**featured student Aubrey Winkie is an IIP alum**
They call it ‘The Miracle Tree.’
The Moringa Tree has been known to thrive in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. Yet, its small, bright green leaves produce nutritional benefits that have reversed the health of entire communities in South America, Asia and Africa.
Just one tablespoon of powder from ground Moringa leaves provides all the nutrients a person needs for a day. And the tree’s seeds can purify water.
But UW-Madison student Aubrey Winkie had no idea about any of this when she was asked to research the tree for a reforestation project by Araceli Alonso, an associate faculty member in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies.
Aubrey was spending her junior year Kenya and was an intern with Dr. Alonso’s highly-regarded Health by Motorbike program.
“I started doing research and realized how amazing the Moringa tree was,” said Aubrey, who graduated in December with a degree in Gender and Women’s Studies and certificates in Global Health and African Studies. “It has incredible nutritional qualities. It has protein and iron and vitamin A and vitamin C and all the essential amino acids.”
So in April 2013, Aubrey and women in the Kwale District, located in far southern Kenya, planted around 200 Moringa trees. But that was only the first step. Trees alone could not provide life-changing nutrition. Only education could help the community unlock the full miracle of the Moringa.
Read the full story from the Morgridge Center