Every six seconds, somewhere in the world, a child dies from malnutrition-that's five million children dying needlessly every year. But one McFarland woman, Judy Bergsgaard, is trying to change those statistics for the better.
When Bergsgaard, together with her sister, Peg Lussenden of Morris, Minn., slide into Madison's Lake Monona with 2,000 other athletes in the pre-dawn darkness Sept. 13, they will fulfill long-time dreams of participating in one of the world's most grueling athletic events, the Ironman triathlon. They will also carry with them the dreams of other women, halfway around the globe, who are facing another life-threatening endurance challenge.
The sisters' team, which they dubbed SisterShack, is fundraising for Doctors Without Borders through the Janus Corporation, which sponsors the Janus Charity Challenge with Ironman. The top five placers in the Charity Challenge, who have only to compete in the Ironman, not win it, can win money from the Janus Corporation for their chosen charity by doing a bit of competitive fundraising.
The sisters' chosen cause is provisioning Doctors Without Borders with PlumpyNut, a nutritious food paste made from peanuts, milk powder, sugar, and vitamins and minerals, which saves the lives of children dying of starvation at $40 a child.
Death by starvation and malnutrition is 100 percent preventable. All that is required is to get food to those who need it. Doctors Without Borders does this by going into the most poverty-stricken parts of the world and distributing PlumpyNut to families with malnourished children.
The organization does many other things as well. According to the Doctors Without Borders Web site, doctorswithoutborders.org, Doctors Without Borders "is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971." The organization "provides aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters."
These brave humanitarians "provide independent, impartial assistance to those most in need." They are not afraid to speak out against injustice and travel to dangerous and instable parts of the world, giving up their own comfort and risking their lives to save the lives of the helpless and bring hope to the hopeless. They were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.
"Doctors Without Borders is just a tremendous organization," Bergsgaard said. Speaking of the ordeals of families dealing with malnutrition, she added, "I don't think it's very well known." She hopes to have "a direct impact on the world" through her efforts and to raise awareness for this cause and for the life-saving miracle of PlumpyNut.
If the sisters can take first place in the Janus Charity Challenge, they will receive another $10,000-enough to save the lives of 250 children.
"A big company's doing good for the little guy," said Meghan Walsh, a social studies teacher for the past six years at Monona Grove High School who has been instrumental in helping the sisters organize their charity drive.
Walsh teaches a unique curriculum, including a semester of cultural anthropology for freshman. This suits her well, as she is a cultural anthropologist by training. Walsh sees an educational aspect in her work with Doctors Without Borders fundraising. "Teachers and students get some additional exposure" to critical life and death issues which affect people around the world.
With a strong interest in east Africa, and an adopted son, Ezekiel, 17 months, from Ethiopia, Walsh has seen up close the conditions which many African families face, and the difference PlumpyNut can make.
"It can be the difference of a feeding station that allows mothers and fathers whose children are dying, to make the decision" to keep their children and not give them up to orphanages because they cannot feed them. PlumpyNut, Walsh said, keeps families together.
What is PlumpyNut? PlumpyNut is cheap, easy to make, and easy to use. It was developed by a nutritionist working with the Nobel Prize-winning relief group Doctors Without Borders. Ready to eat and enriched with vitamins and minerals, PlumpyNut cures malnutrition in just three weeks without hospitalization.
It needs no refrigeration, which makes it ideal for hot climates. No water is required, which is essential in places where clean water is scarce or non-existent. Mothers can just squeeze the paste out of the bag and feed their infants, and many older children can feed it to themselves. Each serving, costing around $1, has the nutritional equivalent of a glass of milk and a multivitamin.
Many areas of the world go through hungry times, usually just before the year's crops are harvested, when the previous year's food supplies run low. In poor countries like Niger in Africa, all that is available to eat at these times is millet, a grain which does not provide enough nutrition on its own to keep children alive. In America, we use it for birdseed.
Oftentimes, mothers are undernourished themselves, and cannot provide enough milk for their infants. Statistically, in parts of the world plagued by hunger, one in five children die because they are not able to get enough nutrition. The death toll rises dramatically in periods of famine and crop failure.
Often, children are so hungry, they lose appetite because of malnutrition and deficiencies. In these cases, PlumpyNut, since it is nutritious and easy to eat, becomes a miracle life-saver.
Where there is no money to buy milk, and no clean water to use powdered milk, PlumpyNut distribution by Doctors Without Borders, means that more and more families will not have to endure the loss of a child to the horrible death of starvation. If hungry children can be fed through their first five years, they have much greater chances of survival later in life.
Produced in Europe and locally at small African factories, PlumpyNut is meant for therapeutic use only, though nutritionally it is a lot like the energy pastes Ironman competitors eat. According to Walsh, PlumpyNut is "used globally for nutritional relief, almost exclusively for children."
