By Foday Moriba Conteh
As part of their efforts towards offering quality education and food products (Yumvita) to lactating as well as children from six months to lower primary school in the country, Premium Divine Trading Company Ltd, a food distribution company that operates as an agent for Promasidor, a leading supplier of quality food products to more than 30 African countries, including Sierra Leone has on Friday 9th September, 2022 launched the, “Yumvita For U Better Pikin” Project. The project was launched at the Aberdeen Women’s Centre on Aberdeen in Freetown.
In her welcome address, the Country Director of the Aberdeen Women’s Centre, Margret Aluzane, commended Premium Divine Trading Company Ltd for the launching of the “Yumvita For U Better Pikin” Project which she described as a laudable effort towards reducing malnutrition in the country.
The Country Director encouraged lactating mothers with children from six months old and above to make good use of the opportunity.
Delivering a keynote address, the Export Manager at Promasidor Business Development, Joseph Ashong, expressed appreciation to the Aberdeen Women’s Centre for hosting the launch of the Project which he said will benefit lactating mothers as well as children across the country.
He informed the gathering that Promasidor is the leading provider of high-quality food products across various regions in Africa and that their products are affordable, delicious and good for all.
The Export Manager revealed that as of date they are feeding over 850 million Africans from 30 countries with their products.
He pointed out that as a result of poor nutrition and starvation, nearly one-third of children younger than five years suffer from stunted growth that can permanently damage cognition and overall physical health and that it is against that backdrop that Premium Divine Trading Company Ltd, as a responsible company that is into the marketing and distribution of quality food products, deemed it fit to collaborate with key stakeholders to offer the company’s contribution towards the solution of the above challenge in the country.
Joseph Ashong maintained that Yumvita is a cereal product enriched with NUTRI-V; a unique blend of 16 vitamins and minerals, to help boost immunity and healthy growth and that the cereal is available in both single portion sachets and larger economical pack sizes which are recommended for lactating mothers to give to their children above six months after 6 months exclusive breast feeding.
He encouraged all to go in for the company’s products especially the Yumvita which he said is of high quality and when consumed will help to boost immunity and healthy growth of babies.
Launching the “Yumvita For U Better Pikin” Project, the Director of Gender Affairs at the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Charles Vandi, applauded Premium Divine Trading Company Ltd for the launch.
He said that a couple of weeks ago UNICEF supported Statistics Sierra Leone to do a child poverty analysis survey, furthering that there are many indicators that reveal child poverty, one of which he said is malnutrition.
The Director of Gender Affairs stated that the launch of the “Yumvita For U Better Pikin” Project is a move in the right direction towards addressing the issue of malnutrition among children in the country of which he urged lactating mothers present to make good of the opportunity by giving their children Yumvita products.
He also encouraged lactating mothers to give their babies 6 months exclusive breast feeding and after which they can now give them food of which he recommend Yumvita which he said has all the nutrients for the proper growth of their babies.
Charles Vandi admonished the company to extend the kind gesture to other lactating mothers in the provinces as a way of leaving no one behind.
On behalf of the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs the Director of Gender Affairs officially launched the “Yumvita For U Better Pikin” Project.
Kadiatu Kamara, a lactating mother commended the Premium Divine Trading Limited for the launch of the product.
“At the time when my son turned 6 months I was struggling with food to give him because all of the food I have been giving him do not seem to be suitable for him but since I started giving him Yumvita it has boosted his immunity and he is growing healthy and active,” she disclosed.
She called on all lactating mothers that after 6 months of exclusive breast feeding they should give their babies Yumvita because it has all the nutrients for the proper growth of their babies.
Closing the launch was the distribution of exercise books, Yumvita T-Shirts and dry sachets of the Yumvita products to lactating mothers present at the ceremony.
