“My child is strong and exemplary among other children his age. The community really wonders how I am caring for him.”

Mrs. Loy is very proud of her son’s health. It’s taken the Loy’s considerable commitment and effort to bring their son out of malnutrition and related illnesses.

The Loy’s live in a very remote village in Lao PDR (Laos), the country with the highest rate of undernutrition in East Asia and the Pacific Region. The root causes of malnutrition relate to poverty, various socioeconomic factors, and cultural beliefs, customs, and traditions. Other causes include insufficient nutritional intake, less-than-ideal child feeding and care practices, inadequate access to quality health services, and unhealthy environments caused by poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).

At birth, Mrs. Loy’s son weighed only 2.2 kilograms (4.8 pounds). He started life malnourished and often sick. Being remote, illiterate, and without professional medical advice, the Loy’s turned to the traditional beliefs and practices they knew to help their son. Despite their best efforts, he grew weaker.

ADRA, in partnership with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, came to the Loy’svillage. When Mrs. Loy heard about it, she excitedly shared with her husband about the Enhanced Nutrition and Health for Upland Phoukoud Phase II project (ENHUP II) and how it planned to empower the village with knowledge and technical support to improve their children’s nutrition and health. They joined the project for the sake of their son, who had become weak and wasted.

The project takes several approaches to improve children’s nutrition. One way is through disease prevention by raising awareness of WASH. Through Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) sessions, the villagers understand the connection between open-defecation practices and the debilitating diarrhea suffered by their children, among other cause-and-effect factors that impact their children’s nutrition, growth, and health.

CLTS is unique in that it seeks community buy-in which builds sustainability. For example, when they learn that just one instance of open defecation places all their children at risk, they motivate each other to change. ENHUP II empowers them to install latrines by presenting feasible options with their costs, arranging the procurement and delivery of materials, and providing technical support as the villagers build their own latrines.

Mrs. Loy has been very active in all the ENHUP II activities ranging from health, agriculture, gender equality, and CLTS. Now, her family has a healthier life.

Her son has graduated from the nutrition rehabilitation program in which he was enrolled. By 26 months, he weighed 10.8 kilograms (23.8 pounds), within the range of a healthy toddler.

Motivated by her son’s recovery and the positive changes in her life and community, Mrs. Loy is now taking full advantage of her learnings from ENHUP II. She’s increasing the size of her garden to grow more variety for her family and the market. She’s also interested in learning more about pest and disease control techniques, profitable mushroom growing, and improved animal husbandry practices.

Mrs. Loy is grateful to ADRA and its donors who gave her the opportunity to improve her family’s well-being and livelihood.

We are also thankful! Your support changes lives today and into the future as well-nourished children grow up in healthy homes with greater opportunities. Our WASH initiatives help us achieve this. Thank you!