Baraka Project



Pilot Light Foundation is pleased to support the initial production of Baraka, a high nutrition baby food that is produced and distributed in Kindia, Guinea. In this town of over 400,000 people, there is a high occurrence of malnutrition in babies as a result of the combination of lack of clean drinking water which causes continuous diarrhea, lack of food and/or the lack of foods that contain protein (condition known as Marasmos).  Only just over half of the population of Guinea has access to safe drinking water. This is not a cure for malnutrition, but rather used to prevent malnutrition.  Baraka is a food that is made from products that are grown locally, processed and packaged locally by a local woman, Habiba Diallo, and distributed through the nine health centers in the area. It contains corn, peanuts, beans,  and baobob ( a type of tree). Mrs. Diallo has a small non-profit organization called Kanya Donse Fanyi (KDF) through which she supports local farmers by purchasing all ingredients from them and does all drying, grinding and packaging at her compound in Kindia. She delivers the packets of Baraka of the health centers who, in turn, sell them and demonstrate how to prepare it safely to the mothers of babies 6 months and older for a price that is affordable to them, approximately 50 cents. Each packet will last up to a week.  KDF does not profit from the sale of Baraka. The cost only covers the production, but with inflation, it is difficult, if not impossible to produce it at a price that rural mothers can realistically pay. An initial investment of approximately 10,000 dollars will allow KDF to produce  9000 packets, 1000 for each health center, which is what is needed per month. After the initial production cost, KDF can sustain the production with the money collected from sales by the health centers. It is a one time deal. Mrs. Diallo and KDF are commited to helping provide good health to babies and to ensure their mothers know how to keep them healthy through nutrition and water safety.

Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural resources, yet remains an underdeveloped nation. The country has almost half of the world's bauxite reserves. There is rampant corruption, a lack of electricity and other infrastructure, a lack of skilled workers, and  political uncertainty. Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993 when General Conte (head of the military government) was elected president of the civilian government. He was reelected in 1998 and again in 2003, though all the polls were said to be marred by irregularities. In December 2008  following President Conte's death, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara led a military coup, seizing power and suspending the constitution.


Budget: 10,000.00