Twice lucky: a young girl grows strong with CWS support

Hnin Nanda Aung is a happy and healthy child, living in a small village in the Ayeyarwaddy River delta region of Myanmar. Our team got to know her during CWS-organized weight monitoring sessions that are part of nutrition education activities for mothers and other caregivers. We noticed how much she laughs and smiles while talking and playing with the other children.

Hnin Nanda Aung is the only daughter of Ma Tin Tin Yee and U Twin Min Than, who are daily wage farm workers. Together, the earn about 5,500 Kyat ($4) per day for the 15 days they can find work each month.

When CWS talked to her most recently, Ma Yee said, “I feel blessed that my girl is a normal happy child now. When she was two she had meningitis, and we were not sure she would survive. Luckily, with good medical treatment she recovered, but her weight was lower than it should have been.” Hnin Nanda Aung was lucky a second time after her recovery. Because of her low weight, she was prioritized to join a CWS-supported nutrition program in her community. And, Ma Yee continued, “Even though I was busy with farm work, I was very excited to attend all education sessions.” Ma Yee was also happy to receive a rooster and three hens to raise at the end of the nutrition course, and she said that she had gladly learned from talks, discussions and cooking demonstrations that helped her understand better how to prepare balanced meals. To put her new knowledge to use, Ma Yee said, “I got different vegetables from relatives and neighbors and for protein, I cooked fish and eggs from the market for three or four meals each week. Soon we will have eggs and chicken meat from our own back yard, and this will help us save our scarce money for even more diverse foods, and for emergencies like another illness.”

At the end of her visit with CWS team members, Ma Yee noted, “I can see that my daughter has grown stronger, and this is confirmed by her monthly weight and height measurements. She is now in good health. I thank CWS and their donors from bottom of my heart for their kind support to help us improve our children’s nutrition and health, and for encouraging young mother like me to change for the better.”