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Home > India
What We Do
Eradication of Malnutriton — Preschool Education
The
Foundation for Mother and Child Health, India (FMCHI) or Bal Sehat Kendra
as it is known locally, was established in Mumbai in 2005. Our goal is
to eliminate malnutrition and poverty amongst Mumbai’s low-income
children by:
- improving pre and post natal care through health, hygiene and nutrition
programmes.
- improving the health and nutrition of infants and children below 5
years of age.
- educating children through a tri-lingual preschool in English, Marathi
and Hindi.
We aim to achieve our objectives by running:
- a feeding programme for pregnant women and children under 5, especially
those children suffering from malnutrition, stunting and wasting
- a free medical service for these children and their families, which
will include free deworming twice a year and free tuberculosis check
ups and treatment.
- a health education programme to raise awareness of the importance
of
good
health, nutrition and hygiene. The topics covered will be: breastfeeding,
introduction of solid foods, childhood illnesses, prevention of illness,
immunization and general hygiene and sanitation. Health education classes
will be offered to mothers of children attending the feeding programme
and preschool.
- a preschool for children aged 3 to 5 years where each child will
be provided a nutritious meal and healthy snack every day.
- sustainable income generating programmes like sewing and handicraft
skills training.
To achieve its objectives, FMCHI is drawing on the expertise of two well
established NGO’s in Mumbai:
Our
flagship project is a preschool and health center in Ganesh Nagar. Ganesh
Nagar is a slum that houses 390 families totaling just under 2000 people.
Currently these families live in cramped huts and unsanitary living conditions.
All of these residents must share a total of just six toilets between
them. They also have limited access to good schools and proper nutrition.
Presently the slum community is being transformed by the construction
of three mid-rise buildings by SRS.
FMCHI has been allocated a 450 square foot space in the first of these
buildings. We are using this space for the preschool and to provide a
variety of educational and training programmes on health and hygiene.
Muktangan has provided teacher training for three mothers from the Ganesh
Nagar community. These women will teach under the tutelage and supervision
of a qualified instructor in the preschool. The school is scheduled to
open in July 2006.
Health
& Nutrition
Children attending the FMCHI preschool will be provided with a well
balanced lunch and one high-protein snack every day.
An FMCHI nutritionist will supervise mothers from the community who
have offered their time and the use of their kitchens to prepare the snacks
and meals.
Initially, health and nutrition programmes will be offered to children
attending the preschool and their mothers. FMCHI hopes in the future
to offer these and other programmes to pregnant mothers and all mothers
with children up to the age of 5 living in the Ganesh Nagar community.
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