Most of you probably wonder what I really do as a health volunteer besides help out at our clinic (CSPS). Well here is one of the programs I have just completed to rehabilitate malnourished children in the village. The program is a community based model to improve the health of the entire family while focusing on children. The original concept of the Positive Deviance (PD) / “Hearth Nutrition Model” (FARN in French) was introduced in the 1980s in Haiti and has since been replicated in countries as various as Vietnam, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Mozambique, Mali, and Guinea. In contrast to traditional nutrition interventions which “tend to look for problems in the community that need to be solved, the PD/Hearth approach looks for the positive behaviors and strengths that exist in the community and can be built upon.” It proves that despite poverty, there are local practices, knowledge, and resources that can be exploited to promote positive health practices. Even in the poorest communities, some mothers are still able to raise healthy, well-nourished children. If those “positive deviant mothers” (Mamans Lumière in French-speaking countries) could pass on their feeding and hygiene practices to other mothers in the community, we would see the problems of malnutrition and other childhood illnesses significantly decrease. Moreover, since the solutions focused on in PD/Hearth come from within the community, thus the behaviors are far more sustainable. These “Mamans Lumières” help lead the Hearth program and provide a real example of someone in the same environment with healthy children.
Positive Deviance Webpages
http://www.positivedeviance.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_Deviance
In practice, the PD/Hearth intervention brings together between six to ten mothers of malnourished children over a two-week period to learn and practice the healthy nutrition behaviors performed by a local positive deviant mother. Led by myself and the “Maman Lumière” from the community, the Hearth group prepares a healthy local recipe and discusses a health issue of concern to the women and their children every day. All the food used in preparing the meals comes from the village and is affordable for all the women in the program. The health issues are discussed with the assistance of one of our local clinic staff. At the end of the 2 weeks, most children gain weight and often exhibit improvements in mood and energy. Furthermore, qualitative studies suggest that the mothers continue to practice the healthy behaviors learned in the Hearth even after the program has come to a close.
Objectives of Hearth (FARN)
Hearth has three main objectives.
1. To rehabilitate malnourished children. Each day, trainers and participants prepare enriched porridge together. Every woman has at least one liter for her child to eat throughout the day, in addition to his usual food. Over a period of 12 days, participating children can gain moderate to significant amounts of weight.
2. To educate the women on basic health issues (i.e. Hygiene, Vaccinations, HIV, Malaria, etc). Each day, the session leaders address a different health topic. Practical, healthy solutions that are accessible to local women are promoted. They facilitate a discussion with the women addressing their questions and dispelling local myths.
3. To demonstrate that raising well-nourished and healthy children is possible even with limited means. By showing that positive change is possible and by teaching women information about their own basic health, women will be inspired to continue positive health behaviors after the training.
This past weekend I completed my second Hearth Model Workshop (FARN) with women from my village. The malnourished children were chosen from information gathered from our clinic at monthly baby weighing. The workshop was held at the “Mama Lumiere’s” courtyard or foyer. At the end of the two weeks all but two children gained substantial weight, one passed away from Malaria, and one decreased after getting over a respiratory infection. At the end of the program each mother received a Moringa sapling that I have been growing in my courtyard. My courtyard has become a mini-nursery and I have been working with my friends from village to incorporate the Moringa in their diets and as a means of reforestation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moringa
http://www.moringagardencircle.org/tree.html
http://www.treesforlife.org/
Remember rural Burkina Faso is poor, really poor. I constantly hear with the “World Food Crisis” that people are complaining about the rising prices of basic goods like rice. Most villagers in Burkina can never even afford to eat rice. They may get a plate of rice a few times a year, and as I found out while teaching last year from my students, they may only get one bottle of Coke a year. So all my recipes used in the 2 week program used village resources. Most were porridges based on sorghum (millet), corn, beans, peanuts, fish, local leaves and mangoes. Every day I ate with the kids to encourage them, and yeah I even gained a little weight myself, which I could use. I am planning on doing other FARNs in the surrounding villages in the months to come.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/indepth/080702_food_crisis.shtml
No comments:
Post a Comment