CRY Volunteers in Bangalore add weight to the fight against malnutrition

Volunteers at CRY play a critical role in spreading awareness on children’s issues and also taking action to ensure children’s rights are respected in the society around them through participation in Public Action Groups (PAG). Read on to see how a group of determined volunteers in Bangalore came together to fight against malnutrition in India’s IT hub.

In May-June 2013, CRY volunteers conducted a survey in Bangalore to study the various aspects of malnutrition, the government schemes introduced to curb malnutrition and also the malnutrition among children in Anganwadis.
The objective of the survey was to identify the prevalence of malnutrition in the city and present the findings to the Child Development Protection Officers (CDPOs) of the respective areas for immediate action. To ensure accuracy, the volunteers cross-checked the data of malnourished children present in the official Anganwadi records by weighing the children themselves. Once the lists were completed, they were submitted to the CDPOs of the areas with a request that action be taken.

On receiving the report, one of the CDPOs forwarded the lists to the Anganwadi supervisors in her area for further action. The Jeevan Bima Nagar Public Action Group (PAG) has a particularly inspiring story to tell. Post the survey, they were contacted by the CDPO in the area who organized a detailed check on the status of children suffering from malnutrition as mentioned in the earlier lists. Post the survey, the CDPO ensured due emphasis was placed on improving the health of malnourished children and also mentioned that they would focus on a malnourished child even if the child is not covered under the ICDS scheme. Further, CRY Volunteers were requested to bring any cases they encountered in their PAG areas to the CDPO’s notice and were assured that the children would receive proper health care and nutrition.

Read the article that appeared in ‘The Hindu’ on the survey:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/jeevanbima-nagar-has-most-malnourished-children/article5623872.ece

To know more about CRY and our work across India, visit www.cry.org