By Shraddha P | Project Coordinator
Mayurbhanj is one of the largest districts in Odisha and is famous for its places of interests, mining & agricultural options and lush forest areas. However, in spite of all the opportunities, Mayurbhanj has been categorized as one of the country's 250 most backward districts. In this district lies Dilleswar village of Ranipokhari Panchayat and Kaptipada block. Rini Sahu (name changed), a 15 months old daughter of Milan and Kaveri Sahu, lives in Dilleswar. Rini also has 5 siblings. The Sahu family is marginal farmers and depend on daily wages to fend for the family.
In the month of July’17, CRY along with its grass-root partners like VCRO and others, launched a campaign to fight malnutrition across 5 districts of Odisha. When the intervention team reached Dilleswar village, they started monitoring children and noticed Rini weighs only 6 kilos; she also had been suffering from Malaria. Without wasting a day, the intervener, along with Anganwari workers consulted with Rini’s parents and informed them that Rini is suffering from Malnutrition and she should be taken to NRC urgently. At first Milan, Rini’s father, was hesitant as moving Rini to NRC will mean her mother will also need to be there with her and their family’s daily wage will suffer. He also stated that he couldn’t even afford a proper transportation cost. The interveners’ team not only continued the consultation but also arranged for a car so that Rini and her mother Kaveri can travel to NRC.
Rini was taken to NRC and stayed there for more than two weeks. She regained her health gradually and came back to her home. The intervening team further consulted the Sahu family so that they grow their own kitchen garden and feed proper meals to their family. Seeds and saplings were distributed in the village.
Today, if one visits the Sahu family, they can notice healthy growth of papaya, banana, greens and other vegetables. Rini is more than 8 kgs now and plays happily with her brothers and sisters. She also owns a teddy bear which remains by her side always. “We did not understand how grave the situation was. We almost lost her and the solution was not so difficult, yet we struggled.” Says Kaveri, teary eyed.Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
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