Ten years ago, Wittenberg’s First-Year Seminar (FYS) classes participated in the first-ever meal-packing event sponsored by the then new Lesotho Nutrition Initiative (LNI). At that time, students packed 54,000 meals, all of which helped the children in the Southern African Kingdom of Lesotho, a country of slightly more than two million people, with an estimated 120,000 orphans and an estimated 35 percent of children under age five years suffering from severe malnutrition and stunting.

Today, LNI, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, provides than 800,000 meals a year to more than 3,500 children in Lesotho. The campus, community, and alumni have participated in many meal-packing events over the years, so what better way to celebrate the organization’s 10th anniversary than with a special packing event on Sunday, Nov. 16, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the 1929 Gymnasium, part of the Health, Wellness & Athletics Complex.

Reflecting on the first FYS event back in 2015, LNI wants to re-create that moment, but with the goal of packing far more than 54,000 meals.

“We are re-creating that pack, and this time it will include FYS classes, athletic teams, Greek life, campus clubs, and more,” said Professor of History and LNI founder Scott Rosenberg, who also serves as director of international studies, Wittenberg’s Peace Corps Prep program director, and as Honorary Consul to Lesotho. “We want this to be a massive celebration for us this year. So, let’s come together to mark this incredible milestone and make a meaningful impact through our collective efforts.”

Current president of LNI and education major Emmalee Do, Wittenberg class of 2026 from Lancaster, Ohio, agrees with Rosenberg, who has shared his passion for service in Lesotho since 2003, taking more than 500 Wittenberg students and community members on service-learning trips to the country for 22 years. Do said that they will have three shifts planned for the day.

“Already signed up to participate in the pack are athletic teams, including men’s lacrosse, track, and tennis. We also have Greek life chapters including Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Gamma, and Sigma Kappa, FYS classes, and other student organizations including, Mi Gente,” Do said. “There are also other teams, classes, organizations, and individuals signed up or planning to sign up, so we should have a good showing.

Three current seniors have been heavily involved with LNI the past few years. Do, Taylor Insyxiengmay, a business major from Loveland, Ohio, who serves as vice president of LNI, and Emma Gearhart, a sociology major from Ashland, Ohio, who serves as secretary. Rounding out LNI’s executive committee is Kristen Sallee, a junior from Jackson, Michigan, who serves as treasurer.

LNI has hosted 11 packs this semester already with eight more to go. In the spring semester, 17 packs are being planned so far with the goal of packing more than 900,000 meals, and of course, Rosenberg would love to see this group go over a million.

“I would say we have done over 250 packs in 10 years,” Rosenberg said. “We have to date packed 4.75 million meals. We are hoping to break last year's record of 780,000 meals packed.”

“These meals allow children to help reverse the effects of malnutrition issues that they may already have. It not only helps their physical development, but also with their cognitive development, which can allow them to truly reach their full potential,” said Do, who is minoring in African & Diaspora Studies and who is also a member of Alpha Xi Delta, an Admission Ambassador, an education tutor at the Math Workshop, and a tutor for Upward Bound.

LNI also engages with the campus community in other ways. The organization will be sponsoring a Tiger Up Tuesday on Dec. 2, which involves managing a table outside of the Center Dining Room at the Benham-Pence Student Center from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and handing out the December Sticker of the Month for Wittenberg.

LNI partners with organizations across Lesotho to combat childhood malnutrition, providing meals that contain nutritional supplements to Lesotho children, who have been diagnosed as suffering from severe/chronic malnutrition and stunting, also known as wasting. Only 11 percent of Basotho children aged six to 23 months fall into the criteria for a minimum acceptable diet. Since its founding in 2014, LNI has raised more than $800,000 to date, and has partnered with more than 30 schools, universities, churches, and businesses in the Midwest for approximately 120 packing events, reaching all corners of Lesotho.

If interested in volunteering for LNI, follow its Instagram account, check its website, or contact Do or Rosenberg. The organization is always looking for volunteers.