Saturday, November 27, 2010
Haiti
Haiti has been a poor country with over 75% of the people living on just $2.00 a day (Clean the World). Poverty in combination with natural disasters and disease outbreaks this year, the country is in dire need of help. I don’t know how severely this will impact the development of children but it will undoubtedly make an impact. Poverty itself leads to malnutrition and if you visit my blog entry on nutrition/malnutrition from two weeks ago, you can read the affect it has on child development.
Natural Disasters
A devastating earthquake shook Haiti in January 2010 causing many deaths
and deplorable living conditions within the capital city. Prior to the earthquake, Haiti had over 350 orphanages that were registered and about twice as many were unregistered (Balsari, et al., 2010). Over 350,000 children were in orphanages but only about 50,000 were actually orphanages (Balsari, et al., 2010). The others were there because their families could not afford to take care of them. This unregulated system caused family-tracing and reuniting difficulties after the earthquake and delays in the foreign adoptions process (Balsari, et al., 2010).
Hurricane Tomas ravaged the country with torrential rain and flooding in November 2010.
Disease
A cholera outbreak began in October 2010. Cholera is the most recent threat to Haitians. Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease caused by drinking or eating contaminated water or food. Most cases of cholera are treatable with oral rehydration salts. Visit World Health Organization for information on Cholera: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/index.html
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has established 36 Cholera Treatment Centers that are already at full capacity. Other organizations have sent essential medicines and supplies for approximately 30% of future cases. Visit the following website for the most update news on what the PAHO is doing to eliminate the Cholera epidemic in Haiti: http://new.paho.org/disasters/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1423&Itemid=1
A YouTube video for the Clean the World project that aims to help Haiti fight diseases such as cholera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7LzNOXKi0A
References:
Balsari, S., Lemery, J., Williams, T., & Nelson, B.. (2010). Protecting the Children of
Haiti. The New England Journal of Medicine, 362(9), e25. Retrieved November 27, 2010, from ProQuest Central. (Document ID: 1976757721).
World Health Organization. Cholere Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/index.html
Pan American Health Organization. PAHO Responds to Cholera Outbreak in Haiti Retrieved from http://new.paho.org/disasters/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1423&Itemid=1
Natural Disasters
A devastating earthquake shook Haiti in January 2010 causing many deaths
and deplorable living conditions within the capital city. Prior to the earthquake, Haiti had over 350 orphanages that were registered and about twice as many were unregistered (Balsari, et al., 2010). Over 350,000 children were in orphanages but only about 50,000 were actually orphanages (Balsari, et al., 2010). The others were there because their families could not afford to take care of them. This unregulated system caused family-tracing and reuniting difficulties after the earthquake and delays in the foreign adoptions process (Balsari, et al., 2010).
Hurricane Tomas ravaged the country with torrential rain and flooding in November 2010.
Disease
A cholera outbreak began in October 2010. Cholera is the most recent threat to Haitians. Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease caused by drinking or eating contaminated water or food. Most cases of cholera are treatable with oral rehydration salts. Visit World Health Organization for information on Cholera: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/index.html
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has established 36 Cholera Treatment Centers that are already at full capacity. Other organizations have sent essential medicines and supplies for approximately 30% of future cases. Visit the following website for the most update news on what the PAHO is doing to eliminate the Cholera epidemic in Haiti: http://new.paho.org/disasters/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1423&Itemid=1
A YouTube video for the Clean the World project that aims to help Haiti fight diseases such as cholera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7LzNOXKi0A
References:
Balsari, S., Lemery, J., Williams, T., & Nelson, B.. (2010). Protecting the Children of
Haiti. The New England Journal of Medicine, 362(9), e25. Retrieved November 27, 2010, from ProQuest Central. (Document ID: 1976757721).
World Health Organization. Cholere Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/index.html
Pan American Health Organization. PAHO Responds to Cholera Outbreak in Haiti Retrieved from http://new.paho.org/disasters/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1423&Itemid=1
Stress in Childhood
To be perfectly honest, I have never had to cope with the stressors of war, poverty, racism, natural disaster, isolation, hunger, noise, chaos, disease, environmental pollution, or violence as a young child. And for that I am very thankful!
I know my grandparents grew up during the Great Depression and poverty affected many families. They never bought many things. Living on a farm during the Great Depression afforded my grandmother’s family food but not luxuries such as new clothes and toys. My grandmother always shares stories of how they made their dresses out of old feed sacks and their doll babies were made out of corn husks. My grandmother never throws anything away like old butter containers either. She always says “you’ll never know when you’ll need it.” She also never tosses food in the trash. If she can’t make it into some kind of new leftover then it’ll be used in the compost pile or for dog food.
