Building Health through Proper Nutrition

Posted on Behalf of Kathryn Osborn

While the classic picture of a bony, too-thin child or adult comes to mind when many think of malnutrition, the condition actually has three very different faces: those of the under-nourished, the over-nourished, and the micronutrient deficient.

Under-nutrition, affecting 25% of children world-wide under the age of 5, is related to under consumption of adequate calories. Conversely, over-nutrition is often related to over consumption of daily calories, which can lead to diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer. Today, 155 million school age children around the world are severely overweight.

The third and final “face” of malnutrition is that of the micronutrient deficient – a condition related to inadequate intake (or absorption) of the right vitamins and minerals needed by the body’s organs to work properly. Such deficiencies are the cause of goiter, scurvy, and some forms of blindness.

Frequently, under-nutrition stems from a lack of money to purchase food of adequate quantity or quality, frequent illnesses (especially HIV and TB) and poor nutritional practices (menu planning).

Poor nutrition of any type is the catalyst for many different health problems. It reduces an individual’s ability to fight diseases and support proper organ function. Unfortunately, each of these also further reduces the ability to absorb essential nutrients – leading to poor nutritional status.

Children International focuses primarily on the issue of under-nutrition within our population. Our agencies address short- and long-term needs of families through 1) supplementary feeding of undernourished children, helping them to gain adequate weight and 2) nutrition education for parents of sponsored children, sharing local recipes which are low cost and highly nutritious.

Kathy Osborn is a Health Officer who works in nutrition and health programs for Children International. She holds a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from George Washington University, with a concentration in global health, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Marine Science from the University of Miami. Prior to joining Children International, Kathy worked in major sustainable livelihood, nutrition, health and education initiatives in Uganda and in Washington, D.C.

Children International and Fresh Produce Honored in Washington, D. C.

Many of you will remember the devastation wrought late last year in the Philippines by Typhoon Durian. We are still amazed at the overwhelming response from our sponsors as you rallied around Children International’s efforts to provide emergency aid to stricken families in the province of Albay, where thousands of children from our Legazpi and Tabaco projects reside.

Recently, the ambassador of the Philippines to the United States invited Children International to Washington, D.C., along with one of our generous donors, Fresh Produce Sportswear of Colorado. The occasion was a celebration honoring Children International and Fresh Produce for the $4.1 million in aid we donated jointly.

Jim Cook, president of Children International, congratulates Kathe Freund of Fresh Produce Sportswear at the event hosted by the Philippine embassy in Washington, D.C.

Kathe Freund, Outreach Ambassador to Children for Fresh Produce, reflected in her speech, “Fresh Produce knows that life is always richer when you give back, and we have made it an important part of our company’s culture. We believe it is good corporate citizenship to give back to others in need, so we spread comfort and cheer through our fun, bright, colorful clothing.

“We focus our giving to women, families and children in need, as well as education. We give through volunteer work, monetary gifts and product donations locally, nationally and internationally,” explained Freund.

And that’s not just idle talk. Fresh Produce has indeed made significant contributions during the partnership it has maintained with Children International since 2000. In fact, in the past two years alone it has donated 175,000 pieces of clothing through Children International for disaster and humanitarian relief efforts in third world countries.

Most recently, Fresh Produce donated 36,000 items of clothing to help the children and families who were hardest hit by Typhoon Durian, working together with Children International to provide a meaningful response to the enormous tragedy and destruction of the storm.

“Fresh Produce is proud to be a part of the largest non-governmental contribution and the first clothing donation allowed into the country,” continued Freund. “We would like to recognize the Philippine government for their help in absorbing the cost of the shipment and delivery of these garments….

“In the future, Fresh Produce will continue to make the world a brighter place by giving back to non-profits around the world. We look forward to expanding programs that benefit women, families, children and education because it is not only gratifying and worthwhile, but also the right thing to do!

“On behalf of the many employees and associates of Fresh Produce Sportswear, I would like to personally thank you for this honor – and we will be continuing our involvement with Children International in the future.”

Children International values the contributions of Fresh Produce Sportswear and all of our partners to our struggle to fight poverty around the world. To read the full text of Kathe Freund’s speech, click here.