Education India Project #31546

Fighting Malnutrition Through Child Care in India

by Seva Mandir

Project Report | Dec 31, 2019
New Year Greetings and Wishes from Small Kids!

By Atul Lekhra | Programme Incharge

Dear Friend,

Wishing you and your family a very Happy New Year!! May this New Year brings with it an abundance of joys and infinite happiness to you!

Thank you for your support to our project ‘Fighting Malnutrition Through Child Care in India’. Your support is bringing real changes in the lives of small children.

Seva Mandir, which was initiated in 1968, works in more than 1300 tribal villages of Rajasthan with the mission of ensuring that the poorest members of the society have access to quality education, health care and stable livelihoods by empowering every individual to create a true democracy.

One of the most vulnerable groups with which Seva Mandir works are young children. Huge poverty faces parents to work to make ends meet and so often mothers of young children are unable to look after their children properly. Either the mothers have to carry young children to agriculture field, forests or labor sites or leave them in the care of elder siblings who themselves are quite young. As a result, children suffer from lack of security, care, health and full development. Seva Mandir runs Balwadis, day care cum pre-school centers which provide care, health and pre-school education to such children.

Ghanashyam attends a Balwadi located in Kotra block, one of the poorest areas of India. The instructor of the Balwadi was told by a Balsakhi (woman trained by Seva Mandir to provide care to children) that the child was malnourished and the mother was leaving him at home while she worked in the fields. The Balsakhi told the instructor that the child was not being looked after properly and was in desperate need of the day-care service which the Balwadi provides. The instructor went to Ghanashyam’s house to talk to his mother, Bhuri, who was at first sceptical about leaving her child in the care of another person not from their family.

She gave excuses and avoided the Instructor, but he was determined that the child required appropriate care. After some persuasion, Ghanashyam was enrolled in the Balwadi in July, 2018. He was given fresh porridge with hot oil poured over it for extra nutrition and he receives a daily spoonful of iron supplement and six-monthly doses of Vitamin A.

When Ghanashyam enrolled in the Balwadi, he weighed 6.5 kg. In September 2018, after two months of regular care and nourishment, he weighed 7.5 kg. He is now in the ‘well-nourished’ category and his mother Bhuri is grateful that she decided to send her son to the Balwadi regularly so that he could become healthy and beat malnutrition.

It is due to generous support from friends like you Seva Mandir has been able to run these Balwadis. Currently 178 Balwadis are operational in tribal areas of southern Rajasthan reaching out to 5000 underprivileged children. A donation of $10 from you will help us in providing life saving nutritious meals to 1 child for 3 months. We look forward to your continued support.

Seva Mandir is delighted to congratulate long-time academic collaborators and supporters of its work, Professors Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer, who have been awarded the 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science ‘for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.'

Seva Mandir's research association with Abhijeet Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer began in 1996, you can find out more here https://bit.ly/2YUO9aJ.

Thank you again for your generosity in choosing to support our project.

Best Wishes

Atul Lekhra & the Seva Mandir Team

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Oct 3, 2019
Building a Healthy Childhood

By Atul Lekhra | Manager- Resource Mobilization

Dear Friend,

In Seva Mandir's work area adults, both men and women, have to work in order to sustain their family. As a result children, including infants, are often left unattended or in the care of older siblings who are also minors. The children lack adequate care, nutrition, safety or a stimulating environment at home or outside all essential for their development in their formative years.

Niki (name changed), 3-year-old girl, enrolled in Seva Mandir’s Balwadi (Daycare) in the Badgaon block of Udaipur district comes from a very poor family, with her parents working as daily wage labourer.

Two years ago, when Niki joined Balwadi, she was severely malnourished. Since, both her parents had to go out to work, she was often left neglected at home without care and nutrition required for her normal growth. Her parents got to know about the Balwadi centre near their home and got her enrolled. She diagnosed with malnutrition during a regular health check-up camp at Balwadi and was referred to start treatment for malnutrition immediately at a nearby Community Health Center.

It took her 8 months to come out of the danger zone. Balwadi Instructor gave special attention to her health and fed her with nutritious food like Soya Chunks and Kichadi (Indian dish made of lentils and rice).

According to Niki's parents, “The Balwadi was a life savior for our daughter. Since we work as labor to make ends meet, we had no option to leave her at home unattended. But Seva Mandir’s Balwadi is a blessing. Here, our daughter stays in a safe environment and also gets nutritious food with care. It's been two years since our daughter is attending the Balwadi. We can go to work with a free mind without worrying about her health and safety.”

There are thousands of children in our work area who suffer from malnutrition in absence of care and nutrition. Seva Mandir has been running full day Balwadis (Daycares) for the last 14 years to provide care and safety to such children letting their parents work without worrying for their children. Currently 178 Balwadis are operational in tribal areas of southern Rajasthan reaching out to 5000 underprivileged children.

It is due to generous support from friends like you Seva Mandir has been able to run these Balwadis. Thank you so much for your trust in us.

Regards

Atul Lekhra and the Seva Mandir Team

Follow us on www.facebook.com/sevamandir

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Jul 2, 2019
Little Steps for a Bright Future

By Atul Lekhra | Manager- Resource Mobilization

Dear Friend,

Seva Mandir works in one of the poorest areas of India where young children are often left unattended or in the care of young siblings and are lacking nutrition, security, safety and a stimulating environment at home and outside.

The need for early child care is very high in this area. According to a survey conducted by Seva Mandir, 50% of mothers said they took their children to work with them. The health status of children is also very poor; 70% children are anaemic, and 69% children are undernourished.

In light of these issues, Seva Mandir initiated the Balwadi programme in 1984. A Balwadi is a full-day centre run by a Sanchalika (a woman from the village trained to provide pre-school and health services to the children). At present, Seva Mandir, in close collaboration with communities, is running nearly 160 Balwadi centres catering to approximately 4,000 children in Udaipur and Rajsamand districts.

Uday is a single parent to 3 children - Indra (7 years), Radha (5 years) and Lakshman (4 years) – two of who are attending a Balwadi in their remote tribal village in Jhadol block. Uday’s wife passed away in 2014 when the children were very young. Since then, all the children have attended Balwadi.

Uday works as a labourer and on his own farm to support his family. Being a single parent, he does not get time to look after his children the way he could have if he still had his wife to help him. He relies on the Balwadi to care for his children and to provide food for them during the day time, as he is unable to cook for them in the morning. His condition was well understood by the Sanchalika and she extended her full help to take care of children whilst their father worked. She ensures that they are well looked after and even waits extra hours until Uday comes back from work.

The eldest daughter, Indra, has graduated from the Balwadi but has not yet started attending school. The Sanchalika is making efforts to enrol her to the nearest Seva Mandir Shiksha Kendra (non-formal education centre).

It is due to generous support from friends like you Seva Mandir has been able to run its Balwadis. We are immensely proud of the improvements we have been able to make in the lives of these children and hope to reach out to more with your continued support. Thank you so much for your trust in us.

Warm Regards

Atul Lekhra & the Seva Mandir Team

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