This page was last updated: September 3, 2022
I Love Moringa
the fast-growing, nutritious, delicious gift from God
You know, introducing someone to anything new involves - education, illustration, enlightenment, experimentation, exhibition, and implementation. Once there is understanding, then, comes ENTHUSIASM! I could not be more enthusiastic about Moringa, and its unique ability to effectively overcome worldwide hunger, if I tried.
Oh, by the way - I said I would tell you what it is. Moringa - is a tree!
Q. If there was something that you could do, to help overcome malnutrition, would you do it?
A. Well, of course you would!
Q. Is there a way to do it - worldwide?
A. Absolutely!
Q. Really? What is it?
A. It is by utilizing - Moringa.
Q. Moringa? What's that?
A. I am about to tell you!
This should not be allowed to happen again. Starvation in action - the hunter awaits its prey...
Do you remember this photo? I wish I didn't. The photo won a Pulitzer Prize award. It was taken during the Sudan famine. It is not precisely known what happened to the little girl.
The photographer, Kevin Carter, came under such condemnation for not helping her, that he fell into a deep depression. Three months after the photo was taken, Kevin committed suicide. His motivation for that act will never be fully known. He left a diary behind, in which he had written a prayer to God, promising to always appreciate the food he had - no matter what. It is tragic enough to see the little girl - a victim of starvation - even if she lived. What a horrific tragedy!
See the greenery in the background? Even in the midst of the drought, something is growing! If only she had known how to find a Moringa tree, and eat its leaves...
Photo credits: Kevin Carter: Pulitzer:1994
Malnutrition - you have met your nemesis!
A double heartache - in the photo to the left; LOOK at these two poor youngsters!
When you think of starving children, and worldwide hunger, what countries first come to your mind? I don't know about you, but everyone to which I have asked this question, has given me the same response.
Africa and India. Remember those two...
we'll have something to say about them in
a moment.
Photo credits: Associated Press
Additionally, there are many other countries, worldwide, where people are malnourished, and large segments of their populations live in poverty. Cambodia, Haiti, China.....just to name a few. What is so hard to understand, is - WHY?
In Africa, Moringa trees grow freely. In India, the same is true. Moringa is grown in Haiti - it is called the "Benzolive Tree", and it can be found in numerous nations, worldwide. One of the reasons that it is not exploited is just plain ignorance. They simply don't know how to utilize it.
A lot of people, worldwide have Moringa trees growing right in their immediate vicinity, but do not eat the tree's bounty. We are working hard, to change that. The tree can keep them ALIVE!
Just IMAGINE.
This could be YOUR child!
How can this be?
This photo is from the Sudan, in an
article from 2009.
Look closely at the photo, and then,
take a look farther down the page, at
some of us in America.
Generally speaking, on a daily basis,
we individually ingest enough food to
keep a family of four alive.
It is appalling, to look at photos of
children, who are starving to death,
in our world so overflowing with food.
What would you bet, that the leaders
of the nations whose populaces are
starving to death - are NOT "starving
to death" themselves?
It hurts my heart, to see this.
It tears at my heart to think about this.
It breaks my heart, to know that it is
REAL. This is a REAL photo, of a REAL
child, that was starving to death!
Photo credits: From this article: Scrape TV Article October 11 2009: Geneva, Switzerland: Emil Uliya, International Correspondent
The LEADERS in some African Countries - where the children STARVE...
Yes, that's right. Not one of them appears to be malnourished. These are only a few of the heads of countries in Africa, where people starve to death - THEIR people. Something is terribly wrong, with this "picture". While those in charge languish in beautiful domiciles, their "subjects" - yes, that's what they are, because they are subject to the existing government - starve to death. This is nothing less than heinous - and a major correction is in order.
