“She was unable to walk on her own,” says Anganwadi worker from the village. “She was suffering from malnourishment”

At 18 months old, Khushi was weighed only 4.2 kg with severe malnourishment by the Anganwadi worker during the field visit. Looking at the condition, the Anganwadi worker requested her mother Poonam to admit her to the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) but she was reluctant. 

Like Khushi, there are many malnourished children in the village, but tribal community do not want to go NRC for the treatment. Even if they go with children, they do not remain for a long time and come back to the middle of the treatment.

Caritas India’s partner Raipur Diocesan Social Welfare Society (RDSWS) is implementing UTTHAN program to ensure Food and Nutrition Security of Vulnerable Adivasi Communities. 

Knowing the condition of Khushi, UTTHAN project staff counselled and convinced Poonam to take Khushi to the NRC. As a result, Poonam agreed and admitted her daughter to nearby NRC with the support of Anganwadi worker. She remained in the centre for 15 days along with Khushi wherein all supplementary diets and everyday food (milk, egg, kheer-pudi etc.) was provided to the child and after 15 days Khushi’s weight increased from 4.2 Kg to 5.8 Kg which was a great sign that Khushi was recovering well. This gave relief to Poonam but after few days again her daughter Khushi was found malnourished and admitted in the same NRC the second time. But this time, Poonam made sure that she learnt from nurses and other staff how to maintain the diet and nutritional food intake for her daughter after discharge.

When Poonam came back to her village with her daughter, she was determined that she would not let her daughter fall back again into the clutches of malnutrition. She started applying the lessons from nurses and maintained a balanced diet for Khushi with nutritious food and other local vegetables. Moreover, she continued her consultation with UTTHAN program staff regarding the various type of diets for her daughter and also other awareness program and workshop/training organized under UTTHAN program.

All this helped Poonam to enhance her knowledge and developed a strong determination to fight against malnutrition. She began teaching other mothers in the village about the importance of a nutritious diet. Now, she also takes care of other children of the village and keeps a close watch on their dietary habits i.e. whether they are consuming supplementary food provided by Anganwadi worker or not. She motivates other mothers to go to NRC sharing her story about the benefits and facilities she received from NRC. As a result, many mothers have admitted their malnourished children in NRC. 

She is known in her village as a woman who fought against malnutrition to save the life of her daughter. She fought against malnutrition for the sake of her daughter. Now she has become an agent of change for other mothers in the village. “Malnourish is a very big issue in our community but we do not want to fight it rather choose to ignore or run away from it, as a result, every year many innocent children die in my village, but now I realize that actually this can be avoided just taking proper nutritional vegetables and going to NRC at right time,” Says Poonam Merawi.