Walsh added that PlumpyNut is used only in the most severe cases of malnutrition, especially for children under five years old. Mothers bring their children to feeding stations, and can also take PlumpyNut home with them. This way, Walsh said, mothers do not have to leave their children.
Starving children are also treated without the use of invasive procedures in hospitals, leaving more hospital beds open, which had formerly been filled with cases of child malnourishment. Walsh said that PlumpyNut is now also being distributed to orphanages, which operate as additional distribution centers.
Since PlumpyNut is made primarily of peanuts, many people wonder about allergies, especially since it is often fed to infants who would normally be breastfeeding.
"We [in the United States] are subjected to a lot more environmental and nutritional variety," Walsh explained. "In Africa they're almost never allergic."
In many parts of Africa, especially those dealing with severe cases of malnutrition, Walsh elaborated, food varieties consist of about five things. The body does not have the luxury of rejecting a food source.
PlumpyNut production is expanding, but very slowly. Rising global food prices, however, mean that malnutrition is expanding at a much faster rate. Donations to Doctors Without Borders can provide much-needed PlumpyNut distribution to families with starving children in more places throughout the world.
Bergsgaard and Lussenden have a fundraising goal of $25,000, but has only received $1,555 in donations as of Monday, Aug. 24. To help support their cause, log on to https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=296288&supid=246858948.
Running so others
can live
Speaking of her son, Ezekiel, Walsh said, "That's our motivation." Ezekiel's godmother, Amber Ault, ran the Ironman last year for Doctors Without Borders. Many children were dying from famines in Africa that year, and this inspired her to enter the Janus Charity Challenge for Doctors Without Borders and PlumpyNut. The team earned 5th place in the Charity Challenge with only non-corporate donations, Walsh said. The top four actually had a smaller number of donors than the Doctors Without Borders fundraiser.
This year, when Bergsgaard entered the competition, the Charity Challenge and fundraising for Doctors Without Borders' distribution of PlumpyNut appeared to be just what she was looking for. "I was looking for something that I could have a direct impact with...[and] something that didn't have the luxury of corporate endorsement."
There is also a family dimension to her choice of charity. Bergsgaard's nephew is a doctor who has practiced in places with malnourished children, so her involvement with Doctors Without Borders fundraising offered more "tangible" rewards.
"[Ironman] allows you to connect into an organization where you can really help," Bergsgaard said.
"The math is easy," said Bergsgaard. "$10,000 means saving the lives of 250 children in addition to how many we might help with the funds we raise."
"One of the things I love about this," she continued, "is that the impact is so direct. The research and development has been done. We know now how to save starving kids and how to do it in terms that are so amazing. The equation is that $40 saves a child's life."
Lussenden, a mother and a nurse, is touched by the impact. "As a nurse, I see families who are hurting financially. They are helped by programs in our community. PlumpyNut reaches across to those who do not have these other programs, to save the lives of those children. It's totally awesome!"
The sisters have set up a fundraising page in Judy's name at https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=296288&supid=246858948.
Save a life for $40
According to Walsh, just $40 provides six weeks worth of PlumpyNut to needy children, saving them from death by starvation.
"Every little bit helps," Bergsgaard said. "We can't compete with people who are hooked in with corporate donations," Walsh added.
"Somebody's $10 Friday night pizza is important to us," Walsh said.
One slice of pizza has upwards of 200-300 calories. A serving of pizza is 1-2 slices. Add to that, many Americans can consume a whole pizza or at least half of one in a sitting. Taking that into consideration, one could really reduce one's own caloric intake and save a life at the same time. What does one have to lose but an extra pound or two of superfluous weight?
"We call it digging into your couch cushion," Walsh explained. "Maybe there's people who haven't yet selected a place [to give], and we would like to offer it as an option," Bergsgaard added.
Donations can be made easily online at this site: https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=296288&supid=246858948. Donations are tax-deductible.
The sisters' fundraising deadline is Sept. 12.
With the help of friends and family
Bergsgaard and Lussenden will be tackling the Ironman Wisconsin triathlon on Sept. 13-that's 2.4 miles of swimming, 26.2 miles of running (a full marathon), and a 112 mile bike race-a total of 140.6 miles.
It's a race requiring stamina as well as physical strength and, perhaps even more importantly, a deep belief in yourself.
Bergsgaard has been training for three years. "It takes an incredible amount of time and resources and support," she said. "Deep down, you need to believe in something and yourself to pull through."
Belief in oneself on its own, however, is not enough to compete in the Ironman, and Bergsgaard has had to build up to train, creating a nutrition plan, as well as putting in hours of biking, swimming, and running.
"It's really a part time job," she said. "You can plan on 20 hours each week in training," but the body also needs recovery time.
