Hear Our Voices - Indonesia

Maryamah learns to help her family

 The training on nutrition is a great advantage for mothers, especially those like myself who had not have experience in raising a child before, as it opens our eyes to the importance of nutritious food and healthcare for the development of our children. I highly hope that the programme will continue because we have already fallen in love with it and we want to learn more about nutritious benefits for our children.


Maryamah is 23 and the mother of a three-year-old. She lives near a garbage treatment facility in the village of Bantargebang, Indonesia. Since 2002, the Rice for the Poor and Training on Nutrition programmes have been conducted in Maryamah’s village. The mothers of the area get lessons in nutrition and health twice a month. They also get lessons in preparing food supplements. The programme allows them to buy rice and the suppplements at a very affordable price.

“My daughter did not like porridge until I introduced her to the supplements,” says Maryamah. “She now has a great appetite for meals, her weight has increased and she is seldom sick.

"If I may make a suggestion for the improvement of this programme,” adds Maryamah, “it would be ideal if it also included the distribution of vitamins and the presence of a medical doctor. It would also be great if there were a form of the supplements that was ready to be served, and then we would not need to allocate special time for preparing it.”

Photo: OCHA