World Vision joins Kidapawan City’s nutrition month kickoff ceremony

storie

KIDAPAWAN CITY- Representatives from the City Health Office, City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), Department of Education (DepEd), Kasilak Foundation, Inc., and World Vision planted vegetables in three school gardens during the kick-off ceremony of the city’s National Nutrition Month celebration with the theme “Ugaliing Magtanim, Sapat na Nutrisyon Aanihin.”

Vegetables like pechay, ampalaya, squash, beans and other nutritious vegetables were planted during the event.

Let us continue this drive of promoting healthy living for the benefit of our community and school,” Teresita Bustamante, Kidapawan City School Division Nutrition Coordinator said.

 

Natural farming

In 2014, World Vision introduced its advocacy on natural farming, encouraging community members to do community and/or home gardening.

To date, there are nine community gardens across Kidapawan City with over 300 families trained on natural farming system technology for vegetable production. “The natural farming system goes back to basic without using chemicals. Harvests from the gardens are healthy and beneficial to the families, especially for the children. Not only does it bring foods on the table but it could also be a source of income,” added Ocon.

42-year old Eleanor, one of the community leaders took the lead in organizing a group of families. They were trained on actual formulation of concoctions to produce natural fertilizer and pesticides. Together, the group started to plot their garden. Every Wednesday and Saturday, each member spends time to clean and maintain the community garden.

In 2017, the group of 25 had a bountiful harvest and was able to sell the vegetables to their neighbors. “It is our goal that that this initiative will be replicated by other groups. More than the income that we are getting from our harvests, we are also able to feed our children with nutritious foods without spending too much,” said Eleanor. Her daughter, 8-year old Jane is also learning from her mother. “My mother taught me how to eat vegetables at an early age. I also learned gardening because of her so I am now active in helping maintain our school garden,” said Jane.

A report launched by UNICEF in January 2018 revealed that over 29,000 Filipino children under 5 years of age die each year due to undernutrition, prompting the government and organizations like World Vision to strengthen initiatives related to nutrition.

Written by Rex Rubio, World Vision/ July 19, 2018



World Vision is a global Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.

Stay up to date with World Vision Philippines! Follow us on FacebookTwitter and Instagram 



Related Stories