WattAgNet: One Egg program provides eggs to needy children

Partnership between corporations and ministries provide nutrition and create sustainable markets in impoverished countries

The simple egg is making a difference in the lives of people in eight countries around the world, thanks to the One Egg program, which provides eggs for children in underdeveloped countries while creating a sustainable local market.

The One Egg program originated in Rwanda in 2010, and now operates in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, and two locations in Uganda, serving 5,000 children total. The program is “a partnership between a nonprofit and for-profits where everybody wins,” said Chris Ordway of One Egg, who spoke at the Egg Industry Center Issues Forum in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday.

Each site has a corporate partner and a ministerial partner. Two of those corporate sponsors are Tyson and Cobb-Vantress, which provide technical support in poultry science and veterinary support.

“They want to invest in great, sustainable businesses,” Ordway said.

The way the program works is profits and sponsorships provide funding to buy the eggs from local producers; the eggs are then delivered to preschools or orphanages to be hard cooked by volunteers and then delivered to the children in need.

“These are kids that probably had no animal protein in their diet prior to this program,” Ordway said.

By providing eggs for children in preschools or orphanages who otherwise would not have access to animal protein, the program also provides physical and cognitive benefits of nutrition to those children, investment in local farmers, a safe environment for children while their parents are away at work, early education, lessons about hygiene…