Ten Years of Healing

The community of Ifangni consists of 71 small villages, located a few miles north of the capital of Benin. The community has suffered from a severely high infant mortality rate due to sickness and disease caused by poor hygiene and malnutrition. Mercy Ships became of aware of these problems during its 1997 outreach to Benin.

When Mercy Ships made contact with the community, a nutrition programme was established to monitor children’s weights and educate their mothers on healthy living and eating.

Now managed by a local NGO called D4D Anastasis, the nutrition programme is still – more than 10 years later – running effectively.

D4D Anastasis is staffed entirely by volunteer workers from the local community. Its mission is to assist the people of Ifangni on a physical, spiritual, mental, and social level – hence the name, D4D, which stands for Development in 4 Dimensions.

“Anastasis” was later added to honour the work Mercy Ships did in helping the community. D4D was established to take over the management of the nutrition programme from Mercy Ships, and it has also helped provide drinking water and grain for the community at a lower cost.

There are five weighing clinics located around Ifangni. Once a month, mothers bring their children who are five or younger to be weighed. Each child has their own file, and from the time of their first weighing, their progress is plotted on a chart.

If a child is below the recommended weight, volunteer healthcare workers from D4D investigate and assist by visiting the child’s home as often as possible, educating the family on how to improve both the mother’s and child’s nutrition, and, if necessary, taking them to the nearest hospital.

While the children are weighed, mothers are taught how to cook nutritious meals from corn, soy, water, and sugar. This teaching is done together in groups, and also covers principles of basic hygiene.

Marcellin Odjo, Vice Coordinator of D4D Anastasis explained: “The mothers are taught how to treat their children with good hygiene so as to prevent sickness and we demonstrate to them how to prepare healthy and enriched food for their children.”

Each clinic weighs an average of fifty children a month. With a total of five clinics in operation, the programme assists nearly 250 children and their mothers.

Several of the mothers are single parents, and many have more than one child. Marcellin says that the contribution D4D is making in the community is both hugely important and necessary.

 “Before this project started, many children in this community were sick and dying,” said Marcellin. “Since we are weighing the children, monitoring their weight, and teaching the mothers how to care for themselves and their children, this has reduced the number of deaths and sickness. Because of these activities, we are having a positive impact on the community.”

The nutrition programme in Ifangni is a perfect example of the sustainable development Mercy Ships strives to achieve, and the relationship with D4D Anastasis reflects the model of coming alongside other organisations in partnership.