The Youth Who Bring Change to the Village
A pandemic that has lasted more than a year has made people in a village in Sambas Regency, West Kalimantan worry. Especially for families who have babies and toddlers. Declining family incomes mean that many parents are no longer able to provide the best food to their children. The situation made Nuria (17), a sponsored child of Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI) and a child forum member in the village concerned and create a program for mothers with toddlers.
"According to the posyandu data, there are 15 babies who have not gained weight in the last few months," said Nuria.
Strong motivation and determination made Nuria want to see changes happen in her village. Nuria and 25 other child forum members took the initiative to create change for the community, especially so that there were no more cases of stunting in their village.
One of the programs initiated by them is held a Nutrition and Food Day Commemoration. In this activity, pregnant women and mothers of under-five were disseminated related to nutrition and stunting by nutritionists. The participants were also reminded again about the prevention of Covid-19.
About 22 mothers attended this event. They were made aware that there are many sources of local nutrition that can be found in the village to fulfill the nutrition of their children.
The initiative of Nuria and her friends was welcomed by the Sekura Community Health Center. Dian, a nutritionist, appreciated the children's idea.
"We thank you for involving the puskesmas in activities. I hope that in the future, we can still collaborate. The activity is supporting the stunting prevention of infants and toddlers,” said Dian.
Nuria and the village child forum member are grateful that this activity was carried out well. They finally understand the problems in their village.
"We hope that after holding the Nutrition and Food Day event, parents will become more aware of the importance of maintaining the nutrition for their children," the first child of 2 concluded.
Written by: Yasika Amanda and Kori Kornelia, Staff of Sambas Program Area Wahana Visi Indonesia