Photo credits - the countries listed are from left to right:
Kenya: Laura Bonavia: Master of Arts, 2005: R.S. Zaharna: International Public Relations: American University
Zimbabwe: The Entrepreneur Newspaper 2008
Ethiopia: Ethiopian-News March 18, 2010
Sudan: Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty
Niger: Reuters Photo Daily Mail UK
Chad: Time Magazine: Friday, February 15, 2008
Moringa For the Masses...
WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
Good question.
Part of the answer, is to find out
what YOU can do to help.
One of the first things you can
do, is to educate yourself
in the area of nutrition.
You cannot begin to help other
people learn how to overcome
malnutrition, until you understand
it yourself, and are a good
example to others of proper,
healthy eating habits.
If more people knew about Moringa, and planted and ate Moringa...we would have a healthier world. The African Moringa tree, called Moringa Stenopetala, is one of the few, that can actually withstand a drought. That is a very precious attribute to have in a tree, when famine looms.
One magnificent thing about Moringa, is that the leaves can be dried and stored for long periods of time - without losing all of their precious nutrients. When famine strikes, the dried leaves can simply be chewed. They reconstitute beautifully, and their full compliment of essential amino acids will sustain life!
The most striking examples that I have seen, that illustrate the true value of Moringa trees, are the ones that show smiling mothers and babies, previously severely malnourished - who have been restored to health with just a small amount of Moringa or Moringa leaf powder added to their diets.
Please read the rest of our site, to see why YOU should be eating it - and spread the word!
"Death by Fork" in the USA - Some prime examples of people
in OUR nation, who are well-fed!
WE ARE AN OVERFED AND OBESE NATION!
I realize that everyone doesn't look like this, but really - what a stark contrast to the photos above! The children in the photos above, needed food - nourishing food. A small amount would have gone a long, long way to restoring them to health. Here, in the US, people that look like those in the photos, are commonplace. Look around you - they are everywhere...
Where is the balance? Why do we have these diametrically opposed extremes - children starving, and people eating themselves to death? Can we not, as PEOPLE, help those less fortunate than we are? Where is justice? Where is mercy? Where is compassion?
It is hard enough, to see an adult in starvation mode, but children are starving to death. Doesn't anyone in their own countries care enough to save them? Are those in power so oblivious to human suffering? Can't they see that their own people would "follow them to the ends of the earth", if they cared?
I am NOT advocating that governments parcel out food to everyone. That just encourages laziness and complacency. What I AM advocating, is that more of us find out what types of edible landscaping are easy to grow, in countries where people are victims of malnutrition, and teach them how to grow it!
WHAT ARE THEIR LIVES WORTH? YOU TELL ME.
THREE OF THEM DID NOT MAKE IT...
In 1998, over a period of eight months, there were 45 malnourished children brought to one of the clinics in Africa. Their ages ranged from under a year, to five years of age. Of these children, 20 were severely malnourished, and the remaining 25 were moderately malnourished.
Their mothers were given packets of Moringa leaf powder, and instructed to add it to their childrens' diet. For the babies using bottles, the mothers added the powder to their formula. The older children had it added to their diets. Of all of the children given the Moringa leaf powder, all but 3 of those who were severly malnourished, recovered. The last 3, whose reasonable facsimiles are depicted above in sepia, perished.
What if one of those children was yours? What if that was your niece, your nephew, or your grandchild? Wouldn't you tell everyone you knew, how the leaves from a tree - saved the life of that child? Well, of course, you would!
The story of the 42 children who experienced that miraculous recovery can be found in the book The Miracle Tree, page 120, referred to elsewhere on this page.
Photo credits: Government sites, Unicef, and various organizations fighting malnutrition.
MORINGA MADE THE DIFFERENCE
She's a believer!
From the excellent, comprehensive book on Moringa, The Miracle Tree, comes a success story from 1997, for this young mother.
Her daughter, Awa, was born two months prematurely, and weighed just 1.5 kg, or 3.3 pounds.
The mother, Maïssata Diedhiou, was very weak, constantly dizzy, and not able to produce enough milk for Awa.
From the people at AGADA, she was given "Nebeday" powder, which is what they call Moringa in that part of Africa.
