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by Staff Sgt. Tammie Moore
U.S. Air Forces Central news team
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123120865

Members of the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team medical staff used sweets and “strong food” to help hundreds of malnourished Afghan children back to health in October.

The PRT members began a four-week regiment of their “strong food,” known locally as Qavi Ghiza, to the Shajoy hospital two months ago.

“Strong food” is a vitamin-enriched high calorie food supplement used to combat malnutrition. The Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team medical staff is working with local heath officials to combat the main causes of the extremely high-infant mortality in the area such as unsanitary water supplies and malnutrition.

The area’s public health administration staff has been using the low-cost and locally produced food supplement to treat more than 400 malnourished children.

“This program has been going very well and giving positive results. People know about it,” said Dr. Zamarai Sultan, the public health administration nutrition officer. “It is going to be even more successful in the future.”

Dr. Sultan has monitored the “strong food” program in Shajoy closely. In a patient sampling of 60 children, 78 percent have shown positive growth. The doctor said he has seen most patients gain 1 to 1.5 kilograms a week while taking the vitamin-enriched and calorie-heavy supplement.

“People from this area are very poor,” Dr. Sultan said. “They don’t have enough money for their baby’s special food. As long as we have this kind of program, it is going to succeed. Now people know this good thing about the ‘strong food,’ that is why more patients come in and get this food.”

The success of “strong food” in the Shajoy area and a positive backing by Dr. Sultan provided Capt. (Dr.) James Arnold the momentum he needed to expand the program.

“Giving this program to Dr. Sultan has actually been the biggest help to us because he is well invested in it,” said Captain Arnold, deployed from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. “He is a nutritionist. He deals with the malnourishment problem for the entire Zabul province.”

Captain Arnold said Dr. Sultan’s positive reputation in the medical field has helped convince his fellow doctors to join the program.

“(As) the voice of this project, (he) can better influence anything I can do,” he said.

The two doctors met local medical experts with pediatric specialties to go over the results.

“We are trying to make all of our projects Afghan run because we are not going to stay around the long haul,” said Captain Arnold, a native of Grass Valley, Calif. “We (want) to give them something they can do on their own and sustain on their own.”

After a demonstration on how to make “strong food,” the medical professionals made a batch themselves with ingredients available locally. The concoction was blended using donated mixing sets.

The mixing sets came from Michael Morgan, an Eagle Scout candidate with Boy Scouts Troup 157 out of Salem, Ore.

“Boy Scouts are taught to seek opportunities to help others,” the West Salem High School senior said. “I wanted to provide service that was meaningful as I sought to complete my requirements for the obtaining of the rank of Eagle. This project seemed challenging but perfect.”

Dr. Sultan is grateful for the effort the PRT put into launching the “strong food” program.

“I am very thankful to this team,” he said. “This is a very active team, and they have really wanted to work and (it) has been seen.”

Photo Credits:
1. Capt. (Dr.) James Arnold shows medical professionals from the Zaubl province how to make “strong food” Oct. 15 in Qalat, Afghanistan. “Strong food” is a vitamin enriched high calorie food supplement used to combat malnutrition. The Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team medical staff is working with local heath officials to combat the main causes of the extremely high-infant mortality in the area such as unsanitary water supplies and malnutrition. Captain Arnold is deployed from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Keith Brown)

2. Zabul Governor Delbar Jan Arman shows his appreciation for the work being done to fight malnutrition by the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team Oct. 16 in Qalat, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Keith Brown)

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I’m taking a little editorial break to participate in Blog Action Day. Normally I would have put together a more detailed post, however I forgot about this annual event until this afternoon when I received a reminder from a colleague.

The topic of this year’s Blog Action Day is Poverty.

As a Social Worker I have worked with many kids and families that lived well below the “poverty level”, I’ve struggled to find a mental health professional who would treat a teenager because their was no private insurance to bill. I’ve called friends, colleagues, businesses, trying to find a bed for a high schooler who gave up his when his younger brothers moved back home. I’ve bought a meal for a kid who hadn’t had breakfast or lunch, and probably wasn’t going to get dinner that day.

As a Soldier I have seen “third world” poverty that opened my eyes to the global issues of poverty. I used to see the commercials on tv asking for my meager donation to “sponsor a child” but didn’t internalize the images I was seeing. After seeing it with my own eyes its hard to understand how people can live in such conditions. No clean water, barely any food, mud buildings…

What can we as Scouts and Scouters do?
The most important thing we can do is make sure future generations understand that this is a problem that needs attention. Think about these examples:

1. Participate in Scouting For Food. Maybe your unit can work a little harder and expand your area by a couple of blocks to collect more food. You could make sure to get local media attention so more people know about the food drive. Instead of just collecting door to door you could add barrels at local grocery stores.

2. Older Scouts and Venturing Crews can serve a meal at a Soup Kitchen. Most of the time meal sites rely on volunteer labor to prepare, serve, and clean up for each meal served. See what the restrictions are and see how you can sign up.

3. Talk to your Council about volunteering with the ScoutReach program. In urban areas these groups usually meet after school with the help of a paid facilitator. Scouts and Leaders are normally welcome to come in and help teach a skill or run activities.

4. Participate in a school supply drive or coat drive or clothing drive, etc.

This is obviously just a few simple ideas. Think outside of the box, come up with your own. Poverty is an issue we should all care about.

Whatever you do, make sure the Scouts involved see the benefit of their work! Often this is where there is a disconnect. Yes, kids love putting spare change in the red kettles with the bell ringers, but how many kids know what that money is used for? Yes, we put some food in a barrel but where does that food go? Who does it help?

I think a Cub Scout parent did a great job of documenting this concept in his blog post titled: “Poverty Close to Home – Blog Action Day 2008“. I’d encourage you to read the whole post but here is a snippet:

We brought items for the collection, because it was the “right” thing to do. To help out in this season of thanksgiving. To give and then move on to happier thoughts.

For our small group within the Cub Scout Pack, though, we were charged with delivering these collected items to the Repairers of the Breach. Would it be “safe” to take a few 3rd graders to a shelter in downtown Milwaukee? Away from the safety of our suburban neighborhood?

After much discussion, both with parents, and with the “Repairers” organization – we decided we would take a group of parents and kids to the shelter to deliver the items we had.

It was an experience I’ll never forget.

Read the whole post: Poverty Close to Home – Blog Action Day 2008

What can you do to make a difference in the fight against poverty?

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