The Community Development Programme: On Nutrition

In a village in the Central Highlands, there was a poor family. Because of all the agricultural work that had to be done, the mother was often out working in the fields.

When we first came to this village we evaluated all children under 5 for malnutrition. We discovered that the 10-month-old daughter in this family was malnourished, and talked to the mother about it. Her mother responded, “I have noticed that she’s been growing weaker and thinner by the day. I don’t know what’s wrong with her, and am worried that I might lose her.”

We counselled the mother, giving her super-flour (a combination of locally-available grains and legumes that make a complete protein) and nutritional advice. We assured her that if she gave her daughter enough good food and kept her clean, she would become healthy.

On follow-up visits, we observed that this child was improving month by month. One day, eight months later, when we weighed all the malnourished children, we also weighed this child again. She was no longer in the malnutrition zone, and the mother exclaimed, “My dead child is alive again!”

We asked her, “What did you do to help your daughter get well?”

She replied, “I did all the things you told me. I fed her super-flour porridge as well as other food, like vegetables and eggs. I kept her clean. Also, this fall I stayed home with my daughter instead of going to the mountains to harvest wheat. I realized that if I left her all day, nobody else would be able to take care of her like she needed. I am so grateful to the CDP team for all the help you give to poor people.”

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