She added it to her food, and the dizziness subsided, her milk supply was increased, and both she and the baby started gaining weight.
This photo was taken when Awa was 5 months old, and weighed 5 kg, or 11 pounds. That is still a small baby, but a healthy one - thanks to the help of the miraculous nutrition found in the Moringa leaf powder!
Photo credits: The Miracle Tree, edited by Lowell Fugile, page 123.
MOTHER AND CHILD - HAPPY AND HEALTHY!
Another success story!
Take a good look at proud mama, and her healthy infant, in the center of the photo. I took the photo from the book referred to in this Lens, so it is a bit "grainy", but - you get the idea!
The mother, Mariama Kamara, gave birth to a strapping, 4 kg, or 8.8 pounds, baby boy. At nine weeks, when she came into the clinic in Tendouck, Africa - the baby weighed in at 7 kg 500 g, or 16½ pounds. Moringa was a regular part of her diet throughout the entire pregnancy, and she continued to eat it, after the baby was born.
The director of the clinic at Tendouck, Mr. Adamou Ba, said that in his twelve years at the clinic, he had only seen one other baby who weighed that much at birth. What do you bet THIS mother is going to spread the word about Moringa?
Photo credits: The Miracle Tree, page 122.
WHY MORINGA?
Moringa is the choice to overcome malnutrition, because:
It is one plant that will grow readily, in the areas of the world where malnutrition prevails.
In times of draught, a Moringa tree can survive. Not many other plants do...
Moringa provides all of the essential amino acids and several more.
The raw leaves provide an excellent supply of Vitamin C, also an essential nutrient, since our bodies do not manufacture their own.
The protein content in Moringa is usable.
The calcium content in Moringa is usable.
Moringa seeds are easy to obtain.
Moringa is easy to grow, especially in hot climates.
The nutrition obtained from Moringa of all varieties is superb.
The tree is considered a "survival tree" - because you can survive healthily, from its bounty - the leaves, buds, blossoms, and pods.
These are just a few of the reasons - there are many, many more...
The Wonderful Book on The Miracle Tree; I call it the "textbook" on Moringa...
For anyone with an interest in Moringa, this
book is a must! I have owned and given away, copies of this book, for several years.
If you are interested in helping to overcome malnutrition, and wish to educate yourself about my dearly beloved Moringas, this book is a must!
Inside, you will learn about the nutrients to be found in the leaves, the seeds, the pods, and the dried Moringa leaf powder. The leaf powder is what is used extensively by the health clinics that have been established in Africa, to help the people in their local communities learn how to effectively use the Moringa tree.
The standby, on Moringa, it runs the gamut of subjects from nourishing infants and children, to enhancing crop production, to manufacturing Moringa oil from the Moringa seeds.
Edited by Lowell J. Fugile, the book was published in Dakar, Senegal, in 2001. The proper title of the book is: The Miracle Tree: The Multiple Attributes of Moringa.
It was a combined effort of many contributors, including CTA, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (ACP-EU). Their address is: CTA, Postbus 380, 6700 AJ Wageningen, The Netherlands. Another organization involved, is CWS, the Church World Service, founded in 1946. Their address, here in the US, is: CWS, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, N.Y., 10115.
The contributing authors are:
Mark Olson, an online acquaintance of mine. I called him "Mr. Moringa" once, in an email years ago. He laughed.
Armelle de Saint-Sauveur
Gaelle Hartout
Dr. Geoff Folkard
John Sutherland
Reya Al Khalili
Nikolaus Foidl
Harinder P. Makkar
Dr. Klaus Becker
K.V. Sreeja
and of course, the editor LowelL J. Fuglie.
Photo credits: Emily Tack - photo taken of one of my own copies
List of some other organizations to check into...
You can make a difference, between this sad photo --->
and the photos of the healthy babies in the photos above.
