Our Scholarship Holders in the Preselection 2018

Using SimSim Balls to Fight Against Hidden Hunger

Students4Kids: About 80 teams have submitted a project idea to this year’s competition of Students4Kids. The jury decided that your project is among the best. What do you think makes your project so special?

Jolien Maltzahn: We’ve already been to Uganda and are adjusting our product directly to the needs of the children there. Our knowledge in nutrition consultation and product development is a huge asset in developing an adequate product. Lichtstrahl Uganda e.V. is our reliable partner who has been active in Uganda for many years. This cooperation is important to create trust and acceptance from the local population.

Hidden hunger is a problem with far-reaching consequences and a variety of causes. How did you come up with your specific idea against hidden hunger in Uganda?

We actively focused on hidden hunger in our studies. Hidden hunger is often underestimated since it takes some time for affected people to develop visible symptoms. The long term repercussions can be severe however. Examined children consume enough energy, but not enough micronutrients. It’s important to come up with solutions that are easy to produce, simple to learn, and rich in nutrients. Our product aims to achieve all of these things.

You have until August 26th to work out your idea to a finished concept. What’s the work on that like for you? Are you all working together on the concept or have you for example split up the different tasks?

We divided some of the tasks according to our skills and knowledge. We regularly meet up to keep each other up to speed on our progress. We also often prepare our product to taste it and improve it. We are supported by our faculty as well as our partner Lichtstrahl Uganda e.V. whose input is very insightful.

The winning team of the Students4Kids competition will receive 10,000 euros as start-up funding for their project. What exactly would you do with the money?

For our initial run of developing our product we want to purchase local resources in Uganda. After that we’ll require seeding material to grow the resources. The staff who grows and produces the product has to be paid as well. We also want to build a house to ensure safe and dry storage. Our budget will include taking a trip to Uganda.

You have done a lot of research on the topic of hidden hunger. What did you learn that you may not have known before? What do you think everyone should know about the phenomenon?

We have learned to come up with creative solutions to fight Hidden hunger. It is a complex and acute issue with many different aspects to consider, including religious and cultural factors. There’s not one single solution to fight hidden hunger, but it’s important to fight it with creative, interdisciplinary approaches.

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