Anan
Nutrition project Warm welcome In July 2012, Froukje en Gezina touched down in Mozambique. They are both medical students from the Netherlands and made the trip to Mozambique as part of their two month senior internship in social medicine in Nanatha. It was to become their first Africa experience. During their first hours in Mozambique the beautiful nature impressed them, but they immediately also came to realize how poor the people are. They received a warm welcome: when they arrived they were happily surprised by the hospitality and kindness of the Mozambicans they met. After getting an introduction into Nanatha and the Activistas by Joris, one of our other volunteers, they started with the Activistas to go through the topics the previous volunteers had taught them. They were surprised by the amount of knowledge the Activistas remembered from the basic medical subjects they had been taught. Following the still sorrowful results of the children’s malnutrition survey and the wishes of the Activistas, Froukje en Gezina decided to address proper nutrition during their stay.
Anan Clinica | P.O.Box 88 | Nacala Porto | Nampula | Mozambique Stichting Anan Clinica at Bilthoven | the Netherlands | www.ananclinica.com | ananclinica@gmail.com
page 1
Clinica
Anan Clinica Newsletter • nr 7 • May 2013
Community Health Day Nutrition First they visited several families at their homes and observed them preparing their food and they ate together with the families. These visits gave them a good idea about the feeding habits of the community but it was also a fantastic way to meet the local people. Based on their findings Froukje and Gezina taught the Activistas first about proper nutrition and complementary feeding practices, especially for children. Proper nutrition gives every child the best start in life. Unfortunately, in a resource-poor setting like Nanatha it is a challenge
Obrigado!
to get the adequate nutrition, but it is not impossible.
Froukje and Gezina are very thankful for the opportunity
The Activistas were enthusiastic about the subject
they have been given to contribute to increase the
and showed the community members how to cook a
knowledge on health subjects of the Activistas and Nanatha
nourishing hominy and gave by means of summaries
community. They left Mozambique with lots of good
and pictures simple but good lessons about nutrition
memories and experiences, which they will never forget.
For example about the signs of malnutrition and the importance of children getting 5 meals a day and not
We are very grateful for Froukje and Gezina staying with
just (the usual) 2 meals. Since theatre plays have proven
us and the things they have achieved!
to be a very successful and enjoyable way of conveying information to the community, they wrote a theatre play on nutrition, played by the Activistas. Community Health Day
page 2 | Anan Clinica | Newsletter nr 7
driven the Activistas are. The Activistas came up with
About Anan Clinica
good initiatives and were very keen to do something for
Anan Clinica Foundation is a non-religious charity that
the community, especially during the ‘Dia de saúde de
aims to increase local knowledge of health issues and the
comunitario’ (= Community Health Day). Froukje, Gezina
scope, quality, accessibility, acceptability and coverage of
and the Activistas organized this day together in order to
primary health care services for the underserved people of
make Anan Clinica and the Activistas more known in the
the Nanatha community in Northern Mozambique. Anan
community. Besides it being an informative day about all
Clinica focusses primarily on health education and basic
kind of health subjects, it was a fun and lovely day as well!!
hygiene facilities.
For donations: 44.68.04.444; Stichting Anan Clinica at Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
page 3
design: Bootsmadesign
Froukje en Gezina were impressed how talented and
Together anything is possible! Together anything is possible and also your help will be very welcomed. It can be as simple (but not less important) as making a financial donation, volunteering time and knowledge; even a useful suggestion or good idea can take us further in helping the Nanatha Community. If you are interested don’t hesitate to contact us: ananclinica@gmail.com For more information about Anan Clinica, please visit our website: www.ananclinica.com.
For donations 44.68.04.444 Stichting Anan Clinica at Bilthoven, the Netherlands
Anan Clinica | P.O.Box 88 | Nacala Porto | Nampula | Mozambique Stichting Anan Clinica at Bilthoven | the Netherlands | www.ananclinica.com | ananclinica@gmail.com
page 4