Healthy children bring joy to the village

Sitting on a bed with her parents and younger brothers, Muni joyfully eats her lunch, including fish vegetable soup, rice and two big fried fish. A bunch of bananas, jackfruit and red papaya are on a plate for their dessert after the meal.

Nine-year-old Muni studies in 3rd grade. She has two brothers, Munin, four years old and Munu, 14 months.

“I have learnt that there are three groups of food. They are energy food, body building food and protective food,” Vandy, 35-year-old mother, says with her smile.

Living in a small wooden house filled with palm-leaf walls and a corrugated roof, Vandy loves to cook nutritious food in the open-space kitchen at the edge of the house. A very clean yard in front of the house serves as a playground for Muni, her friends and younger brothers after schooling hours.

Muni’s family is considered living in poverty, usually earning less than 2 US dollars per day. Nevertheless, lack of money is not a barrier for bringing Muni and her younger brother to good health.

“Last time, I sold the chicken for sending my daughter to school. Sometimes, we don’t need to buy meat at the market. Chicken is food for my children,” Vandy says.

World Vision has been working closely with pregnant women and women who have young children like Vandy, training them on how to take care and provide nutritious food for their children.

World Vision provided chickens to Muni’s family to rear. Some of those chickens are served as their meal while some are sold for family income. Vandy learnt to rear chicken and plant vegetable from World Vision’s staff.

“Now I have more than five chicks and more than five chickens,” Muni says.

“Last time, I sold the chicken for sending my daughter to school. Sometimes, we don’t need to buy meat at the market. Chicken is food for my children,” Vandy says.

Muni is a good student. She loves English language.

“I dream to be a teacher, because I will be able to transfer knowledge to other villagers,” Muni says.

Muni wakes up early in the morning to feed the chickens at 6am and feeds them again at noon, when she comes back from school.

Muni and her younger brother used to get sick easily, and their mother always bring them private health clinic, which charged them expensive cost.  

“Each time I brought my son and daughter to the clinic, I spent at least 100,000 riel [25 US dollars],” Vandy says.

The expense for the medical treatment is too high compared to the income Muni’s father earns. He has irregular jobs as construction worker and when he does find the work, he earns 20,000 riels (5 US dollars) a day. 

World Vision has worked closely with the village health supporters to provide better services to the villagers. Vandy is encouraged to use the service from health centre in the commune.

“I spend nothing when I bring my children to see doctor in the health centre,” Vandy says with her smile.

World Vision’s Together for Child Health project has been implemented in 23 health centres, supporting 239 villages, with a total population of 354,403 in Battambang province.

 “We want to see mothers and children under two years in the project area are healthy, well-nourished and have increased access to mother and child health services, contributing to a decrease in maternal and child morbidity and mortality,” says Sophal Sorn, a World Vision staff.