Name: Maureen

Nicknames: "Walks far Woman" - my dad's nickname for me; you can guess why. It started early and remains a true joy to take in places on foot.

Furry family members: Piney, my tuxedo cat. I love her. The tips of her paws are pure white, like she just cruised through a shallow milk puddle.

What I do all day at work: Juggle myself on a balance ball chair (you should try one), and join efforts with the greatest team around to make Vitamin Angels a success. There are a million ways to do this; you can help!

Food: Our president's wife will spontaneously grace our office with one of her culinary masterpieces. We're talking exotic pizzas with caramelized onions and eggplant, fresh homemade cheeses, desserts and more. And we all melt. She is the best. And her smile rates right up there with her cooking talents.

Travel to: Table Rock, MO. I just returned. It's a wonderful lake community in southwest MO. Lots of swimming and boating and a lovely slowed down pace. Ahhhhh.

Music: I have just recently begun listening to (and enjoying!) trumpet music. Thank you, Mike! But I love all kinds of music. And thanks, Jess for the recent introduction to Michael Franti. "The more I see, the less I know But I know one thing, that I love you." Go Jess.

When I was little I want to be: Joni Mitchell. Well, that dates me doesn't it? All the summers of my high school years it was mostly her songs that you would have heard me singing and strumming out to on our front porch.

Everyday I...: am happy to be!

I find inspiration in: Watching my family grow and change. Being outside as much as possible and taking in the natural world around me. the arts- all kinds. Tending gardens. Vitamin Angels. Bringing flowers into my home. Challenging myself physically. Learning new things. The strength of the human spirit...fascinating.

I love my job because: I get to see the the smiles of my co-workers and hear their laughter. We have a lovely sense of camaraderie. And we work hard each day to create opportunities for those we support... and we go around, joyfully.

Words of wisdom: There are so many; just about everywhere you look. But a favorite quote. "Do one thing every day that scares you."

Vitamin Angels generally works with local, in-country organizations to reach the children that we serve. Our partner organizations with permanent in-country facilities and staff are uniquely positioned to give our readers the greatest insight into the lives of the children we are reaching and the conditions they face.

Last month we brought you an interview conducted with one of our partners in Haiti, the Haitian Development Fund. This month, we heard from the Friends of Humantiy Organization in Afghanistan, which is partnering with Vitamin Angels to bring vitamin A to 500 children in orphanages and schools, including the Skateistan School in Kabul. Here’s what they had to say:

Where does your group or organization work?
Afghanistan, with clinical service facilities in Kabul and Jalalabad

What is a typical diet of a child there? A mother?
The typical diet is similar for both children and mothers. 70% of the diet is cereals/tubera, 11% is oil/fat, 2% is vegetables, and less than 2% is meat/fish. Most meals are simple vegetable stews, potatoes/okra/onions with meat when possible and either rice or naan bread.

What are the most common ailments and diseases that the children and mothers you work with suffer from? What are these ailments a result of?
One child in five dies before his or her fifth birthday as a result of common, but preventable childhood diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria, typhoid and others that could be prevented by simple immunizations and sanitary practices.

Mothers suffer from a variety of complications during pregnancy but almost all have acute anemia and many are malnourished, leading to further complications for newborns. Hemorrhaging and prolonged or obstructed labor cause the largest number of Afghan maternal deaths.

How do the vitamins that these children/mothers receive impact their health and their lives?
The vitamins which we delivered the children will help them grow healthy and strong. It will make them more active in society, enable them to miss less school days, and thereby grow up to be healthier and smarter.

If you asked some of the children that you work with what they want to be when they grow up, what kind of responses would you receive?
Professional skateboarder, children’s doctor, engineer, soldier

Are there any stories that you can share about a recipient who has been helped by the vitamin donations?
Waheedullah- 14 years old, eight siblings. Father is unemployed full-time and takes day labor. Mom-unemployed, total income- $80 a month. Born in Kabul, nine years in Pakistan living as an IDP and currently lives in IDP housing in Kabul. He began skating with Skateistan six months ago and just enrolled back in school.

