Mumbai: The Dawoodi Bohra community on Wednesday launched Project Rise, an initiative to fight hunger and malnutrition, in partnership with Fight Hunger Foundation, a non-profit and a part of global network Action Against Hunger. To start with, the project will support families in Govandi and Mokhada in Palghar district that are facing malnutrition and lack of sanitation.
Sadiq Jamaludin of Project Rise said, “In Mumbai, Project Rise will focus on combating malnutrition and providing mothers and local health workers with disease prevention techniques. Children suffering from malnutrition is both tragic and ironic, given this city is the country’s financial hub. We’ll strive to create a hunger-free India.” He added that the community’s spiritual head, Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, has often said those in need and those who come to their aid both ‘rise’.
The initiative has chosen Govandi due to its proximity to the Deonar dumping ground, and sanitation-related issues that arise due to this. Mokhada was chosen because its residents are largely dependent on agriculture. When there are adverse conditions, like less rainfall, they face malnutrition and lack access to healthy food and water.
Future in question
Dr. Wasundhara Joshi, executive director, Fight Hunger Foundation, said, “High malnourished children numbers don’t bode well for the country’s future. Their brain develops before the age of two, and if they are exposed to such conditions, they lose their intellectual or physical potential. Nearly one in four children risk being severely malnourished in Govandi and Mokhada. This can lead to loss of appetite, rapid weight loss and the risk of mortality. Poverty and illiteracy are two major concerns; we are trying to reach as many families as possible to educate them, but I request educational institutions to spread awareness among children on malnutrition.”
Anand Jagtap, a Special Officer with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) who works to build community toilets in the locality, said, “Sanitation and malnutrition are interconnected: wherever there is lack of sanitation, malnutrition will be prevalent. I’m glad to see women in huge numbers today and I sincerely request them to inculcate these habits in their children and ensure they are nurtured in a clean and healthy environment.”
As the launch of Project Rise coincided with Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations, food was distributed under the Dawoodi Bohra community kitchen programme. The event also saw local artistes performing an educationa skit on malnutrition, its symptoms and precautions.
