Nutrition Journey- a story of change

In August 2012, 18-month-old, malnourished Priya was identified as a case of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), defined as low weight for height, visible severe wasting, and swollen feet resulting from tissue retention of water.  SAM is the most extreme form of hunger that leads to 35% of preventable deaths among children under five.

photo credit: Suchit Nanda

Inadequate complementary feeding seemed to be the main cause of Priya’s poor nutrition status. Through street plays and mothers’ meetings (topics: nutrition and growth monitoring), Priya’s mother, Kamlesh, now knew what she didn’t know earlier and started to feed Priya adequate amounts of food at regular intervals. Furthermore, Priya was also enrolled in a community based crèche where she received supplementary nutrition and inculcated the habit of eating with her companions. Over a period of three months, Priya’s nutritional status improved from malnutrition grade II to I and after six months she graduated to the normal grade category.

Volunteer Speak: a perspective

The past few weeks at Mobile Creches have been an experience I’ll never forget. I can’t thank the employees enough for all of the help and kindness they've shown me. It’s clear that everyone who works here truly loves what they are doing and want to see positive changes for the children who come to the crèches. 

And then there are the children, always excited to see you and say hello when you walk into the crèche. These past few weeks have been filled with laughter and smiles and I’d like to thank one last time all of the employees and

children who made that possible.

These words are written by Zachary R. Leja, currently studying in University of Rochester, USA. He volunteered his time for Mobile Creches for a few months in the latter part of the year 2013.

The same old story … with a happy ending

Photo credit: Suchit Nanda

At the Vipul World construction site centre, MC staff came across 6-month-old Satish, who was lying on the mud floor while his labourer mother, Sushila worked in the sun. They struck up a conversation with Sushila, recently migrated from Rajpura village, Bihar, about her child’s wellbeing. She was skeptical at the idea of a crèche and said, “Didi bachcha chhota hai, usay doodh pilaana hota hai, thekedaar baar-baar aane nahi dega. Isliye main apne saath rakhthi hoon” (How would I feed my little baby? The contractor won’t allow me a break to nurse my baby. It’s better to keep him with me).

Mobile Creches’ staff got Sushila permission from the contractor for frequent nursing breaks and encouraged her to visit the centre, for her own assurance. Sushila was surprised to see several small children of her son’s age being taken care of in one place: eating, sleeping, playing, under a watchful eye and with loving care.

Sushila now leaves Satish at the centre, everyday and comes to feed him at regular intervals. She works, with her mind at ease.