WE CARE

Food for thought

Rural communities in the poverty-stricken province of Si Sa Ket are overcoming the problem of malnourishment by learning to stand on their own two feet

Chompoo Trakullertsathien
Pictures by Somkid Chaijitvanit

When the school bell rang at noon, 12-year-old Chai, a skinny Pathom 6 pupil in rural Si Sa Ket, used to rush out of the classroom and into a nearby forest. To quell his hunger pangs at lunchtime, he would grab a handful of sour leaves from a ton yee tree and swallow them with some water from a nearby pond.

On lucky days, he would get some leftover food from a temple near the school. But those days were rare. Few villagers could afford to give alms in the poorest province of the impoverished Isan region, and food was scarce even at the temple.

"Hunger is the most terrible feeling, but I'm used to it now," said the tiny boy while tending the vegetable plot behind his school. "A hungry person cannot be choosy about his food. All food is delicious to the starving. I could have eaten anything just to survive."

The tastiest food in his memory, he said, is plain rice with a spicy sauce made from roasted chilli and sliced lemongrass mixed in fish sauce. "But fish sauce is too expensive for our family. So we use salt instead," said Chai, a pupil at Ban Boh School in Si Sa Ket's Prangku district.

Chronic hunger has dwarfed the boy and robbed him of vitality. Thin and pale, his face is expressionless, his reactions slow and his skin wrinkled like an old person. They are the signs of malnutrition which has made him a slow learner.

Chai's tragedy is similar to many other rural children. Their numbers have recently increased following government budget cuts which have ended free lunch and milk for poor students.

Scarcity of food, clean drinking water and medicine are part of their daily struggle. So is the shortage of educational materials ranging from pencils, textbooks, desks and chairs to uniforms.

However, assistance from a Netherlands-based organisation is giving them reason to hope things can change.

In an effort to help these children and also to ease their hunger pangs, the Internationaal Christelijk Steundfonds Asia (ICS-Asia) has launched many ongoing projects which aim to strengthen the children's families and communities which will consequently upgrade the children's quality of life.

According to Somnuk Chandsoda, director of ICS-Asia, a survey conducted by his organisation revealed that most rural children in Si Sa Ket were malnourished.

"As a result, students are inflicted with fatigue and become slow-learners. We have to improve their health first if we want them to do well in school," he said.

Starting in 1994, ICS-Asia's projects have helped more than 9,000 students in 38 rural schools in Prangku and Huay Thaptan districts which are the poorest areas in the province.

In total, there are 16 projects aimed at improving different aspects of the children's lives and welfare both at home and at school. Wells are dug and jars distributed to provide the villages with clean drinking water. Funds are given to help villagers set up rice banks or invest in cow and buffalo raising as well as in fish ponds and orchards.

The schools also get support to start backyard vegetable gardens for the children's food. Apart from supplying more chairs and tables, the organisation also provides vocational training.

"We aim to empower the children's parents and communities so that they become self-sufficient. When they can stand on their own two feet, they can give long-term care to the children on their own," he explained.

Battling the children's hunger, ICS-Asia has helped villagers set up rice banks in all 38 schools in the two districts. While the teachers, parents and the children are required to chip in with labour and materials, the organisation provides the grain which the villagers can borrow in time of need. When they return the grain, they add a small amount as interest.

Students will then use this small profit to buy meat or pork for their lunch which they take turns cooking.

Another source of protein for the children's lunch comes from fish they raise themselves in two ponds behind the school. As with the rice banks, the community and schools contribute labour while ICS-Asia provides a variety of fish. The pupils, who take turns feeding the fish, occasionally sell them to buy new fish stock to replace the old crop.

Meanwhile, the school's backyard vegetable gardens provides the children with more nutritious food. Their labour of love has turned the empty plot into a vegetable garden where cabbages, lettuce, morning glory, garlic, snow peas, tomato and pumpkin are thriving. When the vegetables are fully grown, the pupils are happy for it means more food.

"I come to school early every morning to water the vegetable plots. I know that if I take good care of them, the vegetables will return me with high-quality produce. My teacher told me that with our two hands we can manage to survive. And I believe him," said 13-year-old Nipol of Ban Pavorn School in Huay Thaptan district.

