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Global Health Spotlight on Extraordinary Healthcare Volunteers: Nikki Nies

Maryann Rose, HOPEww • October 9, 2020

New Jersey native Nikki Nies pursued a master’s degree in nutrition and is now a registered dietitian helping people achieve optimal health through the knowledge of nutrition. In 2018, her interests led to a HOPE worldwide Volunteer Corps in Lusaka, Zambia.

Using her nutrition background, Nikki helped lead a team teaching hands-on cooking classes to local women. Ten women attended classes at a time, often bringing their babies with them, making it easy to build close relationships with women and families. Nikki was firmly committed to honoring local customs while offering helpful suggestions for more nutrient-rich meals.

Intrigued by local farming practices, Nikki learned the staple food for this region is an inexpensive and filling grain called nshima. Similar to maize or corn, it must be combined with other foods for optimal nutrition. She considered how to easily create recipes that focused on locally sourced, low-cost ingredients that were both healthy and delicious.

Even with a significant language barrier, Nikki discovered winning kids over was the key to success for the cooking class. Noticing that Zambian people eat a lot of bananas, she introduced combining them with peanut butter--to the great delight of the children in the class, who asked for seconds with an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

It was important to Nikki and her team to provide sustainable ideas to benefit families once the HOPE worldwide volunteers left. She teamed up with other talented disciples like illustrator Maya Oshunbiyi to develop a handwritten and illustrated recipe book with simple ideas of novel food combinations.

While Nikki was baptized as part of the Chicago Church of Christ in 2014, today she calls the Dallas Fort Worth Church of Christ home, and her HOPEww Volunteer Corps experience inspired her to create custom recipe books that share the benefits of nutrition and health with people everywhere.

Are you interested in using your time, talents and training as a healthcare professional to meet needs all over the world with HOPE worldwide ?

To learn more visit hopeww.org/volunteer-opportunities.

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