What is the current political and economic status of the country that you work in? How has it affected the health and lives of your beneficiaries?
During more than two decades of violent conflict, the physical infrastructure and civil society of Afghanistan suffered almost complete degradation. The United Nations and other aid agencies engaged in the rehabilitation of Afghanistan estimate that the death toll of warfare is as high as 1.5 million and the number of war victims (widows, orphans and disabled) to be 0.5 million, while local fighting in some provinces continues to cost lives.

As a result of wartime deaths, political instability, and lack of domestic economic opportunity, a substantial number of Afghan families are without bread-winners (i.e., male members), and hence access to the basic health services. The FHO specifically targets women and children in our effort to increase access to and utilization of health services by the Afghan people.

Critics say that providing aid to underdeveloped countries only inhibits their self-sufficiency and growth. In your experience, does providing aid to your beneficiaries foster an environment of dependency, or grant them the tools they need help themselves? How so?
In Afghanistan this criticism is widely held. But poor women and children are marginalized groups everywhere and especially in Afghanistan. The international systems for targeting aid are not functioning in a resource efficient manner and typically entrench corruption and fail to address the need for systemic changes necessary to help the most marginalized populations. These poor women and children lack a voice and power to improve their lives. Targeted public health interventions are important to helping these marginalized groups reach an adequate living standard. Providing children with health services actually ensures that they will grow up to be more productive and educated members of society and therefore be less reliant on foreign aid in the long-term.
 

What is the biggest misconception that people have about the work that you do or the people you serve?
People’s biggest misconception is that my work is depressing and stressful. There are times when things are challenging, but children in Afghanistan want and hope for a better life for themselves and their country. Knowing these children gives a person a completely different perception of Afghanistan and helping to bring them these vitamins is not only rewarding but fun to do.

What are the biggest obstacles to reach those that you serve?
Even when reaching children through schools and orphanages, war and insecurity can cause children to move and leave geographic areas without notice. There are also few formal contracts and a non-existent legal system for enforcing them so the success of most programs depends largely on my trust in partners.

How has your staff been personally affected the by provision of vitamin supplements for children and/or mothers that you serve?
My staff and I are deeply thankful to Vitamin Angels for your help in bringing these supplements to the children of Afghanistan. It brings us all at the FHO great pleasure to help the children in our community and this program has helped to make my staff hopeful for a healthier future for Afghanistan.

 
Learn more >>  about vitamin A deficiency and our global vitamin A campaign, Operation 20/20.
Learn more >>  about our project in Afghanistan
Donate>>  to our project in Afghanistan, through our Operation 20/20 program.
Visit >>  the Friends of Humanity Organization of Afghanistan website

On May 12, 2009 at the Micronutrient Forum in Beijing, a new report was released clarifying the importance of micronutrient supplementation in fighting global childhood malnutrition and calling on all governments and organizations to increase investments in life-saving vitamins and minerals.

The joint report, “Investing in the Future: A united call to action on vitamin and mineral deficiencies,” recognizes the debilitating effects of micronutrient deficiencies on individuals and nations as a whole. Mothers who suffer from malnutrition may die from childbirth, leaving children without vital care. Children themselves have insufficient micronutrient intake and, if they survive infancy, are weak and prone to disease. Some will become blind, many will not finish school. These children, the future of nations, suffer from malnutrition and cannot fulfill their potential. Education is out of reach, health care costs are high, work does not get done and economic activity suffers with the population. “Human capital overall is significantly diminished.”

The numbers released are staggering.

• 1.1 million children under five die due to vitamin A and zinc deficiencies.
• Vitamin A deficiency annually claims the lives of almost 670,000 children.
• 136,000 women and children die because of iron-deficiency anemia.
• At least two billion people worldwide live with vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
• Approximately 1/3 of the developing world’s children under the age of five are vitamin A deficient and therefore ill-equipped for survival.
• 20-24% of deaths from measles, diarrhea, and malaria are attributable to inadequate vitamin A or zinc.

The report points to multiple and interconnected causes of micronutrient deficiencies. Poor diet due to lack of resources keep people from consuming nutrient-rich foods. Lack of healthcare, education, sanitation, and disease are contributing and interwoven factors. Providing the food and education to resolve the problem of micronutrient deficiency is a long-term undertaking, but in the short-term lives can be saved and improved through cost-effective interventions like supplementation. As shown below, the small cost of vitamin A supplementation is dwarfed by the benefits, including a decrease in needs for health care and an increase in productivity.