It might not look like much, but this small iron fish can save lives. Canadian science graduate Dr. Christopher Charles traveled to Cambodia six years ago, where he discovered that anaemia was a huge public health problem.
Instead of finding children enjoying their youthful years, he found kids who were small and weak, often with slow mental development. Mother’s too were suffering. Tired and having painful headaches, many were unable to work. What these people needed was a healthy dose of iron in their diet but the standard solution of daily iron tablets was often too expensive, too difficult to put into practice or simply unavailable. That’s when he had an idea.
To combat the country’s huge 50% rate of iron deficiency, he looked to past research that suggested cooking with an iron pot would add iron to your diet. Most people in Cambodia weren’t using that kind of pot, but there was another option put a hunk of iron in it.
Christopher created The Lucky Iron Fish, a small hunk of iron that’s shaped like fish frequently eaten in Cambodia, and is also a symbol of luck in their culture.
Now throughly tested, the fish can provide up to 75% of an adults daily intake of iron every day it’s used. Just toss it in a boiling cook pot for at least 10 minutes and the little fish works its healthy magic.
Now, about 2,500 families in Cambodia are using the Lucky Iron Fish, and Christopher’s company has actively distributed almost 9,000 to hospitals and non-governmental organisations in the country.
Learn more about this exciting project in the video below, then head to The Lucky Iron Fish to see how you can support this health giving cause.
2015, Visual News