Stress of War in USA
I believe the effects of our ongoing war are a stressor on many families in our country that have seen family members deployed several times over the past ten years. The Mental Health America (MHA) has created a program called Operation Happy Reunions that aims to educate and help soldiers and their families receive the high-quality care they need in all health aspects (2010). There website (http://www.nmha.org/reunions/resources.cfm) offers links to many other organizations to help military families deal with the stress of war. MHA recommends that families do the following to help reduce stress:
1. Talk about it.
2. Take care of your physical health.
3. Limit your exposure to the news media.
4. Engage in activities that are enjoyable and relaxing.
5. Do something positive like volunteering.
6. Don’t be afraid to seek treatment.
For more information regarding these tips, visit http://www.nmha.org/reunions/infoWarStress.cfm
I know my grandparents grew up during the Great Depression and poverty affected many families. They never bought many things. Living on a farm during the Great Depression afforded my grandmother’s family food but not luxuries such as new clothes and toys. My grandmother always shares stories of how they made their dresses out of old feed sacks and their doll babies were made out of corn husks. My grandmother never throws anything away like old butter containers either. She always says “you’ll never know when you’ll need it.” She also never tosses food in the trash. If she can’t make it into some kind of new leftover then it’ll be used in the compost pile or for dog food.
Stress of War in USA
I believe the effects of our ongoing war are a stressor on many families in our country that have seen family members deployed several times over the past ten years. The Mental Health America (MHA) has created a program called Operation Happy Reunions that aims to educate and help soldiers and their families receive the high-quality care they need in all health aspects (2010). There website (http://www.nmha.org/reunions/resources.cfm) offers links to many other organizations to help military families deal with the stress of war. MHA recommends that families do the following to help reduce stress:
1. Talk about it.
2. Take care of your physical health.
3. Limit your exposure to the news media.
4. Engage in activities that are enjoyable and relaxing.
5. Do something positive like volunteering.
6. Don’t be afraid to seek treatment.
For more information regarding these tips, visit http://www.nmha.org/reunions/infoWarStress.cfm
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Malnutrition
Nutrition/Malnutrition
My reason for researching malnutrition is to understand its impact on child development. I have a student in my classroom who was adopted from another country. According to his adoptive parents, he was malnourished by six weeks of age. He was fifteen months old until they could adopt him. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and his fine motor skills are very poor.
Malnutrition in India
Malnutrition causes a third of all child deaths (Anonymous, 2008). It also accounts for 11 percent of the world’s diseases (Anonymouns, 2008). In India, nearly half of all the children are undernourished and that accounts for one-third of the world’s 150 million malnourished children under the age of five (Anonymous, 2010). The effects of malnutrition are far-reaching and long lasting. Dhar Aarti article on India’s malnutrition states “The critical period, when malnutrition can have the most irrevocable impact, is during the first 33 months from conception to a child's second birthday. After this period, it is much harder to reverse the effects of chronic malnutrition and the effects are life-long or life-threatening (2010).
What is India doing about malnutrition?
India has established Anganwadi centers that provide pregnant mothers and children up to age 6 with free child care and daily meals (Anonymous, 2010). In theory it sounds great but it isn’t working because there are not enough centers and those in existence are overburdened.
India has established a Public Distribution System to provide subsided food and midday meals to school children but the program is poorly ran and corrupt (Anonymous, 2010).
India committed to halving hunger and malnutrition by 2015 as part of the Millennium Development Goal. (Aarti, 2010) “…India has achieved just 0.9 per cent progress, which is nowhere near achieving the target by 2015...” (Aarti, 2010).
Impact on my future work
I’m not sure how studying malnutrition will impact my future work. It’s something I keep in mind whenever I’m working with children and their families. Our school does whatever we can to help families in need. It’s nice to know that there are global organizations that helping to fight child hunger. Getting involved in one of these organizations could be a possibility in the future.
Links:
References
Aarti Dhar. (2010, October 14). India tops Commonwealth countries in
underweight children: report. The Hindu,. Retrieved November 13, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 2161603051).
Anonymous, . Putting the smallest first; Child malnutrition in
India. (2010, September). The Economist, 396(8701), 35-36. Retrieved November 13, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2147207461).
Anonymous, .Nutrition tied to more than one-third of child deaths. (2008, March).
The Nation's Health, 38(2), 12. Retrieved November 13, 2010, from ProQuest Central. (Document ID: 1445994101).
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Birth Experience
I have never witnessed a birth other than ones I have seen on TV. I would imagine it's an unforgettable experience.
I was the second child of our family. According to my mom, I did not waste anytime arriving. She barely made it to the hospital.
I researched the African Region and learned that 29% of their infant mortalities are due to premature labor and low birth rate. Another major cause of infant mortatlity is birth asphxyia and/or birth trauma. Another 28% is of infant deaths is neonatal infections.
http://www.who.int/child_adolescent_health/media/CAH_death_u5_neonates_afro_2008.pdf
In comparison to my own birth, I was a healthy 8 lb. full-term baby girl with no complications.
I was the second child of our family. According to my mom, I did not waste anytime arriving. She barely made it to the hospital.
I researched the African Region and learned that 29% of their infant mortalities are due to premature labor and low birth rate. Another major cause of infant mortatlity is birth asphxyia and/or birth trauma. Another 28% is of infant deaths is neonatal infections.
http://www.who.int/child_adolescent_health/media/CAH_death_u5_neonates_afro_2008.pdf
In comparison to my own birth, I was a healthy 8 lb. full-term baby girl with no complications.
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