On a recent visit to his hometown in the next district, one of our teachers from Neesim School came across Fouzia and Razak*. At 20 months old, Fouzia weighed 6.5kg, she was able to walk but was moderately malnourished. Her twin brother, Razak, however, was extremely malnourished weighing just 4.5kg and barely able to crawl. They had been to the local hospital where they had been receiving ‘plumpy nut’, a therapeutic food for malnourished children provided by UNICEF, but Razak refused to eat it.
The twins’ mother followed our teacher’s advice and brought them to Neesim Nutrition Centre where they were put on a special milk diet. Once their appetites returned they were able to move on to nutritious locally available food, supplemented initially with ‘plumpy nut’.
Razak developed severe malaria during his time at the centre, and fought for his life in the hospital. But he made a full recovery and when the twins’ father visited the centre six weeks after their admission, he couldn’t even recognise his son because he had changed so much and was now walking! He was delighted, saying that he never thought his son would survive and was always waiting to hear that he should come and take his dead son home.
Eight weeks after admission, Fouzia and Razak were both discharged weighing 7.2kg and 6.4kg respectively. Moreover, their mother left equipped with the knowledge needed to provide them with a healthy balanced diet using locally available foodstuffs.
During 2016, over 70 malnourished children like Fouzia and Razak were treated at Neesim Nutrition Centre. We hope to rehabilitate 75 more children over 2017 alongside outreaches into the local communities to teach about healthy nutrition. Almost 60% of the funding needed to run the centre over 2017 has already been donated or pledged. Would you consider providing a regular monthly gift to help us to continue this vital work? Click here to find out how to give.
*Assumed names