Providing more protein-rich food for children continues to be urgent in coming years
Nutrition for children from poor families living in remote villages in Phu Yen province requires a lot of extra attention. We have regularly written to you about this and asked you for an extra contribution. We want to continue to do this in the coming years because too many young children are malnourished. They need more and better food to grow up healthy and to independently and strongly build their own future at a later age.
For the next five years, MCNV has drawn up a new strategic plan with the intention to continue to support the themes of health and nutrition, adaptation to climate change and people with disabilities.
Growing up healthy
In Dong Xuan Municipality in Phu Yen, we work with partners, health professionals and schools to reduce the persistent problem of malnutrition. We have already started a multi-year food program there with the creation of home and school gardens for fruit and vegetables and the breeding of chickens, fish and frogs. The children now receive a healthy hot meal every day with ingredients from their own garden and cultivation. In this way we hope to achieve that the little ones can grow up healthy and are less susceptible to diseases.
Source of protein
In some villages in Dong Xuan we have started a number of small-scale initiatives against malnutrition and food insecurity, such as farming fish and frogs in ponds behind the house. In Vietnam, eating frogs is more normal than with us and the protein-rich frog meat is a good addition to the children’s food. You can start with little money: a pond – or rather, a water trough – costs little money and the cultivation has little impact on the environment. The sale of the frogs or fish also provides the farmer with some extra income for his family.
Your support is essential!
With your (extra) gift we can continue the nutrition program in Phu Yen; for the people in the poorest villages, for the construction of frog ponds, for extra seeds and fertilizer for their vegetable gardens and an information program about healthy eating. We can also provide extra care for pregnant women and infants.
Thank you very much!
Dai Dinh Nguyen
Head of Dong Ha office, Quang Tri and responsible for the nutrition program in Phu Yen
Read more (in Dutch) about our nutrition program in Phu Yen in MCNV Magazine 2021-3 on pages 4 and 5.
