LIVES CHANGED
First Steps was born in 2001 out of a vision: to help women and children who were suffering from a lack of basic food and proper nutrients. We ventured forward with the confidence that God would help and that with His help, anything was possible. Now, 20 years later, First Steps brings soymilk and nutritional supplements to over 100,000 children and 20,000 mothers each day. And not only that, all of this done with marvelous partnerships and friendships: orphanage leaders, educators, and even upper level government officials all work together and with First Steps for the good of mothers and their children.
Anything is most certainly possible.
BACKGROUND
North Korea, with a population of almost 26 million has suffered acute food shortages for more than two decades. United Nations and World Food Programme reports (2003) showed that between two and three million North Korean children (infants to age five) consistently failed to receive the nutrients vital to their physical and mental development. This is attributed to the emergence of almost an entire generation of youngsters whose growth is stunted.
First Steps’ founding director, Susan Ritchie, was deeply moved by the plight of the children she saw when she traveled to North Korea in 2000 as the interpreter for a Canadian government delegation. She was particularly affected during a visit to a home of a nursing mother who didn't have enough food to feed her twins. Upon returning to Canada, it was the memory of this family that compelled Susan to create First Steps. “After visiting North Korea for the first time and meeting mothers and children, I went home to Canada but I couldn’t sleep.” She says. “I looked at my own children and saw the differences and I cried out to God for those mothers and children. But then it was as if God was saying to me, Susan, when are you going to do something about this!?”
Susan's experience, and understanding of the Korean language and culture have been vital to gaining local trust and co-operation in First Steps’ mission.
First Steps sent its first container of Pablum, a Canadian formulation of processed cereal designed to combat malnutrition, to a hospital and daycare near the capital in Kangdong County in 2002. Our focus soon shifted to supplying specially-designed VitaCow and VitaGoat machines to food production centers in the port cities of Nampo and Wonsan. Each machine can produce enough soymilk to meet the daily growth requirements of more than 2,000 young children.
With your help, First Steps can deliver more soymilk to more children in order to meet their nutritional requirements. Working together with other in-country organizations, as well as nutritionists and scientists at North Korea’s Institute of Child Nutrition, we will continue to monitor and report on the measurable outcomes of assistance you provide to our organization.
