I woke to the crowing of a rooster sometime before five. On this cold, winter morning in July, most of the southern Malawi village was already preparing for the day’s work. By five-thirty, we were loading our pickup truck with medical supplies and peanut-based Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (“chiponde” in Chichewa) for our trip to the clinic.

I hopped into the front seat, started the ignition, and waited for the car to warm up enough not to stall. Dr. Mark Manary, my mentor and director of Project Peanut Butter (PPB), joined me. Rosemarie, our nurse, translator, and navigator, finished loading the last box of chiponde and climbed into the back seat. We were off to our first village, Mwanza.

We pulled up under a large tree where a small wood table had been placed for us. It was no later than seven in the morning, and we had mothers lined up with babies ready for evaluation. I greeted the first mom with my broken Chichewa and held out my arms for her child. I took the boy’s height, weight, and mid-upper arm circumference, recording his progress on a worn sheet of cardstock. He was responding well to nutritional rehabilitation, and his mother was happy to carry a heavier baby on her back. We saw more than 40 children within the first three hours of arriving at Mwanza.

I met Dr. Manary at the end of my sophomore year and began working with Project Peanut Butter the next fall. As a student of anthropology, I was intrigued by his work in treating malnutrition within the cultural framework of Malawi. PPB makes chiponde from locally grown ingredients, and children love the sweet and gooey consistency. I found that Dr. Manary's project was the perfect combination for my interests in medicine, nutrition, and anthropology.

My initial contributions included fundraising, designing and maintaining the web site, and working on USAID grants. I knew I was deviating from the traditional pre-med route, but I had a great feeling about my work with PPB. My science courses gave me the insight to understand some of the principles behind treating malnutrition, and my major in anthropology gave me the skills to think critically and interact effectively in a cross-cultural setting.

Working overseas was an incredible experience, making my course work come to life. Working in small villages with severely malnourished children, I recalled readings from Professor Brown’s course in cultural anthropology; helping deliver two babies in the maternity wards, I heard Dr. Wall’s voice from the human birth and human fetus classes; producing therapeutic food in the PPB factory producing our therapeutic food, I recalled discussions of sustainable development with students of Dr. Stone’s courses.

I decided I wanted to return to Malawi. Dr. Manary encouraged me to compete for a Fulbright scholarship. My project proposal, developed with his help, was accepted, and I will be spending the next 9-10 months in Malawi. My project will help make the formula for RUTF more sustainable by replacing powdered milk, currently imported at high costs from South Africa, with locally grown soy. I will be conducting a randomized, controlled study of 1,200 children to determine whether the new formula provides equivalent outcomes for nutritional rehabilitation.

I am so grateful to the faculty of the anthropology department for teaching critical-thinking skills and cultural sensitivities. No student of anthropology is unfamiliar with the question, “Anthropology? What does that mean?” It is the first question your uncle asks when you come home for Thanksgiving after declaring your major. You can be assured that anthropology will provide the best foundation for understanding human nature, whether you decide to be a curator, corporate business associate, lawyer, or physician.