Over 200 children saved by feeding centre

Since opening in 2005, a centre supported by Plan in the Tillabéri district of Niger has treated over 200 severely malnourished children.

As well as providing medical and cooking equipment for the centre, Plan is also working with its partners in the area to provide rations of corn, soya, beans, sugar and oil to the families of severely and moderately malnourished children.

The programme ensures that children receive at least one meal per day and regularly attend school. Elhadj Soumana, a community leader from the village of Dessa said, “This community feeding programme undertaken by Plan in our villages has been life-saving. It started at a moment when people were relying on tree leaves. It’s only thanks to Plan’s humanitarian actions that people have been able to work in their farms.”

A mother helped by the programme said, “I have four children to raise and their father is dead. This situation constitutes a very big burden for me. I cannot sleep while my children are dying of hunger. One day, I heard that humanitarian organisations are distributing rice in Tillabéri. So I came. That day by chance, the representatives of Plan were paying a visit to malnourished children at the rehabilitation centre.

“When they saw my son they insisted that I stay in the centre for few days so my child could benefit from the programme. I did not want to stay because I didn’t believe my child’s health could become any better. Finally I accepted to stay in the centre and fortunately three weeks later my son recovered. I was given a large amount of rice and my son received many gifts from Plan.

“When I returned home people could not believe their eyes to see my son Abdoulkarim recovered. Today, people of my village drink pure water from a pump built by Plan. They also receive mosquito nets to protect children from malaria and medicines for the heath centre. I am very grateful for all the actions Plan undertook in my village. Never will we forget it.”