Healthy foods, healthy Chit
A clean tar main road leads toward Chit’s village, which is surrounded by plots of palms trees and rubber plantations on the hills above the road. Chit lives 12 miles away from the coastal city of Kawthaung, in Thannitharyi Division, the southern-most part of Myanmar.
Selling fruits and vegetables everyday, Daw Than Win, a mother of 4 struggles to feed her family. She has 3 daughters: an 18 year-old daughter who helps with the family business, a 12-year-old and 10-year-old who attend school, and Chit her young son.
Preparing nutritious, healthy meals for her children was something Daw Than Win never learned and never considered. She fed Chit in the same way that she fed her daughters. World Vision works in Daw Than’s village, and in order to promote health knowledge in community, they provided nutrition classes for under-5 mothers and caregivers.
Luckily, Daw Than was invited to attend.
She rushes out of her a flimsy small tent, covered with thatch roof; to attend nutrition awareness sessions conduct by World Vision. Meanwhile, her eldest daughter looks after Chit at home.
Once the session begins, they learned about the importance of the 3 major food groups: energy giving foods, growth or bodybuilding foods, and protective foods.
I learned how to prepare nutritious foods and proper feeding for my son.
At the end of the first session, World Vision staff suggested that they bring along their under-5 children for growth monitoring for weight and height during the next week’s session. The following week, Daw Than Win excitedly brought her only son to be measured.
Before the measurement begins, World Vision staff explained about the symptoms of malnutrition and the meaning of the colors and curves, and what they illustrate on the growth chart. After taking measurements, there was immediate concern by Chit’s mother and the World Vision staff.
“I thought that my son was well nourished but the measurement detected severe malnutrition. I was so worried that my son weigh was only 8 kg and in the red curve [indicating malnutrition on the chart],” recalls DawThan Win.
In order for Chit to improve, World Vision took special care to provide foods such as rice, oil, beans, and eggs. Since then, Daw Than Win has working very hard to prepare suitable meals for her son with nutritious foods.
My son moved into green status [indicating a healthy weight on the nutrition chart] at 10.5 kgs after 3 months because I practiced the suggestions that World Vision gave me.
“I prepared meals which include such as chicken, beans, vegetables, and egg for my son every day,” reacalls Daw Than Win.
“My son is healthier and gaining weight. He eats a lot too,” shares DawThan with a laugh. Thanks for educating us about child nutrition and caring about my child,” says DawThan Win.
In addition to nutrition awareness, mothers and caregivers also come to learn about personal hygiene, breast-feeding, and immunisations.