Provide Nutrition to Migrant Children For a Year

Background 

Young children playing and roaming unsupervised is a very common sight in migrant worker’s colonies in Bangalore. With both parents working the whole day, children are left to themselves or an elderly person keeping tabs on all children. Children lack safety, live in unhygenice surroundings and are extremely undernourished.

Good nutrition is important for children under 6 year because it can help them grow and develop properly, and may even impact their future health and behavior. Children need 1100–1400 calories per day to maintain their growth. Their diet should include carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals.

Sampark realizing the pressing need for day care centres in migrant workers’ colonies runs 28 Early Childhood Care and Development Center (ECCD) in different labor colonies. Most of the children are under-nourished and the health and nutrition requirements of children are taken care of by providing them breakfast, lunch, and snacks in the evening.

 Early Childhood Care and Development Center (ECCD) 

The ECCD Centers work from 9.30 am to 5 pm. Children as young as 6 months old are taken in the center. Balwadi consists of children from 3-6 years and Non-Formal Education from the age of 6 to 12 years. The builder provides a place in the labor colony to run the center. Water and electricity are provided by the builder. 

In this report we are presenting the data of three ECCD Centers located in Bangalore. Te details are as per below: 

Centre Name and Address

01. Prestige Waterford - Prestige Waterford, ECC Rd, Pattandur Agrahara, Whitefield, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560066

02. Prestige Tech Forest- Kalpataru Projects International Limited Lake Road, Varthur, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560087

03. Prestige Lakeshore  Drive- Prestige Kew Garden, Kariyamma Agrahara Road Shyanbhog colony, Yamalur Bellandur Bengaluru 560037.

In the 3 Centers, we have reached out to 177 children of which are 96 boys and 81 girls. 

The early childhood care center plays a crucial role in supporting migrant children and their families.The teachers constantly interact with parents and advise them about the importance of children's health, hygiene and how it affects their growth.  

Nutrition

Providing a well-balanced diet rich in nutrients is crucial for children’s growth and development.

Prioritizing children's nutrition at the center, we provide well-balanced nutrition of 600-800 calories (excluding dinner) per day to the children at the crèche.

The team provided:

Protein mix drink and peanut bars in the morning, provide energy and essential nutrients.

While kichidi ( mixture of rice, dal, vegetables, and greens) and egg in the afternoon. offer protein and other vital nutrients.

Including bananas and boiled pulses like channa, groundnut, and green gram alternate days in the evening adds more nutrients to their diet.

As per the WHO scale the children’s height and weight were checked and categorized according to the growth chart. A special diet (Protein mixture) was provided to the undernourished children and supplementary nutrition such as multivitamins, and iron syrups were also included.

Health Check ups : Three pediatric health camps were organized, and  144( 67 girls and 77 boys) Children were Screened. 15 ( 7 girls and 8 boys) Children were provided age-appropriate Immunization. 21 (13 girls and 17 boys) Children were provided with Deworming syrup/tablets.

The team monitored the height and weight of the 25 children( 12 Girls and 13 boys ) aged below 5 years regularly. Out of 25 children, 4 children were undernourished. A special diet (Anaz mixture) was provided to these undernourished children. 4 children ( 3 girls and 1 boy) showed improvement in their weight.

Learning Activities

Activities that focus on the holistic development of children are crucial for laying the foundation for their lifelong well-being and success. Activities related to overall development were implemented for the children.

Activities related to overall development such as cognitive like simple maths, coloring, alphabet, Numbers, etc, and physical development like exercise and indoor and outdoor games, etc were implemented for the children. The topics covered during the reporting period were Me and My Family, Life Skill, House, Village and Cityy, Domestic Animal and My Country, etc.

Cognitive Activities: Stimulating cognitive development through activities that promote critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity is essential. Reading, puzzles, math games, science experiments, and artistic expression encourage curiosity, exploration, and intellectual growth.

Physical Activities: Engaging in physical play and exercises not only promotes physical health but also enhances motor skills, coordination, and overall well-being. Activities such as running, jumping, climbing, and playing sports help children develop strong bodies and establish healthy habits for life.

Social Activities: Encouraging interactions with peers and adults fosters social skills, empathy, and cooperation. Group activities like team sports, cooperative games.

Emotional Activities: Providing opportunities for emotional expression and regulation helps children develop resilience and self-awareness. Activities such as storytelling, role-playing, art therapy, and mindfulness exercises teach children to identify and manage their emotions in healthy ways.

Community Interventions

Parents Meeting: six parent meetings were conducted. The topic discussed during the parent’s meetings includes, importance of Age-appropriate immunization for children, Cleanliness Part 1 and Cleanliness Part 2.  76 parents( 68 female and 8 male) attended the parent meetings. 

Focus Group Discussions (FGD) :12 Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were conducted. The topics discussed during the meetings were children’s safety, importance of Cleanliness' of colony, Government school admission, Anganwadi Linkage,  Importance of Pregnant women Immunization and Children Immunization  .91 parents (85 females and 6 male ) participated in the meeting.

 Special Events

Environment Day was celebrated on 5th June 2024.
Children are taught about the importance of nature and the damage that human activities do to it. The teacher made children go around the community with the slogans Plant a tree today and save the future of our planet, save the forest, etc.

Yoga Day Celebrated on 21.06.2024 - Teachers inform children about The importance of Yoga Day. The benefits of yoga and various physical and mental benefits. And also tells children the practice of Yoga brings joy, health, and peace from within and deepens a sense of connection between individual & inner consciousness and the external world. 

Iam a strong girl now! - Story of Anushka Kumari 

Roshini Devi and  Kuldip Sadha, originally from Bihar district, came to Bangalore in 2024 with their 4-year-old daughter, Anushka Kumari. As Bihar has low rainfall, and working on the farms was not profitable, they were forced to move to Prestige Lakeshore Drive in  Bangalore to look for better income-earning opportunities While in  Bihar Anushka Kumari had yet to attend an Anganwadi or be given an introduction to the process of reading and writing. Initially, they worried about where to leave their child before going to work. Then they got to know about the presence of Sampark’s ECCD center. They enrolled her in the Balwadi. During her initial days at the center, she was always seen crying, was reluctant to eat, and did not talk to anybody. Also, since it was her first experience in a learning environment, Anushka Kumari had a difficult time trying to understand everything. The habit of cleanliness was new to her.

The ECCD teacher nurtured her to get used to the new surroundings, friends and routine. Part of the growth monitoring routine, they recorded her monthly weight and height. She was provided personal attention and put on a special diet.

Initially, her weight was 11 kg which falls under the malnourished category, the actual weight should be 12.9 kgs  for her age.With the continued efforts of the ECCD teacher, to calm her and ma her eat bananas, eggs, peanut bars, rice and pulses and (sprouts). In three months, Anushka Kumari increased her weight to 13 kg which is normal and has now grown healthy and she is a happy child.

 Now she is happily attending the creche with all the other children. Her parents are happy and proud of the progress achieved by their daughter with the help of the ECCD center.