Some of the
children having their nutritious meal.
Fresh milk
for the kids.
By PERCY A OSTONAL
Michigan,
USA
WHEN Ricarte “Dong” Padilla assumed the mayor’s office in July 2010, the first thing he thought of doing during his term was to deal with the growing malnutrition problem among the children of poor families.
Something
that he had to balance with other major urgent concerns, such as the need for
more infrastructure, the governance of the local government, health and
sanitation, education, skills training, environment and ecological issues.
And when he
delivered his second inaugural speech as the re-elected mayor last July, he
assured the community that “such specific undertaking will be done with
priority”.
Zeroing in on
the children, he said: “There would be no malnourished children in Mambulao
under my watch."
Leday
sharing happy moments with a beneficiary kid.
Somehow, it
was a pledge that he needed to flesh out as soon as possible if things should
get better for the malnourished kids.
A year
earlier, when he flew to the United States and met fellow Mambulaoan Dr Edgar
"Egay” Aler, Mayor Padilla brought up the topic.
And with
less word, Aler stressed his willingness to extend his helping hand for the
good of the next generation children of his beloved community.
Dr Aler went
home during the mayor’s inauguration last June 30, for his second term of
office, and sealed his commitment with Padilla for the malnourished children of
our town.
With a
budget of P15/day per child for 81 beneficiaries, or a total of P24,300 a
month, the feeding program took off.
The malnourished
schoolchildren at the Jose Panganiban Elementary School (JPES) pupils were confirmed by the
representatives of the Department of Social Services as well as the office of
the school principal along with the home economics teachers.
Leday, Dr Aler’s eldest daughter, tending to
the kids during mealtime. -
– Pictures courtesy of the Aler
Family
Under the feeding program, they will enjoy nutritious meals from Monday to Friday.
On July 21,
2013, Dr Aler’s initiative was finally launched, with his daughter Leday Aler,
who is based in Mambulao, spearheading the project.
The feeding
gig these days is popularly known as the Project Sagip Dagdag sa Kalusugan
(Feeding to rescue malnourished kids).
Since
launching, the program has identified more malnourished children across the
municipality.
In fact, at
baranggay South Poblacion, 60 kids from the village’s ten purok (unit) were
identified and included as beneficiaries.
Sagip
Dagdag sa Kalusugan also monitorsits success by making sure that at the
end of the month, each of these children mounts the weigh scale to see if they
actually gained weight.
As incentive
for staying healthy, thanks to the nutritious meals, they are awarded some cash
for their daily needs such as tricycle fare and all.
To boost the
feeding program, Mayor Padilla distributes nutritional products and vitamins.
As you may
recall, Dr Edgar Aler and his family as well as
his siblings from overseas come home every year, either for medical
mission at RPS Stadium or to distribute pasalubong to the poorest members of
the 27 baranggays.
Dr Egay said
it was his family’s token of appreciation to the great blessings he received
from The Almighty and his adopted home in California.
"Kung
saan ako makakatulong sa kapwa at kababayan sa abot ng aking makakaya, doon ako
at hindi ako nag-hihintay ng kapalit na pagkilala, o ano pa man. (At any time I
could help within my means, I will be there without waiting for recognition
from anyone).
Aler said
during my phone interview with him: “Sana naman, iyong mga kababayan nating
nakaluluwag sa buhay dito sa America at Canada or any other places ay
maka-alalang tumulong sa ating kapwa Mambolenos, lalo na iyong mga malnourished
children sa ating bayan (I’m just hoping our well-off kababayan
in America, Canada and elsewhere to remember extending help to
malnourished children in our hometown).
Food for
thought:
The problem:
a) 38 % of
children from the least developed
countries have had their growth stunted by malnutrition.
b) Malnourished children score 7 % lower in
Math tests and 19 % less likely to be
able to read aged 8.
c) The poorest 40% are 2,8 times more likely to
suffer the long-term effects of malnutrition than the richest 10 %.
d) Poor
health and education limit job prospects. Children malnutrition cuts future
earnings by at least 20 %.
e) In total current children malnutrition could
cost the global economy US$125 billion when today's children grow up.
The
opportunity :
a) Better
childhood nutrition could cut stunting by 1/3 and reduce health issues, from
diarrhea and pneumonia to deaf-mutism.
b) well nourished children are 13 % more likely
to be in the correct grade at school -- boosting lifelong skills.
c) Good health and jobs break the cycle of
poverty and ensure that every child gets a chance to thrive.
d) By improving health and education, good
nutrition leads to a more skillful and dynamic workforce.
e) Fixing malnutrition now could bring economic
benefits over 100 times as large as the costs of intervention.
(Source:
UNICEF- 2013 improving child nutrition: The achievable imperative for global
progress; Save the Children. (2013 Food for Thought)
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