According to director Somnuk, the children must learn to be self-reliant early in life because no organisations or individuals can support them in the long run. "They need to be trained to be able do many things themselves. When they can persevere, they will know how to improve their live themselves," he explained.

Apart from rice, fish and vegetables, ICS-Asia also distributes supplementary food such as eggs and milk to the children. Each child gets two eggs and one carton of milk a day to take home.

"Most of the children here weigh less than average for their age group. Free lunch alone will not help much if the children have no food at home. So we give them something to eat at home," said Chatchai Ubolkit, principal of Ban Boh School in Prangku district.

"The results are satisfactory. The children's weight has increased and they have become more energetic."

According to the principal, 46 percent of students in 1995 were malnourished. Now the number has dropped to 20 percent.

"I like drinking milk. I also love eating rice with omelet. The two eggs must be shared between five people in my family. But it's better than eating plain water with fish sauce," said Karuna Saleeto, a Pathom 5 pupil at Ban Pavorn School.

"Before, I suffered from both anaemia and malnourishment. I was practically starved. My parents are handicapped so I have to take care of them and ask for food from the nearby temple. But the leftovers were not sufficient for five people. Now I'm happier, not having to put up with hunger pangs anymore," added Karuna.

Another way to help pupils become self-reliant is by teaching them hairdressing skills.

"Older students are trained to cut the hair of the younger ones as part of the school's free barber service. Each school has its own haircutting tools," said Prayoon Chansamlong, a teacher at Ban Boh School.

To support the children's education, ICS-Asia also runs a Child Sponsorship Programme which supports 1,800 needy pupils. Each child will be supported until they finish Pathom 6. ICS-Asia also plans to expand its help to support students at secondary level.

"Those who finish Pathom 6 often enter the workforce as migrant child labour. But we want to see the children have a better education so that they can help themselves and develop their communities. We want their families to stay together. Otherwise we cannot stop the breakdown of rural communities," said Somnuk.

Realising the importance of families, ICS-Asia also provides assistance to the children's parents. Each family, for example, will get a cement jar to ensure the supply of clean water. As a result, the problem of diarrhoea and other sanitation-related sicknesses have declined markedly.

Since cows and buffaloes are considered the villagers' savings, the organisation has also helped them set up cow and buffaloes banks.

At present, the villagers in Huay Thaptan and Prangku districts have received 1,175 cows and 116 female buffaloes from the organisation on the condition that they will return the calves to the bank. The calves will then be distributed to new members on the same condition.

Effective solutions to rural poverty, said Somnuk, must start with initiatives by the people themselves and must involve their participation.

The organisation's philosophy, he said, is not giving fish to the villagers but teaching them how to fish.

"And when the community is strong, it can provide social safety nets for its own members. That is long-term self-reliance."

Contact Somnuk Chandsoda at

ICS-Asia, Tepa Street,
Tambon Muangnua, Muang District, Si

Sa Ket province, Thailand, 33000.

Tel (045) 633-806-7, fax (045) 622-805.

Or contact ICS-the Netherlands,

PO Box 2480, 1200 CL Hilversum,

Bussumerstraat 60, Netherlands.

Tel 31-35-628-4984, fax 31-35-623-7610.

Lending a helping hand

The Internationaal Christelijk Steundfonds (ICS) is a Christian non-profit organisation based in Hilversum in the Netherlands.

Funded by private donations, it has field offices in Asia and Africa located in Si Sa Ket, Thailand and Nairobi, Kenya.

ICS focuses on supporting needy children, women and communities affected by poverty, calamities or wars.

Apart from relief and welfare aid, ICS also provides rural development assistance focussing on education, water resource development, primary health care and income-generating projects.

Any organisation seeking funds from ICS must write a one-page letter addressed to the Director of ICS-Asia giving a brief history of the organisation, the type of project in need of funding along with the approximate amount of funding required specified in local currency.

If ICS-Asia feels that the project falls in line with its goals, it will ask the organisation to write a project proposal which will be considered in the yearly budget meeting which takes place in September-October.

"We Care" is a weekly series honouring people who believe in giving. You can show you care by supporting the projects featured here each week. You can also let us know about people who unselfishly help others so we can honour them in these pages. Fax "We Care" on 240-3666 or call 240-3700 ext 3208 or 3212.