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When in November 2012 we set up the first crèche in Jaratoli, Bardih village in the Nagri block of Jharkhand’s Ranchi district, little did we realise that in four years we would have close to 30 khadde edepa ’s (creches) in 15 villages and a large number of livelihood programmes to augment child nutrition in the region.
The crèches, managed by grassroots committees (Aayo Samity), are for the care of children from six months of age to three years. Apart from tackling malnutrition and ensuring better health, each centre has become a meeting place where grandmothers, mothers, pregnant women and sometimes adolescents spend time sharing their joys, sorrows and household notes.
Every quarter we made it a point to bring mothers and crèche workers together to share their experiences. Since 2013, a cluster of nearby crèches have met every quarter to learn from each other’s experiences. The get-togethers are a part of the work carried out by the Action Against Malnutrition (AAM), an initiative of Tata Trusts. The Public Health Resource Network (PHRN) is responsible for the AAM programme in this block.
Invest for better health
In between the daily chores of feeding, caring and prompt response to illness, the women began to sow the seeds of small investments for the children. At the Bardih crèche, the mothers started by buying two ducklings to provide their children egg protein. Their new idea spread like wildfire in all the crèches and everyone was keen to try something new for the children. Some started duck farming, others poultry farming or goat rearing.
Sunita Devi of Hetha crèche describes the changes that took place. “In our crèche we collected contributions from the Aayo Samity and started feeding milk to severely underweight children. Occasionally we also managed to provide them fruit and chicken.”
The Hetha crèche, like several others, embarked on duck rearing and poultry farming — this generated a lot of funds and helped the group raise more money. “During the lean season, the mothers got together to make potato chips at the crèche. At present we have ₹7,500 in the kitty and plan to cultivate ginger this kharif season,” says Sunita.
Getting together
Christened Poshan Sammelan (Nutrition Meet), this year too it brought all the crèches together to celebrate their efforts against malnutrition. Held in Bhandratoli village, it saw greater participation from the mothers; nearly 400 attended, including those whose children had graduated from the crèches. Many of them had also participated in the Poshan Mela held a year ago.
Happy to have a day’s break from routine activities, they were relaxed and used the time to dance in groups and share their experiences in the form of stories and songs.
This time the meet was totally managed by the village-level teams and community. It started with the women introducing themselves. Many of them participated in the games and a quiz focusing on workload for women, the need for maternity entitlements and the causes of malnutrition. A story on stunting was also told through the picture flex method.
One of the crèche workers reminded everyone of the pledge made the previous year about feeding all their children before they sleep and active participation by mothers in the crèche management. Some mothers said there were fewer illnesses when their children attended the facility.
Saurouti Kachchap of Chotta Khunta crèche summed it up best by describing the initiative’s ripple effect in the region: “We started with purchasing uniforms for children with the funds we collected. We next bought poultry chicks and sold them after the birds matured. With that money we started goat-rearing with one goat. Now we have two goats and have started pig-rearing this year. Gradually our resources for our children are increasing.”
Which, in other words, means that children are at last being able to disembark the cycle of malnutrition.
The writers are part of Action Against Malnutrition, an initiative of Tata Trusts, and are working at the grassroots in the above nutrition project in Jharkhand
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