Suchana Program: Ending the Cycle of Undernutrition in Bangladesh
Sharmin’s Community Mobiliser - Muktha
Muktha, 22 years
with Jasmine, 25, baby Sharmin, 13 months
22-year-old Muktha is a Save the Children Suchana community mobiliser. Community mobilisers work within their local community to provide ongoing support and guidance on basic nutrition to mothers and children under two.
Muktha has been a community mobiliser for 8 months and looks after 177 mothers and families in four villages. She was trained by Save the Children’s Suchana programme on basic nutrition for mothers and babies, how to monitor a child’s height and weight, the critical importance of the first 1,000 days (from conception to two years) for a child’s development as well as basic farming techniques.
Muktha started supporting 13-month-old baby Sharmin when Sharmin’s family was enrolled in Save the Children’s Suchana programme. On first meeting baby Sharmin (then aged 6 months), Muktha weighed and measured her and found she was dangerously underweight.
She referred Sharmin to a doctor for immediate treatment and when they were discharged from the hospital, Muktha gave Sharmin’s mother, Jasmine advice about the best foods to feed Sharmin to help her gain weight and make sure her brain develops. Muktha continues to visit baby Sharmin and her mother once a week to monitor Sharmin’s weight and provide ongoing support and guidance to the family.