The links here, are to organizations that I am not affiliated with,
in the least. They do not even know that I am doing this. Each of
them is attempting to teach people in other countries how to plant
and grow Moringa, to help eradicate malnutrition and to teach
people how to support themselves with its products.
DISCLAIMER: Every once in a while, someone tells me that they
are linking to my Moringa websites. If that has been done on any
of these links, I am unaware of it. Once again, this site is to educate you about Moringa;
how it can save lives, and help people in impoverished countries support themselves!
There are a lot more to add. As I find good ones, I will pass them along!
From "Stan", our Moringa Stenopetala seed.
He grows into the African Moringa tree!
If You Can - Why Don't You Grow Moringa?
You could give its harvest away!
Did I hear you say that you don't have any place to grow it, or you live in a climate where it just will not thrive? That's okay. You can still do something to combat the hunger that plagues the world! You can tell other people about it, and encourage them to investigate it for themselves.
Maybe you know someone, from your church affiliations, who could benefit from it. Tell all of the missionaries you know. Perhaps you are acquainted with someone who is going on a missionary trip to a tropical country - tell them about it. Do you know anyone who has lost their job, who is struggling to feed their family? Share it with them!
If you live in an area with a tropical climate - do you belong to any local civil service organizations? Do they have any spare planting space on their grounds? Get them to plant it, and give the plants to the needy in the community. Get yourself involved, somehow.
Moringa has been highly regarded for thousands of years, as the "Tree of Life". Why don't you give someone the gift of "life" - and make a difference in the brief time that you have, here on earth?
Yes, these are hard times, but hard times seem MUCH easier - when you are helping others, who are less fortunate than YOU!
One little Moringa leaf...packed with life!
It's only one. But - the tree that grows it, produces hundreds of thousands of them. I should know!
I have had them strewn all over my kitchen floor, on trash bags, stripping the valuable leaves off their branches. A lot of them go right into my mouth, as Moringa leaves are usually sparkling clean, right from the tree.
These tiny little Moringa leaves have saved thousands - if not millions - of lives since time began.
They are able to sustain life - so, those who live in tropical countries, that are impoverished, should be taught to plant the trees in their yards. They propagate readily from seeds or cuttings, and those who cannot afford to buy Moringa seeds, can plant a cutting that will rapidly grow into a full-sized tree. I have trees that have grown over 20 feet tall, in a year - that began with me planting a chubby little Moringa seed.
What could be easier? You walk outside, strip off as many leaves as you can carry, wash them off, and serve them within minutes of walking out your door. Now, that's edible landscaping!
Unless you own a greenhouse, or have access to one, you are not going to be able to easily grow Moringa if you live in a cold climate. However, you can plant lots of them early in the summer, harvest the leaves during the warm months, and dry them to eat throughout the winter. A little bit, goes a long, long way.
What else is edible on Moringa trees?
We talk a lot about the Moringa leaves, but as we stated above, we also eat the pods of the Moringa tree, the buds, the blossoms, and the seeds. They are all very nutritious, and we think - delicious!
This is a photo of the mature pods, that we harvested when we wanted to have seeds. We do not usually eat Moringa pods when they are this old, as they tend to be "stringy".
We like to eat them, when they are very young, and about the size of a green bean.
When Moringa pods are small, they are sweet, crisp, and delicious. To us, they taste better than fresh green beans! They can be eaten raw, right from the tree, or lightly sautéed with olive oil and a touch of sea salt and garlic, or used in soups or stews.
Don't eat all of the pods from your Moringa tree, though, or you will not have any seeds to plant, or give away!
Moringa For the Masses...
Books about Moringa
This is THE best textbook on Moringa! Hardbound,
by Luis
R. Villafuerte
Moringa Matters Mug
Morey the Moringa Oleifera seed Mug
Side 1 view
Side 2 view
"Morey" on USPS
authorized stamps!
The author wrote
this book about Moringa, due to her studies of the benefits of medicinal plants. Very informative! by Monica G. Marcu
HOW TO:
More About --- Moringa
