23 June 2010

Crying Babies is a Good Thing

This past weekend I visited my friend Cait who has been busy setting up a nutrition center for children under 5 as part of the Real Medicine Foundation in rural Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh. The area is predominantly rural and over 80% tribal- the main issue is not so much access to high quality food, it's more of a lack of nutrition education or education in general.

Field staff identify infants suffering from malnutrition in the field and convince them and their Moms to bring them to the center for about 2 weeks for nutrition counseling and the feeding of an enriched diet to their children.
For the Mom and Babies
Wall Mural
Medicine

Plenty of babies crashed out all over the place-
Crashed Out 2
Homemade Swing 2
Crashed Out

Meals are prepared according to the dietary needs of the malnourished kids.
Formulation

Mom's waiting to feed their babies
Waving Hi
Patiently Waiting
Feeding Time

Some don't even bother taking a breath
No Time to Take a Breath
Drinking 2
Drinking 1
Food on Face

Of course after a few days of being fed and having more energy, kids are much more active than when they first got there. Crying babies is definitely a good thing!

Hams-
Hams2
High Five
Held Tightly
Ham 1