote home gardens and permaculture. I’ve seen families transform very small pieces of land into productive gardens. For example, we learn that instead of throwing water away, you can use it to water your crops. Simple practices like this make a big difference 

Maternal and child health is also about relationships in the home. Gender-based violence and lack of partner support can destroy the well-being of a mother and her child. Through church teaching and community support, couples learn to work together. For a child to thrive, parents need to live in good relationships.

When nutrition, livelihoods, and healthy relationships come together, we see real change. In communities where World Renew programs impact maternal and child health, we’ve seen an approximately 30% decrease in the rate of child stunting. When children overcome stunting, they grow up healthy and able to learn. If children overcome stunting, the community has hope.

This is why the work of the church matters so much. When the church stands with mothers and children, we not only change lives today, we help to shape a healthier, more hopeful future for generations to come.