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Date: | Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:54:28 -0400 |
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Dear all:
I hate to differ with Diane Wiessinger on this one, but we are not dealing with one very
simple food that a mother may need help with. I would argue that this what happened to
breastfeeding is more akin to what happened to basic knowledge about traditional foods
and nutrition in Cambodia when the familial structures was almost completely destroyed
during the Pol Pot regime. Prior to that huge societal shift, there was a lot of
accumulated wisdom regarding traditional foods and recipes. There may have been
malnutrition, but not on the scale that ensued during the Pol Pot years. Much of the
knowledge of how to prepare, cultivate and/or collect healthy vegetables and herbs was
either lost or dispersed amongst a few individuals. This loss has enormous ramifications
for nutrition programs. Much of what was known now has to be recreated. Not just one
recipe --- but many recipes. Not just one food, but an entire menu of foods that make
for a healthy cuisine for an entire culture.
We have to recreate from scratch an entire structure that used to exist. La Leche League
was reserve and pockets of those who managed to retain some of that knowledge during
the dark "Pol Pot" years under fire from hostile forces. Then in Cambodia, there came
the emergency refugee nongovernmental organizations. All well meaning, some of these
are experienced professionals who are effective, some are adrenaline junkees trying to
save the world, some think that just because they are trying to do good work that it is
good regardless of the outcome ---- etc. These groups help mitigate starvation --- the
worst of the worst of the nutritional effects. I'd say there are similarities here with our
present situation of trying to fix the various outcomes of birthing, hospital policies that
are not yet in line with normal infant feeding, and a societal structure that has forgotten
what normal infant feeding is all about ---- and this is why we are NOT yet anywhere
near a situation in which we can expect one mother to simply show another mother how
to make the peanut butter sandwich. Or to put it another way --- we may be just barely
getting to the point where most of the population isn't dying immediately from
malnutrition, but we are a very long way from healthy eating.
Our next task is moving beyond fixing the immediate problem and working on developing
a solid knowledge in the whole society. I liken this to moving on to programs that
facilitate local organizations to work on LONG TERM solutions to malnutrition and that
ALWAYS requires a multisectoral or holistic approach and lots of cooperation between
organizations to get there. It cannot be achieved without local community participation
from the very start in building the structure that will remain and thrive long after the so-
called "experts" leave.
Best, Susan Burger.
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