The New Yam Festival: Nutrition and Importance for the Anam People [AUG 7]

Barthlomew Chukuemeka Okonkwo is a Chife Foundation Fellow who is currently studying medicine and surgery at Ebonyi State University in Nigeria. He has been assisting the Foundation interns this summer with community health surveys. Below he writes about the annual Anam New Yam Festival that will take place this weekend.

Anam Yam Trader

The new yam festival is a very significant cultural symbol of the Igbo society, and the Anam community is not an exception. Sunday, August 7th is the new yam festival of the Anam community and is characterized by various unique and heart-felt events: the official eating of the new yam for the first time of the new harvest and visits by in-laws, friends, colleagues, fans of Anam cultural heritage, and well-wishers from far and near. To this effect, everybody is looking forward to this year’s new yam festival of the Anam community and I myself am too.

The Other Side of the New Yam Festival:

Nutrition is an important aspect of living that can be indicated in the occasion of the new yam festival of the Anam community. During this period, chickens, goats, and cows are killed and used to make the native NSALA soup. This diet is rich in proteins and carbohydrates, which all Anam people eat joyously. The above mentioned nutrients are the basic composition of foods eaten all year-round by the Anam people such as expectant mothers, infants, nursing mothers, children, and the elderly. But this is not adequate nutrition for them because eating carbohydrates and proteins alone is not enough. Good nutrition for these sensitive groups should take into consideration their specific nutritional needs, and can be supplemented with minerals and vitamins found in the local tropical diversity of fruits and vegetables.

Emeka administering the health survey

It is my conjecture that fulling the nutritional needs of the special categories of people mentioned above (mothers, infants, children, elderly) is a viable tool for further stimulating growth and development of Anam people and their economy. For instance, good nutrition for young women develops strong expectant mothers that could go through the gestation period and deliver healthy babies without congenital malformations. Their babies will be more likely to be well-developed and able to develop, grow strong bodies and minds that can participate in Anam’s community as adults. This also prevents the delivery of underdeveloped infants and helps avoid a situation in which a family must spend their scarce resources and funds on their sick child instead of investing in their farms and educating their children. Better farms and well-educated youths will help create a thriving Anam community. Hence the Anam New City Healthcare Initiative we have been developing will be a welcome program as a pertinent tool to create viable African communities for self-sufficient African cities.

Post by: Barthlomew Chukuemeka Okonkwo

Construction Machinery Arrives in Anam [VIDEO]

At the end of 2010, the Anam Rebirth Council, in partnership with the Chife Foundation, presented construction machinery to the Anam community.  Following the council’s meeting, several heavy-duty equipments were unloaded near Umueze-Anam, the meeting’s hosting town.  The earth moving machines, essential for major construction projects, demonstrate the commitment of the Anam community and the Foundation to put their plans to action.

Anam Rebirth Council Reviews Urban Design

Members of the Council review urban design

The New City project team presented updates to the Anam Rebirth Council on November 20^th, 2010 at the Umueze-Anam town Civic Center.  The presentation included updates on architectural and urban design development, as well as the implementation schedule for the next phase.  Final recommendations for Anam City’s development will be published in the Master Plan and posted online on the project website.  The Council members are excited about the recent progress and expressed their continued support, particularly in moving the project through all the necessary professional surveying and government approval processes to ensure implementation.

In addition, the Council reviewed the Anam Flood Media Package (video and print) prepared by the Chife Foundation.  The Flood Media Package will be used to create awareness of the yearly hardship caused by the flooding in Anam for international communities as well as government and public officials.  Following the review, Council Members voted to adopt language from the media package that defined the location of the Anam settlements within the context of a regional watershed, a forward-thinking approach that has important implications for regional planning and development with a focus on environmental stewardship.

The Future of Africa…

The Dr. Aloy & Gesare Chife Foundation has launched the ANAM new city project, a model for African development, intended to pave the way for a future of innovative and sustainable settlement patterns.

The vision is a timeless dream: to utilize the abundant resources of Africa to build sustainable and self-sufficient societies.

Sited in Anambra State, Nigeria, the project team will spend the next year developing research and design for the city, including a master plan and recommendations about infrastructure systems.

ANAM CITY is a flagship program of The Chife Foundation, a nonprofit organization established with the focus on improving the studying, teaching and application of technology in Africa. In conjunction with this development project, Dr. Chife (The Chife Foundation Co-Founder) is transforming the face of information technology in Africa.  See this video highlight about his work bringing Drivers License identification cards to Nigeria.