Gezonde kinderen

Suisaya is in class four of the Yangsa School in Golkhali (Bangladesh). One year ago, there were no water and sanitation facilities at her school. She did not have anything to drink all day and when she had to go to the toilet, she walked into the field. As a girl, she always felt vulnerable. Max Foundation worked with school management to fix this.

Now, there is a water well in the school yard and separate latrines for girls and boys. Children at her school suffer less from diarrhoea. Hygiene education also helped: all children know to wash their hands after using the toilet.

Suisaya says with a big smile: “I wash my hands when I have visited the latrine. You get ill if you don’t. I like to wash my hands.

Jibon is the youngest of three brothers living in the north-east of Bangladesh. His mother has her hands full running the household and looking after her children. Jibon’s father leaves the house early in the morning to seek work. As a day laborer, he has a hard time providing for his family. When his parents found out Jibon was severely stunted during a growth monitoring session, they realized they had to improve their baby’s health.

Together with other family members, they improved their hygiene habits to help Jibon grow healthy.

His mother attended courtyard sessions of the community health promoter. There she learned about good sanitation, hygiene and nutrition habits. Jibon loves to eat foods like eggs, milk, and khichuri, which have high nutritional value. Jibon’s health is gradually improving, from severely to moderately stunted, and on the right track.

Jibon’s parents saved money to build a latrine. Later on, the family invested in a handwashing device and soap. These healthy practices improved the well-being of the whole family.

Rubina Begum lives in Chalitabunia village in Patuakhali, Bangladesh. Her first child is 6 months old. His name is Hasib. Rubina is so happy since the pregnancy and birth of her child. She signed up for growth monitoring.

Soon after, Rubina participated in a courtyard meeting about stunting. Her son’s height and weight were measured in the session. The results were not good. Hasib was in the yellow zone in both height and weight charts. Rubina became very concerned. She heard from the meeting that it is possible to change this within the first 1,000 days of a child’s life (from pregnancy to 2 years).

Rubina took steps immediately: washing her hands with soap and water before feeding her child and after cleaning his bottom. Washing the  family’s clothes and sheets regularly. Cleaning her baby’s hands and trying to keep him from putting dirty objects into his mouth.

Since then, Hasib has moved from the yellow zone to the green zone on the growth charts. Rubina is now quite happy. She will continue monitoring Hasib’s growth through visits to the nearest health clinic.