Sandhya’s Road to Recovery · PDF fileSandhya’s Road to Recovery Barwani, Madhya...
Transcript of Sandhya’s Road to Recovery · PDF fileSandhya’s Road to Recovery Barwani, Madhya...
Sandhya’sRoadtoRecoveryBarwani,MadhyaPradesh,India
ThisisthestoryofSandhya,fromthevillageofBadgaoninBarwanidistrict. Badgaon is a tribal village with a population of about4,100inhabitants,mostlybelongingtoBhilandBhilalatribes.Mostvillagers participate in farming or small, casual jobs to supportthemselves.TherearefourAnganwadicenters,onemiddleschool,andonePrimaryHealthCenter(PHC)inBadgaon.Thedistancetothe closest Nutrition Rehabilitation Center (NRC) is about 8kilometersfromthevillageofBadgaon.Sandhyaisa21-month-oldgirl who resides in the villagewith her 3 older brothers and herparents. The family’s financial condition is not good, becauseSandhya’s father is the only breadwinner, and he supports thefamilybydoingcasualworkwheneverhecangetit.
BadgaonvillageispartofRealMedicine&NutritionTrust’s(RMNT,RMF’s India arm) program catchment. Sangita Badole is the area’s Community Nutrition Educator (CNE), and oftenventuresintothevillageaspartofherroutinecommunity-householdoutreachandcounselingdrive.Duringonesuchvisit, Sangita was at Sandhya’s house conducting her MUAC (mid-upper arm circumference) measurement. Themeasurement revealed that Sandhya fell in the category of severe malnourishment. This was alarming not only forSandhya’smother, but also for people in the neighborhood. Sandhya’smother explained that during her pregnancywithSandhya,sheusedtovomitprofusely,whichdidn’tallowhertoeatordigestmuch.SheaddedthatwhenSandhyawasborn,shewasverythinandweak. Atthetimeofherbirth,Sandhyaonlyweighed2kg.Becauseofhersizeandfrailty, Sandhyawasalways sickwithailments likea cough, cold,anddiarrhea. AfterSandhya reached theageof sixmonths,hercomplementaryfeedingdidn’tstartontime,aselderswithinthefamilyandintheneighborhoodbelievedSandhyawouldn’tbeabletodigestsemi-solidorsolidfood.Inthisbelief,shewasn’tgivenanycomplementaryfoodupto12months.After12months,shestartedtobegivenbiscuits.InSandhya’sfirstgrowingstages,timelyinitiationofcomplementary feeding and adequate quality of nutrition was not administered to her, leaving her severelymalnourished.
AfterstudyingSandhya’scase,CNESangitaBadolestartedcounselingtheparentsaboutseekingreferralservicesoftheNRC. Sangita explained all the benefits the family and childwould receive through an early referral to theNRC. Thefamily was also informed about thewage loss compensation theywould be entitled to if they traveled to the NRC.Sandhya’smotherwasunconvincedandbelievedthatifshewouldgoandstayattheNRC,threeofherchildrenwouldbe left at home unattended. But Sandhya could not be left untreated; because of the severity of her condition, theyounggirlwoulddiewithouttreatment.SinceSandhya’smotherwouldnotgototheNRC,Sangitastartedcounselingthefamilyon introducingcomplementaryfeeding intherightquantitiesattheright intervals. Sandhya’sfightagainstmalnutritionstartedathomewiththeintroductionofsolidandsemisolidnutritiousfoodwith lotsofgreenandleafyvegetables,pulses,etc.Thefamilyalsoreceivedspecialcounselingonhygieneandsanitation,especiallyhand-washingbeforeeating,preparingfood,andafterdefecation.
As a result of the special care and support that Sandhya started receivingathome,both the family andCNESangitaBadole witnessed Sandhya improve. More than anyone else, Sandhya’s mother was very happy to see Sandhyatransform in both physical and mental terms. The RMF CNE’s level of commitment and regular, sincere counselingeffortswereabletoensurethatSandhyabecameahealthy,well-nourishedchild.
RMFCNEmeasuringtheMUACofSandhya