SAVING OUR CHILDREN FROM MALNUTRITION By Anthony Sciberras

For the vast majority of people, life was not meant to be fair and easy.  Of course, all parents desire the best for their offspring, but things don’t always go according to plan. Personal dreams can be quickly shattered and harsh reality sets in when a shocking misfortune sometimes fatal raises its ugly head. I have seen and spoken with several widows in remote villages who taking care of infants and toddlers on their own as best they could, trying to make ends meet from day to day and the crisis they face brings tears to my eyes.

When the main breadwinner passes away unexpectedly before their time or become incapacitated by a crippling accident or through a grave illness, it must feel like the whole world has come crashing down on the grieving and suffering family members left behind who are wondering what to do next to survive the enormous emotional and physical trauma due to the loss of a loved one and of course to overcome the financial pressure.

My dear friends, it should not be an out of sight, out of mind attitude or the survival of the fittest, that’s the law of the jungle and not the principles of a proud civilized nation like Sri Lanka, boasting one of the oldest democracies in Asia, also being the first country to have elected the first woman Head of Government in the modern world as well as its long rich history of culture and accomplishments. Yes, there are times when we tend to turn a blind eye to what is actually happening because we are so absorbed and occupied with work and taking care of our own family and with the mundane affairs of life.  We must love our neighbour as we love ourselves and share the load of our brothers and sisters- in- need due to unfortunate circumstances that are beyond their control. They desperately require the assistance of the rest of the communities; we the people of Sri Lanka should lighten their burden and lend a helping hand to the single parents of preschool children experiencing bitter-sweet sadness.

The Sri Lanka Government is doing all it possibly can to eradicate malnutrition but it is not enough,  there are still many thousands of little ones going to bed hungry and undernourished which  is totally unacceptable and unnecessary in a fertile and fruitful land that we have been blessed with. About a third of our preschool children and a quarter of our women suffer from malnutrition. According to recent UNICEF reports, almost one in five children is born with low birth rate and approximately 35 per cent of Sri Lankan pre-school children aged between 2 to 5 are underweight, this figure is higher in some rural and remote areas. These children cannot have good health if they do not consume food that is highly nutritional. The quality of the food is more important than the quantity we eat and by the way, this principle applies to everybody.

In the first year or so, infants are fairly safe from being undernourished as they are breast fed, but afterwards when they start to eat food solids that are low in nutrition and sometimes below the recommended level to gain steady weight, then this is when it all begins to show the undesired outcome. The combined effects of malnutrition and of infection were the main reason for higher mortality rates in the post weaning age.

A high incidence of iron deficiency was observed in infants and young children and also in women during their reproductive years. Dear people of Sri Lanka, this is not just a medical issue we are facing, but also a social and cultural problem as well. A deficient diet results from several factors and combinations, for instance and on top of the list is the purchasing power, the living conditions at home where young ones crawl on dirty floors and putting things in their mouths that they shouldn't, inadequate preservation of fresh food sometimes due to hot and humid conditions that promote fungal growth, poor eating habits due to lack of proper education and knowledge of the direct relationship between diet and health. When young children suffer from malnutrition, serious intestinal infections are ready to attack and invade their still developing body making matters worse, often causing vicious diarrhea in children.

The touching and plain truth is that malnutrition will not go away by itself unless we all get together and put an end to it once and for all.

Proper natural unprocessed food should be their only medicine and children should only visit the doctor for a general check up.

During the first three years of life, children are vulnerable to problems associated with vitamin A deficiency and anaemia.  These worrisome and problematic issues seem to flourish in a child’s early years and the survivors starving from malnutrition carry these functional disadvantages into their adulthood where their intellectual performance is limited and they end up with a lower working capacity.

Protecting these cheerless and nearly famished children from malnutrition should be a top priority; a national investment towards our future because these children are in fact Sri Lanka’s human capital and must be well cared for as part of our long term economic strategy.

With your kind and generous hearts we can help every single child by providing them with a super nourishing tonic Moringa drink on every school day which will supply all the proteins, vitamins and minerals they need to reach their full potential for growth and development. Similar feeding programmes are being done in India and Africa and are showing very positive results.

We need about one million rupees per month to fulfill our mission to eradicate this disease from pre-school children island wide.
In closing, let me leave you with one last thought. After all is said and done, it’s the quality of the people that determines the quality of life of the nation.
 
 
INVEST IN OUR *MURUNGA* BUSINESS
 
This is an investment from the heart as well as from the head. It’s a wonderful opportunity to place your money with Dendro Lanka where it will be safe and it will earn you an attractive return whilst so many preschool children around Sri Lanka will be benefiting from our services.
We are now cordially inviting potential investors to put towards our campaign in order to cover our operating costs.

Minimum Amount:   Rs: 100,000 /-
Term:                         3 or 6 months
Interest rate:             10% per month  
 
Why Moringa powder I hear you ask? 

Gram for gram, it comes loaded with:
·        7 times the vitamin C of oranges
·        4 times the vitamin A of carrots
·        3 times the potassium of bananas
·        4 times the calcium found in milk and
·        46 types of antioxidants
 
ABOUT US
 
Dendro Lanka Community Help Foundation was formed in 2004 and registered under the Company Act of 2007.
It is a Social Service organization committed and dedicated to eradicating malnutrition mainly from pre-school children. We have carried out pilot projects by providing thousands of preschool children with a glass of 200 ml of fresh cow’s milk on every school day in the Imbulpe Secretariat Division of the Ratnapura District and Galle Kadawath Sathara Secretariat Division and our vision is to cover the whole island.
For further information please feel free to send an email to: [email protected]

You can also speak directly to the founding president of Dendro Lanka, Mr. Leon Weerapass on his mobile No: 0771 626 049 and you will be so glad you did.

Thank you, sthuthi & nandri