Every day, a 26-year-old Jackline Alfred carries a responsibility that is both challenging and deeply personal: ensuring that her six children have enough food to eat and the nutrition they need to grow healthy and strong.
Together with her husband, Fuki Wilson, Jackline cares for Wilma, 12; Kuba, 8; Success, 6; Zereda, 4; Mandela, 2; and five-month-old Thomas. In a household of eight, preparing nutritious meals every day is not always easy.In Source Yubu Payam, Tambura County, Western Equatoria State, many families face challenges related to adequate food consumption.
Limited dietary diversity, water shortages, and limited access to essential health and nutrition services can leave children particularly vulnerable to malnutrition.
For Jackline, the challenge was real. She wanted the best for her children but had limited knowledge of how dietary diversity, breastfeeding, and locally available foods could improve her family's nutrition.
A turning point came in March 2026, when Jackline joined a Mother-to-Mother Support Group (MtMSG) in Hai Jadid, Source Yubu Payam. The group is part of the Malnutrition Prevention Program implemented by Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) South Sudan with support from the Adam’s Family Foundation.
For Jackline, the group became more than a place to learn. It became a pathway to change.
Through practical learning sessions, cooking demonstrations, and kitchen gardening activities, Jackline learned how to prepare more diverse and nutritious meals, practice optimal breastfeeding, maintain household hygiene, and grow vegetables using resources available around her home.
But the support did not end with the group sessions.
CMMB nutrition staff and Community Nutrition Volunteers continued to provide household counselling and nutrition screening, helping Jackline turn what she learned into everyday practices.
Today, a small kitchen garden outside Jackline’s home tells the story of that transformation.
What was once an unused space is now producing fresh vegetables for Jackline's family.
The garden gives her easier access to a variety of vegetables that she can harvest and add to household meals. More importantly, it provides an affordable, accessible, and sustainable source of nutritious food for her children.
For a family with limited resources, the garden is more than a source of vegetables. It is helping Jackline reduce some of the barriers to dietary diversity and make healthier food choices using resources already available to her.
The change is also reflected in Jackline’s confidence.
She now understands the importance of dietary diversity and feels better equipped to prepare nutritious meals for her children.
She has discovered that improving her family's nutrition does not always require resources beyond her reach; sometimes, the solution can begin right outside her home.
The knowledge and counselling she received have also strengthened her confidence in breastfeeding her youngest child, five-month-old Thomas, while understanding the importance of her own nutrition as a breastfeeding mother.
“Thanks to CMMB, my life has already changed greatly. I learned how to manage a kitchen garden, and my garden now yields a harvest. I can now prepare nutritious meals for my family. Before, I did not know how important it was to grow different vegetables and provide my children with diverse foods.
Now I understand how to make better choices for my family in terms of nutrition.”
For Jackline, the transformation is not only about the vegetables growing in her garden. It is about having the knowledge, skills, and confidence to make better decisions for her family.
Her experience demonstrates how combining nutrition education, practical household support, counselling, and kitchen gardening can help families move from vulnerability toward greater resilience.
“I am very grateful for the knowledge and support I received through the Mother-to-Mother Support Group. I humbly request the donors and CMMB to continue supporting our community so that more mothers can benefit from this program towards tackling malnutrition.”
A kitchen garden may seem small, but for Jackline and her family, it represents something much bigger: confidence, resilience, independence, and hope.
Through the Malnutrition Prevention Program, CMMB South Sudan, with support from the Adam’s Family Foundation, is helping mothers like Jackline gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to improve nutrition at household level.
For Jackline, the change starts at home with a garden, a healthier meal, and the hope of a healthier future for her six children.
