A Well-Nourished Future
October 31, 2022

Transformational Community Development (TCD) workers focussed on Wellness are doing really great work in transforming the lives of the people of Gem Village. They have been commended by the communities and also by neighbourhood hospitals and dispensaries for the good works they are doing in the community. Villagers have decided to call them community doctors, since they have been moving all around the Gem community to educate villagers and monitor people’s health. TCD has been moving all around. This has enabled diseases, which were caused by lack of hygiene, to be reduced. Within the village, they were taught the importance of having toilets within their homestead. GHNI have been monitoring and guiding TCD workers by networking with other organisations and taking them on health training seminars. This has really enabled them to gain skills and knowledge, which enabled them to provide good services to the community.
The Gem community disagrees on what to do after the birth of a newborn child. Traditional beliefs say there are certain foods a pregnant woman should not eat, and during the first hour after birth, a child should not breastfeed, nor is it necessary to exclusively breastfeed a child for the first six months of life. Others with a newer understanding of nutrition believe mothers need good nutrition, and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), newborns need to breastfeed exclusively for six months so that, even during droughts, the children can have strong immune systems. Mothers not eating certain foods or breastfeeding their newborns has led to low birth weights and low immunities within the community.
TCD workers learnt about malnutrition, and this made them go house-to-house to visit children under five years, along with pregnant women and lactating women. This has really helped change their perspective on the value of nutrition. Elizabeth is one of the women who were taught the best ways to curb malnutrition in the community. After being taught, she is now fully equipped and this will help her and so many women who are not practising the same. Elizabeth is now thanking GHNI for working closely with TCD workers to eradicate this problem of malnutrition.
Thank you!
Written By: Christopher
GHNI TCD Worker
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