Moe and Ryan Devlin talk about the inspiration behind This Bar Saves Lives and the advice that has best served him personally and professionally
2.5 Million Children Die Each Year Because of Malnutrition
Not until you walk in someone’s shoes do you ever experience how they truly feel – And, for actors Ryan Devlin (@RyanDevlin) and Todd Grinnell (@toddgrinnell), it took a trip to Liberia for them to see why chronic Malnutrition kills 2.5 million children each year, or one child every twelve seconds. For most of us, we don’t begin to conceive what it means to be malnutritioned; still nutrition-related factors contribute to about 45% of child deaths under the age of five. Sadly, general nutrition has been a neglected topic on the global health agenda, and according to The Gates foundation, it accounts for less than one percent of global foreign aid – all the more reason to support initiatives like This Bar Saves Lives.
Back in 2007, the CBS news program, 60 minutes aired a segment hailing the miracle of Plumpy’nut – a soft, sticky substance invented by French pediatrician, Andre Briend, largely made of peanuts, and packed with enough nutrients to re-nourish a starving child. Reporting the story, Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) compared the paste to penicillin, and so convincing was his visible evidence that in as little as ten weeks, a child consuming the product daily literally appears to be reborn. Fast forward nearly a decade, and that concoction would become the impetus behind the This Bar Saves Lives (@thisbar) movement.
Inspired by the one for one social shift, the two actors enlisted writer/director Ravi Patel (@showmetheravi), with the mission to give one packet of this life-saving nutrient to a child in need with the purchase of each granola bars. In less than two years, they’ve donated nearly 785,000 packets of Plumpy’nut, and as you listen to my conversation with Ryan Devlin, you’ll know why their impact is just beginning.
Here’s what guides our conversation:
The epidemic of malnutrition
The inspiration behind This Bar Saves Lives
The miracle of Plumpy’nut – what’s the secret
Selecting the right global partners
Measuring impact & igniting global change
Launching a business – the first six months
The advice that has best served him both personally & professionally
Resources:
Ryan Devlin on Twitter: @RyanDevlin
Todd Grinnell on Twitter: @toddgrinnell
Ravi Patel on Twitter: @showmetheravi