Cagayan de Oro City — A mother in this city claimed that her child becomes mentally and physically alert after undergoing supplementary feeding by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Northern Mindanao.
Lota Janiola, 42 of West Kolambog, Lapasan here is proud that her son, John Manny, 5, received several awards from West Kolambog Day Care Center during the recently concluded recognition day. The Janiola family is a Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiary under Set 5 B.
Pantawid Pamilya is the national government’s Conditional Cash Transfer scheme that prioritizes health and education for children 0-18 years old through provision of monthly cash grants.
John Manny was awarded outstanding award, best in reading, most friendly and most punctual.
Lota attributed the achievement of her son as a result of good nutrition he earned from the regular feeding program of DSWD, implemented in coordination with the local government unit of this city.
Johnny Manny is one of several day care pupils in his village found to be underweight before the implementation of the feeding program in September 2013. Now, he weighs 15 lbs; earning two pounds from his previous weight of 13.
The younger Janiola has also shifted his choice of favorite food-from hotdogs to vegetables and fruits since his mother became more vigilant in preparing these healthier foods for their family’s consumption.
Asked why she has now become conscious of the foods she brings to her family, Lota says that she has seen the positive changes in her son’s activities and performance in school because of good eating habits and has now decided to maintain the healthy lifestyle. “Kaya nako ang kausaban, ug magsugod kini sa akong pamilya pinaagi sa pagkaon nga among ginahatag para sa among mga bata,” she says.
The feeding program of West Kolambog, Lapasan this city, which culminated last summer, provided variety of vegetables, fruits, and fish for day care pupils.
The supplementary program of DSWD aims to provide food, including locally processed foods, equivalent to 1/3 of the recommended energy intake, and 1/3 of the recommended intake for protein, iron, and vitamin A; to improve knowledge, attitudes and practices of mothers/child caregivers as well as of other family members along key nutritional practices; to monitor the growth of beneficiaries regularly; and to refer beneficiaries to health care facilities as may be needed.
Targets of the program are: wasted infants 6 months to 24 months old, or those with MUAC<115 mm; underweight pregnant women; wasted preschool children 36-71 months old, or those with MUAC<115 mm are the third priority; underweight school-age children; and malnourished children discharged from health facility.
For her part, DSWD Northern Mindanao’s supplementary feeding focal Sheryl Ave, a nutritionist, emphasized that proper nutrition is essential for building children’s bodies.
Ave said it is the energy used to grow child’s body to adulthood and it’s the fuel they need, both to physically get them from place to place, as well as to learn.
Nutrients are the building blocks that grow muscle, support bone density, encourage proper cell development, support immune defense, and develop brain function – all the functions that are necessary to grow your child into a healthy, strong adult.
Without proper nutrition, Ave said, the child will have difficulty learning in school, exhibit poor behavior, be sluggish and have limited energy, or on the opposite end be hyperactive.
Written by Oliver Badel Inodeo, DSWD.
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