Stories of Hope and Change: Poonam Devi in Bihar
This piece was posted in Outlook; a popular newsmagazine in India.
https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-teaching-mothers-the-value-of-complementary-feeding/326708
Sharing the original story here without edits:
When Poonam Devi, from Bargoan in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, became a mother for the first time, some four years ago, she followed conventional practices for feeding her daughter Sakshi. For the good part of her first year, Sakshi was fed on mother’s milk, formula milk, water, and a few biscuits each day. Proper weaning began well after the child’s first birthday, with Sakshi mostly eating a hand-mashed mixture of rice and pulses out of the elders’ plate. With this general lack of timely and complete nutrition, the child became sickly and small. Poonam recalls “My daughter was given tin milk instead of breast milk. That is why she kept falling ill.”
Two years ago, Poonam joined JEEViKA self-help group to overcome a financial crisis in the family. Her husband could get no more work as a toddy maker owning to a fall from the palm tree. With a small loan from JEEViKA, she and her husband were able to begin a concrete-rings-making-business for toilet pit construction. They soon started doing well for themselves. However, there was more to gain from JEEViKA. Through sessions and experiential learning activities during the JEEViKA group meetings, Poonam was able to learn many new things about health and nutrition.
When her son Vishal was born, Poonam was already well equipped with knowledge about appropriate child care and nutrition and began putting into practice what she had learned. Till six months, she gave her child only her own-breast milk; not even water. When Vishal completed six months, Poonam initiated weaning, giving Vishal a variety of foods in his daily diet. Unlike for her daughter, she gave him vegetables, fruits, eggs, and fish in addition to cereals, pulses, and milk. Vishal even had a personal bowl all for himself to eat in. With an active and chubby Vishal playing next to her, Poonam proudly narrates “as soon as he turned seven, I began feeding him with a variety of foods; rice, pulses, vegetables, eggs, milk, mangoes; the child now is bright and active.”
When women gathered during the September 2018 “Poshan maah” or nutrition month in Bargaon village, Poonam was one of the proud mothers who was felicitated by the Village Organization. As a champion nutrition mother, Poonam won the title “Purak Ahar Ratna”, or the “star of complementary feeding” and was given a personal bowl and spoon. The same bowl and spoon with which she feeds Vishal.
https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-teaching-mothers-the-value-of-complementary-feeding/326708
Sharing the original story here without edits:
When Poonam Devi, from Bargoan in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, became a mother for the first time, some four years ago, she followed conventional practices for feeding her daughter Sakshi. For the good part of her first year, Sakshi was fed on mother’s milk, formula milk, water, and a few biscuits each day. Proper weaning began well after the child’s first birthday, with Sakshi mostly eating a hand-mashed mixture of rice and pulses out of the elders’ plate. With this general lack of timely and complete nutrition, the child became sickly and small. Poonam recalls “My daughter was given tin milk instead of breast milk. That is why she kept falling ill.”
Two years ago, Poonam joined JEEViKA self-help group to overcome a financial crisis in the family. Her husband could get no more work as a toddy maker owning to a fall from the palm tree. With a small loan from JEEViKA, she and her husband were able to begin a concrete-rings-making-business for toilet pit construction. They soon started doing well for themselves. However, there was more to gain from JEEViKA. Through sessions and experiential learning activities during the JEEViKA group meetings, Poonam was able to learn many new things about health and nutrition.
When her son Vishal was born, Poonam was already well equipped with knowledge about appropriate child care and nutrition and began putting into practice what she had learned. Till six months, she gave her child only her own-breast milk; not even water. When Vishal completed six months, Poonam initiated weaning, giving Vishal a variety of foods in his daily diet. Unlike for her daughter, she gave him vegetables, fruits, eggs, and fish in addition to cereals, pulses, and milk. Vishal even had a personal bowl all for himself to eat in. With an active and chubby Vishal playing next to her, Poonam proudly narrates “as soon as he turned seven, I began feeding him with a variety of foods; rice, pulses, vegetables, eggs, milk, mangoes; the child now is bright and active.”
When women gathered during the September 2018 “Poshan maah” or nutrition month in Bargaon village, Poonam was one of the proud mothers who was felicitated by the Village Organization. As a champion nutrition mother, Poonam won the title “Purak Ahar Ratna”, or the “star of complementary feeding” and was given a personal bowl and spoon. The same bowl and spoon with which she feeds Vishal.
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