Monday, October 27, 2014
Malnutrition
continues to pester mankind despite approaches to trample it down. The ever
growing and dynamic needs of children and pregnant women make it more difficult
to address concerns of nutrition. Moreover, there is this misconception that
malnutrition only comes in the form of being just underweight or thin, making
people blinded by the fact that a lot of children are also suffering from
obesity, stunting, wasting and vitamin deficiencies. In reality, we are aware
that malnutrition is before our very eyes, but we choose to ignore it because
of either lack of information or motivation.
Luop
Anti-Malnutrition Team was built in the hope that through community
participation, the ever growing rate of malnutrition in Barangay Luop (almost 40%
or 26 out of 66 children ages 0-5 years old) can be put to a stop. Since the
conception of the LAMT last October 8, 2014, several activities have been
successfully carried out by the team, and most of them are independent from the
assistance of the medical students. This independence was all made possible by
the Training Seminar rolled out for the members of the LAMT, which consisted
primarily of the delineation of the tasks and purpose of the LAMT, introduction
to proper nutrition, safe and proper breastfeeding practices, complimentary
feeding for children, and growth monitoring. Since this is a 2-day seminar held
last October 9 and 10, an orientation to Nutritional Diary was also given out
to the members of the team. Evaluation was done after to assess knowledge
gained from the seminar.
A mother’s class
for pregnant women was conducted by our very own Project Coordinator against
Malnutrition, Pratima Lakibul, last October 14, 2014 during the pre-natal
check-up of the expectant mothers. LAMT members where there to watch in order
to gain insight on what to do during the next pre-natal check-ups. This project
is to run once a month during each pre-natal visit of expectant mothers.
On
October 16, 2014, during the barangay assembly, the Luop-Anti Malnutrition team
had their very first independent activity wherein they were the ones in charge
of the “Operasyon Timbang” for children ages 0-5 years old. Making sure that
children got to be weighed during the program, the medical students, in
coordination with the LAMT members went around the barangay days prior to
invite households, putting emphasis that children 5 years and below should be
brought during the assembly for nutritional assessment. The weighing of the
children took place during the registration of the attendees of the assembly.
At the depth of the
program, the LAMT members rolled out a “Pag-istoryahan ta ang KALUSUGAN”
program, which was designed to emphasize on proper nutrition and its
importance. This program, initiated by the LAMT members gave significance to
the essence of Go, Grow and Glow foods in the development and nourishment of children,
and to the common causes and signs of malnutrition.
A consultation
program entitled “Wastong Nutrisyon Laban sa Malnutrisyon” conducted last
October 18-19 was carried out by the LAMT again independently. This was done in
order to impart to mothers and primary caregivers of children ages 0-5 years
old the importance of giving a nutritious meal in order to combat malnutrition.
This program exceeded our expectations because of the preparedness of the LAMT –
they spearheaded a feeding program given to almost 50 children. The feeding
involved giving of Champorado to
children ages 1-5, and a self-constructed Cerelac
to those under 1 year. This Ceralac-inspired
meal for children below 1 year included red squash, carrots, okra, string beans
and potato, all of which were mashed. Despite the mixture being made purely of
vegetables, we ended up kids asking for more of the food (even the medical
students wanted more!).
Finally, to end
the roll of projects for malnutrition on a high for this exposure, a cooking
show contest sponsored by the ADZU SOM representatives to Luop was done. A
total of 5 out of 6 puroks competed in the said activity which was done to
increase community’s awareness on the nutritious foods that could be prepared
for young children, malnourished or not. Purok Dos bested the other groups with
their sumptuous Ginisang Monggo with Kalabasa, topped up with alugbati, talong, string beans, malunggay,
and grilled fish. Their explanation of the different nutrients offered by
the vegetables and the full composition of their meal with Go, Glow and Grow
foods made their dish the best for the judges.
