We’re in Northeastern India. This is a tea growing region – a remnant of British rule in India dating back to the East India Company. The tea workers are migrant laborers that came over some generations ago from Bhutan (just across the border) and Nepal (30 miles away). Though there is an economy in this area, unfortunately, the migrants, like in other areas of the world, are not recognized or given any rights by the Indian government. There are no schools, no medical facilities, and definitely no nutritional support. This is where our partners at Believers’ Church, and their outreach program, ‘Bridges of Hope,’ are providing such a crucial service to this community.
Believers’ Church has been working in Bagdogra, a tea growing community, for the past 5 years. We’ve been working with them to provide vitamin A for several years and recently added a prenatal campaign. This morning about 300 mothers, fathers, and children showed up for the vitamin distribution. Social workers from Bridges of Hope had translated our posters into the local language and posted them all over the community, announcing today’s distribution. In preparation for the day’s distribution, they also went door-to-door offering educational programs about nutrition and the role of vitamin A and prenatals for those new to the community and for anyone else they haven’t yet reached. Their goal is 100% coverage.
Some of the women expressed concern about the prenatal vitamins, as they usually shy away from medicine during pregnancy. It has been wonderful having Dr. Alan Greene with us, as he was able to explain to some of the mothers that the prenatal vitamins have all of the important nutrients that they get from food and so are safe to take during pregnancy.
Soon, we’ll be on our way home – It's been a great trip! – and, hopefully, we have given you a glimpse into the workings of our vitamin A project (Operation 20/20) and prenatal vitamin project (part of Thrive to Five) here in India. We welcome your comments and questions! You can post our blog or our Facebook page. We would love to dialogue with you directly about our projects and about the continuing need for vitamin supplementation in India and around the world.
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