The struggles he endured throughout his life have taught Donato Tramuto that the suffering of others must never be overlooked or dismissed. No matter how small the effort, any act of kindness or generosity to those in distress can make a significant and positive difference in this world. The Tramuto Foundation was built upon that belief.

When Donato was told about the desperate health care needs of residents in the rural communities of western Kenya, he listened. He brought together the digital medical technology of his global non-profit, Health eVillages (HeV) and paired it with the resources of the Tramuto Foundation. This partnership, in conjunction with Lwala Community Alliance, has resulted in the creation of a comprehensive nutrition program aimed at reducing childhood mortality. The Health eVillages/Tramuto Foundation Nutrition Initiative is the first combined, multi-year grant from Tramuto’s two non-profits.

Its mission is simple yet profoundly complex: to bring maternal, child and infant death rates to zero by eradicating acute and chronic malnutrition.

During his many visits to Lwala, Donato has personally witnessed the effect malnutrition has on young children throughout that region. The five-year grant is intended to support the enrollment of 7,000 children and 2,000 families in a community-led, collaborative initiative that will include the training of community health workers who will follow up each day after a child’s hospitalization in the nutrition unit at Lwala Community Hospital. Families will be given nutrition training, gardening training, ongoing nutrition and malnutrition screening for family members, breastfeeding training, nutrition education and distribution of vitamins. The multi-year partnership grant, according to Lwala Community Alliance Executive Director Ash Rogers, is the type of collaboration that Donato believes is critical to moving the needle on global health outcomes.

For Donato, this effort is closely aligned to the ideals of his hero, the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who said: “Perhaps this world is a world in which children suffer. But we can lessen the number of children suffering.” It is Donato’s intent that his non-profit partnership will lessen the suffering of children in rural Kenya.