Escape from the hunger gate

Aye Su Win, now a 7-year-old, was born under-weight and malnourished. Aye’s mother, Myint Myint is a vender who travels around the wards selling flowers. During her pregnancy, Myint Myint didn’t care for herself, as she had to struggle for the family’s living.

“Aye usually stayed alone. She mostly stays with her grandmother as her mother works all day and could not care for her. She sometimes combined lunch and dinner and ate just one meal when her mother returned from work,” said World Vision’s volunteer, Wah Wah.

Aye was skinny and weak when World Vision first met her at the age of four. She was severely malnourished.

“When we started the nutrition programme, we brought her here and fed her nutritious food. Her weight was not increasing, as she sometimes got sick. Over several months coming to the feeding center, she gained weight and became stronger as you can see now,” recalled Wah Wah.

World Vision started the nutrition program in Aye’s township in 2012. The community has opened a feeding center lead by the mother’s group to treat the malnourished children in the community. The center runs during the weekdays and offers one meal a day. Children are weighed and measured monthly to see the progress. Aye was fed until she was five-years-old. 
In the feeding center, the mothers’ group prepares food for malnourished children. Meal includes one dish of meat and fried vegetables, and fruits as deserts. 

While feeding the malnourished children, pregnant women and mothers with children under-five were invited to attend health sessions where they learned about health and nutrition knowledge in order to apply the practices at home. Aye’s mother regularly attended the health sessions and she learned how to feed her children with locally available, affordable food, and about pre- and postnatal care.

“My second daughter was born healthy. She is now two-years-old,” said Myint Myint.  “I took care of myself during my second pregnancy. I ate nutritious food to stay healthy, so my daughter was born healthy. This is because of World Vision’s training,” Myint Myint smiles.
“Thanks to World Vision for treating my elder daughter. She is now healthy and can go to school and play with her friends,” Myint Myint adds.

“I love my sister a lot. I am very happy to play with her. I am also happy to go to school with my friends,” says Aye while playing with her sister.

A healthy seven-year-old should be in Grade three, however, due to the malnutrition Aye started school late, but is now doing well.

Aye has also joined the World Vision sponsorship programme.

To help address the struggle of Aye’s parents, who are odd job workers, World Vision provided an economic development opportunity by lending 300,000 ks (about USD 300) to Aye’s mother as an investment to sell flowers.

The presence of the feeding center and the efforts of the mothers group enabled Aye to obtain a normal life and be a shining light in the community.