~ Ganga Devi Rabha
VHAI focuses on identification and development of potential women leaders network at community level in Assam through our comprehensive programme ‘Realizing the Right to Adequate Food and Nutrition’ in six districts- Sonitpur, Morigaon, Goalpara, Dhubri, Darrang and Udalguri. We focus on capacity building of an established and broad women network for strengthening the health and nutrition phenomenon in their localities.
The Bardamal Anganwadi Centre in Goalpara district, led by a jovial Anganwadi Anjumoni, hosts some enthusiastic young mothers who have duly contributed towards the development of the kitchen gardens. These kitchen gardens have positively impacted the eating behaviour of children. The children at the Aanganwadi Centre love the delicious Khichdi, loaded with a variety of vegetables. The same vegetables that were refused and discarded by the young ones earlier at home, were now being happily consumed at the Aanganwadi Centres.
These kitchen gardens have now started going beyond the Aanganwadi Centres. Ganga Devi Rabha, mother of a two year old, says that her toddler had developed a taste for these vegetables at an early age. “He now requests me to cook some of them at home too. I then developed a small kitchen garden at home as well. When the children see kitchen gardens right from early childhood, they become connected with nutritious food and become a long lasting habit.” Depending on the space available, the women after contributing to the development of the kitchen gardens as a community effort roped in the group support for creating kitchen gardens at their homes as well. The surplus production from these homes is sent to the Aanganwadi Centre as well. The Aanganwadi Centre has not faced the need to buy vegetables from the market ever since.