I was recently alerted to the below article about the work of Mercy Corps
Indonesia. I've pasted the whole article in because it is such a good
example of good emergency work. It's prompted me to remind you that Mercy
Corps has a "Breastfeeding Support" gift that some here might be interested
in purchasing for others at this time of year (
<http://www.mercycorps.org/gift/category/Health>
http://www.mercycorps.org/gift/category/Health). I know that with this gift
the money does go to the project (with some aid orgs the purchase
description is not necessarily linked to the money flowing to that project).
For those who donate to aid orgs it would be worth asking them whether they
have similar projects and whether they would like to develop similar
"products" so that those who understand how important breastfeeding is to
maternal and child health might have the opportunity to directly help
support breastfeeding women.
Karleen Gribble
Australia
<http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/lifeandtimes/caring-for-babies-in-merapis-sh
adow/408115>
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/lifeandtimes/caring-for-babies-in-merapis-sha
dow/408115
Caring for Babies in Merapi's Shadow
Dalih Sembiring | November 23, 2010
Maguwoharjo Stadium has, for more than two weeks now, been an evacuation
center for thousands of people displaced from their homes around the slopes
of Mount Merapi, mainly from the district of Sleman in Yogyakarta. Among
them are hundreds of infants and toddlers, who require special care.
"Initially we got a lot of complaints from mothers at the shelter about how
most of the food is too spicy or too hard, not suitable for their young
children," said Usye Umayah, head of Mercy Corps Jakarta's healthy food for
infants and children program.
The team from Mercy Corps, a nongovernmental organization focused on
building secure communities in places affected by disasters and other
crises, has been working hard to change the situation by providing a steady
supply of healthy food for infants and young children. It is an effort that
is much needed in the evacuation shelters, where most of the food
distributed is for adults and not particularly nutritious.
Other groups and government bodies including Sleman's Manpower and
Transmigration Agency, the Sleman Health Agency, the Yogyakarta Health
Agency and the Indonesian Nutritionists Association (Persagi) have joined
forces with Mercy Corps to ensure the specific needs of children are not
neglected.
They have set up one tent as a kitchen, where porridge and soft rice are
prepared three times a day in accordance with international health
standards, and another tent filled with toys where children can play.
The kitchen also provides snacks such as fruit twice a day.
These meals and snacks were shared with two other evacuation centers in
Sleman district before the team opened another kitchen providing healthy
food for young children in Sleman's Youth Center, which is also a shelter
for evacuees.
The team has been proactive, not waiting for parents and children to come to
the tents to collect the food.
With plastic containers, they take turns circling the stadium, calling out
to those with children who have not eaten.
"Our emergency program is an integrated one. So while their children play,
mothers get counseling about the importance of breast-feeding and healthy
food," said Hastamik Purbatin Wahyuningsih, health coordinator for Mercy
Corps Yogyakarta.
Ayu Windi, one of the counselors at the evacuation center, said the approach
they had taken was geared toward sharing knowledge about maternal issues and
breast-feeding through discussions, rather than simply trying to tell the
mothers what they should or should not do.
"Right not we are focusing on the importance of breast-feeding," Ayu said.
"It is easier when the mothers share their knowledge using their own
language. It can seem like a simple chat at first, but it eventually leads
to various realizations. One being why breast-feeding and staying away from
formula milk is important."
The widespread use of formula milk became a big concern for the members of
the team when they first arrived at Maguwoharjo Stadium.
"Formula was donated and handed out without restraint," Hastamik said.
"There are strict rules regarding giving formula milk to children from zero
to six months old, whose right to receive nothing but mother's milk is
protected by Indonesia's Health Law.
Babies from six months to at least two years old should receive mother's
milk and healthy soft food only.
"The conditions at the evacuation centers make it harder for mothers to
follow all the strict rules regarding the correct preparation of formula
milk, such as the availability of clean water that has been heated to a
specific temperature," she added.
The local government of Sleman has been informed about the issue, and the
distribution of formula to evacuees has now stopped. Counseling on the issue
has led most mothers to stop asking for the product.
Diyati, a 31-year-old evacuee from Ngepring, said she recently stopped
giving formula to her 10-month-old daughter, Nursela Maharani.
"I just found out that too much formula is not good for my baby," she said.
"Now I only breast-feed her and give her the food distributed by this tent."
"We received information that mothers with babies here thought they had
stopped producing milk because they were under stress," Hastamik said.
"That's a myth. The truth is that the amount of milk produced depends on how
much is taken out by their babies. It is possible that because they were
stressed, they did not feel like breast-feeding their babies, which led
their bodies to temporarily stop producing milk."
But the kelompok pendukung ibu [mothers' support group] counseling and the
distribution of healthy food for babies and young children does not stop
here.
The Sleman government has taken the initiative to continue the effort
through the Sleman Health Agency, especially now that evacuees have started
returning to their villages as the volcanic activity at Merapi has slowed
down and the danger zones have been pushed back .
Mujiyana, head of the nutrition subdivision at the health agency, said it
had amended its proposed budget for 2011 to continue the effort started by
Mercy Corps.
"We have planned a meeting with various governmental sectors in Sleman. The
ongoing effort will be centered in Puskesmas [community health centers] in
the subdistricts of Cangkringan, Turi, Pakem and Ngemplak," Mujiyana said.
The biggest problem the organizations are currently facing is how to proceed
during the transition from the emergency situation to the proposed start of
the district-level programs, which Mujiyana said should begin next May.
"The evacuees are beginning to leave the shelters. Mercy Corps only has the
budget to cover the emergency period and May is still a long way away,"
Hastamik said.
"We have to find a way because these mothers actually told us that they
wanted the program to follow them home."
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