Refugee Father's Porridge Recipe Feeds Thousands as Global Food Aid Dwindles
East Africa, 18 March 2026
Jean-Marie Muchati’s desperate attempt to cure his malnourished daughter led to a remarkable transformation. The Burundian refugee’s homemade porridge recipe has evolved into a thriving enterprise that now employs 12 people and supplies 100 retail clients across Uganda’s Nakivale settlement. His business, Abizera, produces 1,000 kilograms monthly using solar-powered mills, serving a community where half of 266,000 residents cannot meet basic food needs. This entrepreneurial success emerges as humanitarian funding shrinks globally, with Uganda hosting Africa’s largest refugee population of 1.9 million people facing acute food insecurity.
From Hand-Pounded Desperation to Solar-Powered Success
Jean-Marie’s journey began in 2019 when civil unrest forced the 44-year-old former vocational teacher to flee Burundi with his family [1]. Upon arriving in Uganda, he faced a parent’s worst nightmare: his daughter was suffering from malnutrition. “I used to wake up before sunrise, pound by hand, and sell what I could. There were nights I slept with an empty stomach so my children could eat,” Jean-Marie recalls [1]. His solution was to develop a fortified porridge recipe using millet, sorghum, and soya beans, which he named Magarameza and registered as the business Abizera [1]. Initially, demand far exceeded his capacity, limiting production to just 100 packets per week as he processed everything by hand [1].
The Nutrition4Business Transformation
The turning point came in 2025 when Jean-Marie’s enterprise was selected for the Nutrition4Business pilot project, supported by Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented through a partnership between the World Food Programme (WFP) and StartHub Africa [1]. This intervention provided crucial mentorship and investment in a solar-powered milling facility, dramatically increasing production capacity from 400 kilograms to 1,000 kilograms per month [1]. The transformation extends beyond Jean-Marie’s business alone - the pilot project encompasses three enterprises that collectively employ 41 people, including Masoka Nutrition, which expanded from 80 to 700 chickens, and Charity Mushrooms, a 23-member cooperative that tripled monthly production from 300 kilograms to 900 kilograms [1].
A Lifeline Amid Shrinking Global Food Aid
Jean-Marie’s success story unfolds against a backdrop of deteriorating global food security conditions. Uganda hosts 1.9 million refugees, representing Africa’s largest refugee population, with nearly half facing acute food insecurity [1]. Within Nakivale settlement specifically, home to 266,000 people, half cannot meet their basic food needs, leaving children under five particularly vulnerable to malnutrition [1]. The situation has been exacerbated by recent geopolitical developments, with the UN World Food Programme warning that the Middle East conflict, which began three weeks prior to 17 March 2026, is creating the most serious strain on aid supply chains since the COVID-19 pandemic and Ukraine war in 2022 [2]. Shipping costs have increased by 18 percent due to the conflict [2], whilst WFP has been forced to cut food rations in Sudan and can only support one in four acutely malnourished children in Afghanistan [2].
Scaling Innovation Beyond Emergency Response
Andrew Obeti, WFP Business Support Associate for Innovation in Uganda, emphasises the broader significance of these enterprises: “These enterprises are not just economic success stories; they are scalable, community-led nutrition delivery systems” [1]. He explains that “WFP’s innovation approach is about identifying what already works locally and strengthening it with the right technology, finance and systems so it can grow, replicate and sustain impact beyond our direct support” [1]. This approach proves increasingly vital as global food security deteriorates - the UN warns that if the current Middle East conflict continues through June 2026, an additional 45 million people could be pushed into acute hunger [2]. With a quarter of the world’s fertiliser supply passing through the Strait of Hormuz now effectively at a standstill [2], community-led solutions like Jean-Marie’s Abizera represent crucial pathways to food security independence.