The Batang Matatag campaign, an initiative of Ercelflora and Save The Children, aims to do more than what it would like to address concerning issues the Filipino youth are facing today.
Batang Matatag focuses on providing access to clean and nutritious food to communities, starting with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. It targets about 500 children, specifically the Badjao in Iligan, and the Maranao youth.
To address child mortality caused by diarrhea, a surprisingly common health problem overlooked by society, appropriate facilities will be provided to the said communities to ensure access to proper hygiene, sanitation and healthcare education.
According to Dr. Joselyn Eusebio, Specialist for Developmental and Behavioural Pediatrics, one of the main issues facing Filipino children is undernutrition.
"If during the first 1,000 days the child is undernourished, it's hard to reverse. In that window of opportunity, all the necessary factors or ingredients to optimize the development of our brains should be given, consequently the development of the children are provided," she said.
Atty. Albert Muyot, CEO of Save the Children Philippines, hopes that local governments can take inspiration from the project to show that with minimal funding, and through education of communities and parents, the health and nutrition status of children can be improved.
"What we also want is to prove to everyone that it's not enough that we have a policy. We have a law called the 1000 First Days law. But we have to bring it down to actual implementation at the community level," Muyot said.
Batang Matatag will also address the children's parents by engaging them in livelihood activities and financial literacy.
"It's not just charity, because charity does not work, unless we provide for everything. We want to raise consciousness. We want to educate families. We want them to adopt practices to ensure better health and nutrition for children" he added.
Donors and other stakeholders are encouraged to contribute to this cause. Play your part by purchasing Erceflora Kiddie probiotics. Portion of the proceeds will be donated to help improve the lives of children in BARRM.