Nutrition Workshop--part 2

The 22 participants of the March Workshop returned to their respective villages and prepared for Child Health Week.  During that week they weighed all the under 5 children and measured the upper arms of the underweight kids using MUAC tapes.  The information on weight and MUAC provided them with analysis of how many children were wasted or stunted.  Next they visited the homes of the normal weight children to learn the feeding and caring practices which promote good health.

That  brings us to our second 2 day workshop.  We reconvened in Kasama and reported our experiences in training health volunteers in using the MUAC tapes and in interviewing families.  One of the attendees had translated the material into Bemba in writing.  The use of the MUAC tapes were to be standard procedure so the training was good for the health clinic staff.  Sharing the reaction to a new program is always varied, but most communities were very excited to address the issue of child malnutrition.

We then began to plan the educational sessions which will be held for 12 consecutive days with 6-10 underweight children and their caretakers.

Before arriving in Kasama, we stopped at the farmstands along the way to purchase locally available foods like these pumpkins.
We divided into groups and developed recipes using only readily available foods to teach at our Hearth (called Ishiko) sessions.

The groups also developed Health Talks based on behaviors which promote good nutrition:  Family spacing, budgeting, seasonal calendar for gardening, and child feeding practices.  Lastly we brainstormed all the child-centered activities we knew in Bemba and English like “Ring around the rosy” and “This little piggy”.

The workshop concluded with the awarding of certificates.  The participants went back to train mothers who will host the sessions and I will analyze and publish the recipes, health talks, Bemba translations and list of child-centered activities . The manual will contain the work of our workshop.