Staff Correspondent

A special nutrition campaign was organized for the children of the flood-affected area of Kashipur village, Radhanagar Union, Chhagalnaiya Upazila in Feni district by the volunteer organization "Hands of Hope" from the Government College of Applied Human Sciences recently.

The campaign was co-organized by Nutrition for Change and the Department of Disaster Science and Climate Resilience of Dhaka University.

The main objective of the campaign was to raise awareness and provide necessary assistance to meet the nutritional deficiencies of children in flood-affected areas. This initiative was very timely due to the rise of malnutrition problems among children in these areas post-flood.

The nutrition campaign was completed in several phases. In the first phase, the health of flood-affected children was assessed, and their nutritional needs were determined under the supervision of nutrition students. In the second phase, nutritious food called "Happy Kid" was distributed to the children, and their families were given special guidance on child health. "Happy Kid" was created by a group of young food and nutrition science students from Hands of Hope.

Members of "Hands of Hope" were the main organizers of this campaign and distributed the nutritious food "Happy Kid" to local children. It is worth mentioning that "Happy Kid" was formulated and produced by a few nutrition students in their campus lab. The team that prepared the food was led by Mayesha Hafsa Khan, along with Sumaiya Tabassum, Nure Jannat, Raisa Mehzabeen, Habiba Farhana, and Jarin Tasnim Rafa. Several other students also participated in the project. The students were assisted in measuring the ingredients and caloric values by Associate Professor Shampa Sharmin Khan of the Government College of Applied Human Sciences.

Additionally, students from Dhaka University’s Department of Disaster Science and Climate Resilience oversaw the overall supervision and conducted special workshops to tackle other challenges following the flood.

Mayesha Hafsa Khan, the project director of Hands of Hope, said, "Ensuring nutritional security for children in the post-flood period is extremely important. In flood-affected areas, children are typically provided with artificial milk, powdered milk, processed foods, sugary products, biscuits, cakes, chips, or instant noodles. While these foods may curb hunger, they fail to provide the necessary nutrition. In the long term, this lack of nutrition can be harmful to the physical and mental development of children. We are hopeful that our project food, "Happy Kid" will address this need. Through this initiative, we will ensure nutritious and healthy food for children, which will support their proper physical and mental development."

Raisa Mehzabeen, CEO of Nutrition for Change, said, "Ensuring nutritional security for children after floods is crucial, as malnutrition hampers their physical and mental development. This campaign is our small effort to meet that need."

It is hoped that such initiatives will play a long-term supportive role for the people in flood-affected areas.