By Neelam | Senior Nurse Health Project
Hello Everybody,
I am Neelam , the senior nurse on the Health Project.
Dadpur is an isolated Dalit settlement surrounded by fields the villagers may work on but do not own. It is a million miles from the skyscrapers of the metros and the lights of the city.
Until People First opened the first village school the village was 90% illiterate, now much reduced and full literacy of those who have attended the school has of course already been achieved. The nearest government education, a primary school which suffers like so many schools in Bihar from a lack of teachers, is 8Km away.
But this report is about malnutrition, described by a recent prime minister as a “national shame’ and the programme you have kindly supported to give the children and weak of Dadpur, a hot nutritious meal full of the proteins and some oil which is deficient in their usual diet of rice with sometimes a few vegetables. A nation, where 43 per cent of population thrives on a purely vegetarian diet, pulses (Dal) is the only source of protein.
But the price of dal at up to 100 rupees a kilo, 1 GBP or 1.50 USD is half a day’s pay for a labourer, that’s 28 GBP or $40 compared against minimum wage rates in the UK. This price puts it way beyond the means of nearly all the villagers except in very small amounts. By contrast the meal we give is composed mainly of dal, with eggs, spicy mashed potatoes, and papad. It is delicious and cooked by the villagers themselves – it’s a community thing.
A foreigner visiting the project remarked in London this could easily be sold at 15 GBP/$22 a plate!
The meal comes as part of our whole health programme in the village which includes Nurse Clinics, health groups and discussions and help with a range of health issues from good birth practices, to hygiene, and sexual health.
As nurse for the project I can tell without any doubt this meal really helps the children of Dadpur develop within normal and healthy parameters and on behalf of all of the villagers I thank you for your support.
Please look at these new pictures taken at Dadpur just a few days ago,
With Kind Regards,
Neelam
Links:
By Neelam | Health Project Nurse
By DR VERMA MBBS | PEOPLE FIRST HEALTH PROJECT MEDICAL CONSULTANT
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.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.