Growing Healthily in the Middle of Bad Nutrition
Like a cactus that grows in the middle of a desert or on barren grassland, in the midst of the community where there are many cases of malnutrition and undernourishment there are children who grow up healthy.
Parents of those children are no different from other people who live modestly. However, the attention and ability of parents to utilize resources in their environment to maximize children\'s growth can be an example for other citizens.
One of them is Yansen Nisipeni, 1.5, a resident of Oh\'aem I village, Amfoang Selatan district, Kupang regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). With a weight of 13 kilograms, the toddler\'s cheeks look full, his legs are full and tight. Yansen and her parents, Noh Nisipeni, 38 and Miska Nisipeni Kenat, 36, live in a village in a mountainous area, about 105 kilometers from Kupang, the capital of NTT.
Both Noh and Miska graduated from junior high school and work as farmers. If not farming, Noh works as a construction worker with a salary of Rp 50,000 per day.
They live in a house with dirt floors, bamboo walls and thatched roofs. Behind their house, there is ume kabubu, a food barn that is also used as a kitchen. The building is round in shape.
"From birth to the present, Yansen\'s growth has been quite good. At birth, he weighed 3.5 kg," said Miska. Yansen received breast milk (ASI) until the age of 1.5 years. Since the age of five months, Yansen was given corn or rice porridge. Yansen’s daily menu includes side dishes of fish, tofu or tempeh, as well as vegetables and fruits.
Basic food and vegetables and fruits are taken from the family’s farm. In addition to corn, sweet potatoes and cassava, Noh and Miska\'s yard is also filled with vegetables, banana trees, oranges and mangoes. For the needs of side dishes, especially beef or fish, tofu, and tempeh, they buy from the market.
"When I was pregnant, I tried to drink milk for pregnant women like in TV commercials. But, after drinking, I vomited. Therefore, I didn\'t drink milk, but ate regularly complete with vegetables and fruits," said Miska.
Every month, Miska diligently brought Yansen to the posyandu (integrated health service post) to monitor the baby’s health and weight by posyandu cadres.
Meanwhile, in Karang Siri village, Soe city district, Timor Tengah Selatan (TTS) regency, NTT, there lives Bernadeta Malo (2 years 9 months) with her mother, Maria Mbubhu, 34, a pharmacist at Soe Hospital, and her father, Chief Brig. Antonius Malo, 33, who serves in the Siso police station, TTS regency.
At 2:30 p.m. on Friday (21/12/2018), when she woke up from a nap, Bernadeta immediately looked for her mother to ask for my lap. A few moments later, she descended from his mother\'s lap to pick up a toy, then went out to find a playmate. Her father soon followed to look after her.
Maria went to the kitchen to prepare food for Bernadeta. Her menu was rice with chicken soup alternatively with meat soup, vegetables, or Moringa vegetable. Side dishes were tempeh, tofu, perkedel (fried foodstuff made of potatoes mixed with meat), or omelet.
The results of Bernadeta\'s weight assessment at the posyandu, November 2018, were 15.5 kg.
Since pregnancy, Maria regularly checked her health according to schedule. After giving birth, Maria gave exclusive breastfeeding (ASI) for three months. After Maria went to work again, the need for milk was supplemented with complementary milk for her breastfeeding. However, he was determined to give the breastfeeding until Bernadeta was two years old. "Every two hours, I had permission to go home to give ASI, then go back to the hospital to ride a motorcycle," she said.
Maria got the knowledge to take care of her daughter from her mother, Mrs. Denny FY Nenosono, 55, a midwife who was in charge of the community service in the TTS Regency Health Office. She also received input from his mother-in-law, Mrs. Anaci Margarita Nubatonis, 61, about the food menu for babies after the age of six months.
Eggs and milk
In Asmat regency, Papua, Kompas found Laksamana Manices, 3, who was brought by his mother, Noberta Nomicim, 30, lining up to get a fund from the distribution program for the Papuan Awakening Generation and Prosperous Family (Bangga). After his mother received the fund, Laksamana immediately whined, asking to buy his favorite food, boiled eggs and milk, in the local market.
Unlike other children brought by other mothers in the distribution of the fund that looked thin with wistful eyes, Laksamana\'s body was quite fat and his face was fresh. "My husband is a farmer with inconsistent income. However, we always try to meet the basic needs of children such as milk and eggs. Thanks God, with this program, I can routinely buy the needs for my child," said the mother of three.
Yansen, Bernadeta, and Laksamana are lucky children who get good parenting from their parents, get complete nutritional intake through a diverse food menu. They can grow well in the midst of the many cases of malnutrition and stunting toddlers.
In public health, what parents do for children is called a positive deviation, namely the practice carried out in a community with limited resources, which is different from the environment, but the results are very good. If they can be identified and empowered, they can become agents of change so that people follow in their footsteps, making children free from nutritional disorders. (SAMUEL OKTORA/FABIO MARIA LOPES COSTA)