Ruthless drought in West Timor puts children in crisis
- added July 7, 2008
- 8 responses
-
-
-
- goldenways
- added this
-
-
- related topics
-
- News and Politics (39415)
- News (21682)
- Earth and Science (12535)
- Environment (5579)
- Health (4100)
- Children (1208)
- Climate (186)
- Drought (125)
- Indonesia (103)
- Island (20)
- Malnutrition (15)
- timor (1)
REMOTE WEST TIMOR (CNN) -- Maria's labored breath echoes within the walls of her family's mud hut. Her tiny, bony hands open and close in slow claw-like motions.
She's 15 months old, but weighs just 10 pounds -- one of countless children under the age of 5 facing severe malnutrition in Indonesia's West Timor. A typical infant weighs about 24 pounds at 15 months.
"Maria sleeps most of the time. Sometimes she cries but not often," her 25-year-old mother Adolphina Fao says softly.V
Maria is fighting to live, wasting away in her remote village where aid officials say climate change has brought on a severe drought in recent years. It's nearly impossible for residents to live off the land like they have for generations.
"It's hard to feed her," her mother says. "Some are good days, some are bad. Sometimes she eats a whole plate, sometimes nothing."
As Fao speaks, she spoons glutinous rice into Maria's tiny mouth. The baby spits out most of it.
Aid officials say Maria is one example of a chronic crisis that has been worsening in West Timor, the Indonesian portion of the island of Timor that is home to about 1.5 million people.
According to a joint survey by aid groups Church World Service, Helen Keller International and CARE, more than 50 percent of children under 5 in West Timor are suffering from malnutrition. In some areas it's as high as 70 percent -- a higher percentage than areas of Africa.
Of those, nearly 1 in every 10 children suffer from acute malnutrition, meaning they are near death, according to organizers. The study also found that 61 percent of the children suffer from stunted growth.
"Stunting is the result of extended periods of inadequate food intake, poor dietary quality, increased morbidity or a combination of these factors," the study says. "This finding indicates that the diet has been very poor quality for a very long time."
She's 15 months old, but weighs just 10 pounds -- one of countless children under the age of 5 facing severe malnutrition in Indonesia's West Timor. A typical infant weighs about 24 pounds at 15 months.
"Maria sleeps most of the time. Sometimes she cries but not often," her 25-year-old mother Adolphina Fao says softly.V
Maria is fighting to live, wasting away in her remote village where aid officials say climate change has brought on a severe drought in recent years. It's nearly impossible for residents to live off the land like they have for generations.
"It's hard to feed her," her mother says. "Some are good days, some are bad. Sometimes she eats a whole plate, sometimes nothing."
As Fao speaks, she spoons glutinous rice into Maria's tiny mouth. The baby spits out most of it.
Aid officials say Maria is one example of a chronic crisis that has been worsening in West Timor, the Indonesian portion of the island of Timor that is home to about 1.5 million people.
According to a joint survey by aid groups Church World Service, Helen Keller International and CARE, more than 50 percent of children under 5 in West Timor are suffering from malnutrition. In some areas it's as high as 70 percent -- a higher percentage than areas of Africa.
Of those, nearly 1 in every 10 children suffer from acute malnutrition, meaning they are near death, according to organizers. The study also found that 61 percent of the children suffer from stunted growth.
"Stunting is the result of extended periods of inadequate food intake, poor dietary quality, increased morbidity or a combination of these factors," the study says. "This finding indicates that the diet has been very poor quality for a very long time."
-
-
-
-
- goldenways
- 3 months ago
-
Global Warming ISN'T happening... Move a long, there's nothing to see here...
-
What will we do when the lack of water catches up to the Western world? Will we care then?
-
"The man never worried until the well ran dry".
-
The water crisis we are seeing as a result of drought is a global crisis... another one that people will not take seriously until it effects them personally. If you wish to help people in these areas of the world, Water Partners International http://www.water.org is working to bring water to communities that do not have it, and Doctors Without Borders is also a very good organization doing all they can to alleviate this suffering. And I don't know how many times it has to be written and said, but. we have to mitigate greenhouse gases NOW.
-
-
-
-
- JanforGore
- 3 months ago
-
-
And some people actually still profess to a sincere belief in an omnipotent God.
-
Amy Goodman did some courageous reporting in East Timor and continues to cover the horror of the people's lives under the military junta in Burma/Miamar.
Search democracy now website for more stories by Amy Goodman about East Timor.
Login/Registration is required to add a response.
