Khine Than Win is introducing 21-month old Phyu Phyu Than to a dish of fish, egg and rice. The food was prepared in a competition to create food babies will love. But, Phyu Phyu is not so keen on rice. “Phyu Phyu Than loves chicken, watercress, cucumber, fish and liver – pork and chicken livers,” her mother laughs.
A member of the Lwan Oo Mother-to Mother Support Group, Khine Than Win says she receives 13,000 MMK a month so she can afford to feed her baby nutritious food for the first 1,000 days. “The cash has made a difference for my family because my husband is a farmer working on his mother’s farm, and farming does not provide enough money for a variety of nutritious food,” says Khine Than Win, who frequently washed her hands as she prepared Phyu Phyu Than’s food.
Traditionally, Rakhine State mothers feed their babies only rice and milk for the first year of life, because people fear babies will choke on any other food. But this behaviour perpetuates malnourishment and stunting, because babies are denied the essential minerals, protein and vitamins they need from a varied diet. To reduce stunting, the Tat Lan programme is providing eligible mothers with a Maternal and Child Cash Transfer (MCCT) to address the need for nutritious food by making it affordable for mothers, and teaching them about the essential nutrients in the five food groups. Mothers attend Mother-to-Mother Support Groups, where they share their parenting questions and encourage each other in new ways to care for and feed their babies.
In Lwan Oo, babies’ fingers reach forward in excited curiosity towards bowls of food their mothers prepared in the cooking competition.
Twenty-one mothers from the village Mother-to-Mother Support Group gathered in their nutrition study room to learn from each other, as they combine ingredients from three food groups to create food they hope their infants cannot resist. For babies 6-8 months, there is rice porridge with fish and banana, for 9 -11 months mashed eggs are mixed with cooked onion and oil, while 1 to 2 year olds get to taste test: fish soup with rice, water cress and cucumber, curried fish, a soup of drumstick leaves and prawns, and some fried watercress, onion, garlic and oil.
Recipients of the MCCT, these mothers have used the money to purchase nutritious food from the third month of pregnancy until their baby’s second birthday – for the first 1,000 days of life. Mothers say they spend 8,000 MMK on nutritious food and 5,000 MMK is saved for medical costs, ante-natal checkups with the midwife, iron tablets during pregnancy, and anti-tetanus injections.
Myo Oo, 17 months old, proudly carried her plate of rice, fish and egg to a spot on the ground where she thoroughly enjoyed her independence as well as her food. Cucumber, mango and bananas are other favourites of this determined little girl.
Meanwhile, in Pyin Ma and Lwan Oo, fisher villagers are pickling shrimp. Lone Shay, Oo Moe Gyi and Oo Ma are participating in a pickled shrimp experiment. The recipe came from Pyapon in the Ayeyarwaddy and it is new to Rakhine.
Thirty one villager fishers are learning how to process their shrimp so they can increase the financial returns from their catch. After removing the shrimp’s shells they are mixed with salt, and pummeled with rice in a mortar and pestle. For selling, the pickle is wrapped in banana leaf. If local people like the flavor, they plan to market it in Pauktaw and Sittwe.
Story by Jenny Macintyre, Communications Officer for Tat Lan. Funded by LIFT, the Tat Lan programme is implemented by Save the Children, International Rescue Committee, Oxfam, CARE International, and Better Life Organisation. Tan Lan is a food security and livelihood programme for vulnerable Rakhine State communities. In Pauk Taw the programme is implemented by Save the Children.
