Chandigarh.25th March,2021:A true mission is the one that fulfils the community and its needs. The Department of Social Welfare, Women & Child Development, Chandigarh Administration has truly constructed the Poshan Pakhwada 2021 as the mission to reach every citizen and fulfil their needs. Education is an important part of the process of awareness and the Department has targeted each stratum of the city. Various drives, home visits and camps are being set up everywhere in the city, with beneficiaries that are being provided with various aids.
The first thousand days are the most important in the context of nutrition, in the life of a child. On a construction site in Dhanas, the pregnant women and new mothers were informed about the importance of nutrition and low-cost nutritious diet plans were provided to them. In the presence of Harjinder Kaur, Chairperson CCPCR, Chandigarh a child’s Annaprashan took place at the site, where the first ‘anna’ was given to the child. The event also included a God Bharai of a pregnant woman, giving her nutrition advice, advice of taking care during childbirth and the importance of Poshan for her child and herself.
Today is the National Kite Flying Day, and Poshan Ki Patang was organized with children as participants of the event. The children flew kites and were given stationery along with juices and bananas. They were provided with Take Home Rations such as Black Wheat biscuits, flour and porridge for a healthier childhood and to instil the idea of healthy eating habits in children at such a sensitive age.
A sports competition with adolescent girls as participants was organized in the Sports complex at Kajheri. They were given Take Home Rations, as well and told about the importance of nutrition at this stage in their lives. General awareness was an important part of the day, wherein they were given lectures by experts. An anaemia camp was organized in the city wherein the beneficiaries were tested for anaemia and the ones suffering from iron deficiency were provided with iron-rich capsules. They were told about various iron-rich foods and encouraged to include them in their daily diet.
A series of other activities were also conducted in the city, with the help of Anganwadi Workers of all 450 Anganwadi Centres. Tree plantation drives were carried out, along with awareness on medicinal plants and their usage in daily diets, nutrition and building a strong immune system. A demonstration on making ORS at homes was carried out in the city and home visits on complementary feeding were conducted, focusing on the needs of pregnant and new mothers. Mother meeting was one of the major activities carried out during the day, to help them with any nutrition and feeding-related queries.
Various lectures on kitchen gardening, the importance of a balanced diet, Poshan ke 5 Sutras and Poshtik Ahaar were given to diverse beneficiaries around the city. The parents of children with low birth weight were counselled to take wholesome care of their children, and give them various diets to improve their health. The growth of such children was monitored for their improvement and follow up was taken on SAM children.