Physical Health India Project #1881

Life Saving Treatment to Children in Rural India

by Seva Mandir

Project Report | Dec 23, 2019
Give the Gift of Health on this Christmas

By Atul Lekhra | Programme Incharge

Dear Friend,

Thanks to you, 800 malnourished children were provided life-saving treatment this year. On behalf of them, thank you for giving them this wonderful opportunity and giving them a chance to dream for a better future.

Here I would like to tell you about Meera who was just 1 year old when she began suffering from vomiting, diarrhea and a high fever. She was brought to a community health centre where she was diagnosed as being Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM) and referred to the Seva Mandir supported Malnourishment Treatment Center (MTC) by the doctor, who advised that she be admitted as soon as possible as her condition was critical. She had not been eating properly and was losing weight.

Her mother was unaware of the devastating effects of malnutrition and thought that her daughter was suffering from a minor ailment and would recover soon. Meera was admitted weighing just over 5kg, putting her in the most critical category. She stayed at the MTC for 13 days and started showing signs of recovery soon after her treatment began. She began to eat food which was rich in energy, fat and protein. When she was discharged from the MTC after 13 days she weighed 5.4kg, could hold her head up, which she was unable to do before, and was much more active. She is now healthy and in a normal nutritional category.

This new life for Meera has only been made possible because of the support Seva Mandir receives from well-wishers like you. However, there are many more children like Meera who are still in danger and need your support.

Malnutrition is the leading cause of child mortality in India. Between 40 and 50% of child deaths under the age of five are due to malnourishment. 60% of children in Seva Mandir’s work area are suffering from some form of malnutrition. Therefore, this Christmas, you can give the gift of life to a child like Meera. Afterall, it only takes $10 to support the treatment of 1 malnourished child, and as part of GlobalGiving’s Year End Campaign, we could be eligible for bonus prizes which would help reach more children. But we need your help to get there.

You would also be supporting a programme that has been developed alongside the winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize for Economic Science! Prof. Abhijit Banerjee, Prof. Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer partnered with Seva Mandir over a number of research projects. You can find out more here https://bit.ly/2YUO9aJ.

We would like to thank you from the bottom of our heart for joining hands with us. Wishing you and your family a very Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support!

With gratitude,

Atul Lekhra & the Seva Mandir Team

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Sep 23, 2019
A Healthy Future for Urmila

By Atul Lekhra | Manager- Resource Mobilization

Dear Friend,

Seva Mandir has been working on the holistic development of rural and tribal communities living in poverty for more than 51 years.

Malnutrition is one of the biggest problems affecting children of 0-6 years in Udaipur district. In a survey conducted in 2019 in one area of Seva Mandir, 56% children were found underweight and 18% were wasted.

It is well known that malnutrition is a complex problem and caused due to several reasons, including improper feeding practices, lack of health and hygiene, poor health of mothers, and lack of nutritious food. Seva Mandir organizes community-based camps to provide Severe Acute Malnourished (SAM) children from highly-remote areas of Rajasthan with medical care and treatment.

Urmila, 4 years old, is a tribal girl living in a mud house with her family. Road connectivity to their village is very poor and there is no public health facility so people have to rely upon the Community Health Center at a far away town.

Even though Urmila is her parent’s only child, they live with 7 other family members in their small house. Her parent’s income is just Rs 6,000 ($85) a month. Her mother is illiterate and father had studied only up to 5^th standard. Her mother is involved in household chores and father is a daily wage laborer.

Urmila was in the SAM category when she was first screened for her nutritional status as per the World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards in the first camp. At that time she was very weak. She was then given Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and Medicines. Subsequently, she attended the follow up camp in which there was a little improvement in her weight and she was still in the SAM category. She was given medicines and RUTF again.

In total she was given 28 RUTF packets (14 at screening camp + 14 at follow up camp). She consumed all the RUTF packets and prescribed medicines. There are no side effects to RUTF and she also loves the taste of the food.

A visit to her house on the 17^th of September was conducted to ascertain her current status. When checked for her height and weight exactly after three months from initial screening camp, she showed an increase in weight of around 1.8 Kgs (from 10.5 kg to 12.3 kg). Our staff did regular follow up of the child according to the protocol.

Now she is moved out of SAM category. Even the family members are happy to see their child healthy and playful.

Thank you for your support and for the confidence that you have placed in us. Urmila’s story and many others like her would not have been possible without the help of donors. Through further interventions we will see a reduction in cases of malnourishment in rural areas, along with increased awareness of early prevention. When children have recovered from malnutrition, their general health and happiness improves which in the long term will enable them to focus on their education. We run follow up systems, where Seva Mandir's community health workers will visit children who have benefited from the camps to ensure they have not relapsed into further malnourishment.

Thank you so much.

Regards

Atul Lekhra and the Seva Mandir Team

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Jun 21, 2019
Healthy Kids, Healthy Future

By Atul Lekhra | Manager- Resource Mobilization

Dear Friend,

Seva Mandir organizes community-based camps to provide Severe Acute Malnourished (SAM) Children from highly-remote areas in Rajasthan, India with medical care and treatment.

Malnutrition is a significant issue effecting children throughout Rajasthan. Government data shows only 3.4% of children aged between 6 - 23 months receive an adequate diet & 61% of children are underweight. People tend not to see malnourishment as a medical problem so do not seek treatment. When they do, hospitals are located far away, and parents lose vital income when they take children for treatment. Seva Mandir’s intervention reaches children aged from 7 months to 5 years old from poor rural and tribal families. Our Doctors & nurses provide treatment for SAM children with Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic Foods & routine medical care. SAM children who have larger medical complications are referred to hospitals for more intensive treatment. Seva Mandir runs 40 camps a year, providing approx. 700 children with life-saving treatment.

Lakshmi, a young and vivacious 4-year-old girl, has experience of medical care administered through Seva Mandir camps. Sharing Lakshmi’s story is her parents; Inder, her father, who is an agricultural labourer takes care, alongside his wife, of Lakshmi and her younger sister. Despite their efforts, both daughters suffer from malnutrition from combined causes of infrastructure absence and rural poverty. Lakshmi and her sister accompany each other to Seva Mandir’s camps, where vital care is given from nurses and a Balsakhi (children caretaker trained by Seva Mandir).

Like many other infants in her village, Lakshmi used to be a patient of diarrhoea caused by malnutrition through decreased nutrient absorption. She receives two daily meals from the Seva Mandir caretaker ensuring her dietary requirements are met by providing her with carbohydrates, protein, iron and other vital minerals. Now, Lakshmi weighs 12 kgs, showing she is well nourished and with continuous striving from family and nurses she will soon live a healthy and prosperous life.

Lakshmi also attends Seva Mandir’ Balwadi (pre-school) and is enjoying the start of her education. At the Balwadi, she involves herself in daily fun activities like building blocks, learning numbers, and playing with other children of her age. When asked what Lakshmi wants to be when she grows up, she answered that she would like to become a nurse. This shows Lakshmi has grown into an ambitious girl and reflects many stories of children growing up to give back to their own communities that helped them.

Thank you for your support and for the confidence that you have placed in us. Lakshmi’s story and many others like hers would not have been possible without the help of donors. Through further intervention we will see a reduction in cases of malnourishment in rural areas, along with increased awareness of early prevention. When children have recovered from malnutrition, their general health and happiness improves which in the long term will enable them to focus on their education. We run follow up systems, where Seva Mandir's community health workers will visit children who have benefited from the camps to ensure they have not relapsed into further malnourishment.

Thank you so much.

Regards

Atul Lekhra and the Seva Mandir Team

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