Apnalaya_Story

SUCCESS STORIES

Amrin
	The story of one year old Amrin sheds light on Apnalaya’s success in the field of child nutrition. From being a high-risk, category 3 malnutrition case, weighing a mere 3.5 kilos shortly after birth, Amrin was brought up to a normal and healthy weight of 8 kilos by her first birthday thanks to Apnalaya’s 6-layered Child Nutrition Programme. Amrin’s mother recalls “After her birth, I noticed that Amrin was not feeding and was becoming very weak. I consulted a doctor who advised me to look after her nourishment”. However, living in a low income household and working as a rag-picker on the garbage dump where her home is situated, Amrin’s mother had neither knowledge nor means to help her child. Apnalaya identified Amrin’s case during a routine child nutrition survey and intervention was immediate. “We were concerned about Amrin when we found her as she was weak and emaciated. Luckily, we were able to accommodate her in our feeding programme and she has responded very well” says an Apnalaya Community Health Worker who adds “I am also happy that now, Amrin’s mother has also learned how to take care of her child’s nutritional needs”.

Nazma
	Nazma lives with her mother and two sisters in a rented room in Sanjay Nagar. Her father passed away and her mother supports the family by running a tiffin service from home. While Nazma’s is a case of intellectual impairment, her younger sister Nazia suffers from physical and mental disability as well as visual impairment. Their mother has a hard time looking after them especially since she is on her own. When Nazma’s mother started bringing her to the Apnalaya Challenger Day Care Centre, Nazma used to be very agitated. She would grab things from other children and hit them. She used to also tear her own clothes. Nazma was slowly introduced to the day care centre. First she attended for 1 hour at a time, then 2 hours and finally, her mother was able to leave her there for the entire day. After one year Nazma has become less aggressive. She is also cleaner and well turned out. She loves to participate in group activities and gets very excited when she is taken for picnics and outings. She is also very good at colouring. Apnalaya facilitated the Nazma’s admission into Sulabha Special School for the Mentally Retarded in Chembur. She now regularly attends school and her teachers have reported that she is very well behaved and does her work well. She travels to school on her own by the school bus.

Nassir Sheikh
	Young Nassir comes from a poor family in Rafi Nager. His father is a labourer and his mother does small domestic chores in neighbouring homes. Nassir was almost 2 years old when Apnalaya’s health workers identified him as a high-risk, category 3 malnutrition case weighing 5 kilos. On investigating his case further it was found that Nassir had been very weak and unwell and his parents had tried to seek help from natural healers as well as the government ICDS, with no success. Nassir was then entered into Apnalaya’s 6-legged Child Nutrition programme. As on March 2010, his weight has increased to 8.5 kilos and he has moved from a category 3 case to a category 2 case of malnutrition. Though his struggle still continues, his parents know that with the support of Apnalaya they can work towards restoring their child’s health and providing him with hope for the future.

Nisar
	The situation before:
	Nisar has been visually impaired since birth. Before coming to Apnalaya, he spent his time in isolation at home. He would sit by himself, was very reserved and didn’t speak to anyone. He had limited interaction with other children and would mostly fight and be destructive. Nisar’s mother is single and unemployed and had no means of supporting her son’s special needs.
	What Apnalaya did:
	Nisar was invited to attend the daycare centre. Teachers spent time encouraging him to draw, play with toys and interact with other children. He was taught to identify objects and carry out simple tasks like eating his food and filling his water bottle. Apnalaya also helped Nisar to get a disability certificate and ID card. After 6 months, Apnalaya facilitated his admission to a BMC special needs school and supports him by paying his medical and transport expenses.
	The situation after/ Achievement:
	Nisar now attends NAB Mata Laxmi Nursery for the Blind. He interacts well with other children and takes interest in classroom activities. His mother says that ‘Attending Apnalaya’s Daycare Centre helped Nisar get into the habit of regularly attending school and listening to the teacher’. Nisar’s mother has also learned new techniques of how to interact with him and teach him at home.

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