Her two boys, ages 23 and 20, like the idea of their mother competing in a triathlon. "They have fun with it," Bergsgaard said. She, herself, enjoys a challenge. "All my time has been spent supporting their athletics. Now it's my turn. And I'm not an athletic person."
When asked about how the experience of training for a super triathlon like Ironman has been for her, Bergsgaard says, "It's interesting. It's much more involved from what I had envisioned," she said, adding that she has had a lot to learn.
Yet, while she puts herself through a grueling schedule of tough physical activity to prepare for a voluntary, recreational race in a country noted for ballooning rates of obesity, Bergsgaard remembers the desperate mothers in parts of the world plagued by famine and malnutrition, who must walk long distances under the sun, carrying children barely clinging to life, so that they can be saved from starvation and death through a life-giving peanut paste which provides the nutrition their own milk cannot. And they do all that without a protein shake afterward.
"Training is really difficult," Bergsgaard said, "but, as a mother of two, I can appreciate how difficult it must be not to be able to feed your kids. I have a little bit of pain, but it's not what those mothers go through."
Bergsgaard is determined that her competition in Ironman be not simply for the fulfillment of a longtime personal dream, but for the benefit of starving children and their families. Doctors Without Borders and PlumpyNut, to her, are more than just worthwhile causes
"If I can support that, I'm determined to go through hell or high water to do it," Bergsgaard said.
"You get to make a choice about the challenge you're taking on..., and with top-quality equipment," Walsh explained.
"And a support network," Bergsgaard added.
What families with malnourished children have to go through is "no privilege," Walsh said.
A dream years in the making
Family, friends, and a good cause all provide motivation for Bergsgaard. "It turns out to be a group support system. I would not have been successful without community support."
For the two sisters, competing in Ironman has been a dream many years in the making. Bergsgaard said that she volunteered in last year's Ironman to help serve athletes. She had to sign up for this year's Ironman a year ago.
"You're pretty much guaranteed a spot [in the Ironman competition] when you sign up to volunteer."
Bergsgaard, who works in business development for Terso Solutions, a sister company of Promega, helps hospitals keep track of high-value medial products.
"Terso Solutions has been very supportive in my efforts--both financially and with flexible work schedule," Bergsgaard said. That has been good for her, since, between her regular job and triathlon training, Bergsgaard said she has often put in 17 hour days.
Triathlons are appealing to the sisters. "We get bored doing just one thing. We like to bike, swim, and run," Bergsgaard said.
"I just find different ways to get that time in," she said. Bergsgaard noted that Brian Doolan of McFarland's Back in Motion has helped her through training, and did physical therapy for her.
Two challenges to face
By competing in Ironman and the Janus Charity Challenge, Bergsgaard and Lussenden will be drawing both on belief in themselves and the sure knowledge that, through Doctors Without Borders and PlumpyNut, they will be saving lives.
Like the sisters, women of sub-Saharan Africa are facing down challenging terrain. On foot they, too, march endless hours through the cool of night and the midday heat, alone and with their sisters. Theirs is not a training exercise or a race they would choose to register for, given an option. They carry on their backs or on their shoulders the bodies of children dying of starvation. Often without sleep, they walk marathon distances to bring their children to makeshift feeding stations in sub-Saharan Africa. They know what used to be a death-sentence, childhood malnutrition, can now be cured if they can get their children to an aid station, and if that aid station has enough of the miracle food PlumpyNut to go around.
The women of Africa imagine that if the women of America understood what was happening there, they would surely not allow the suffering to continue, given how cheaply it can be cured.
Bergsgaard and Lussenden, for their part, are working to make sure that when women and children arrive at Doctors Without Borders feeding station in sub-Saharan Africa, they won't be turned away from lack of provisions.
"We're so fortunate to have a network of supportive friends and family and colleagues. It is amazing to be able to participate in Ironman and we are thrilled to have found this venue allowing us to support volunteerism and quality of life for everyone on a global scale," said Bergsgaard.
"Giving to Doctors Without Borders through our Janus Ironman efforts allows us all to expand the donation by going after a Janus Charity Challenge win that will send even more money that will save more kids' lives. It's a win for all of us."
To support Doctors Without Borders and Bergsgaard's and Lussenden's fundraising appeal, visit their secure Web site and make a donation: https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=296288&supid=246858948. Donations are tax-deductible. All funds raised go to support the efforts of Doctors Without Borders in distributing PlumpyNut to starving children throughout the world. You'll feel better after giving to this worthwhile cause than you would after polishing off a whole pizza.
Anyone can show their support in person for Bergsgaard in the Ironman on Sunday, Sept. 13. The swimming starts at 7 a.m. at the Monona Terrace Convention Center. The bike race runs through Verona, Cross Plains, and Fitchburg, and the runners will be going through parts of Madison.
