The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) organized a Nutrition Convention for Mountain Province’s Child Development Workers (CDWs) conducted in Bontoc, Mountain Province on June 13, 2024. This initiative aimed to train CDWs with the knowledge and skills to promote healthy eating habits among the children under their care.
Miguela Angwani, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer said the convention was implemented by theDSWD to address hunger and nutrition issues in the community.
Equipping CWDs with knowledge
During the convention, some of the topics discussed are The Pinggang Pinoy for Toddlers, Food Safety in the Child Development Center, and Strategies in Teaching Child Development Children using Instructional Materials.
Pinggang Pinoy was discussed to understand a food guide that uses a familiar food plate model to convey the right food group proportions on a per-meal basis.
Likewise, during the discussion on Food Safety in Child Development Center, it provides guidelines for child care programs such as proper washing of hands during food preparation and sanitization of surfaces and utensils before and after using it while the strategies in Teaching Child Developmental Children using Instructional Materials was created for every worker to present their own strategic instructional material through creation of action songs, poem, and illustration.
Angwani said that this will help ensure that the food distributed to the children is nutritious and so that their nutrition needs are not compromised.
DSWD members express their purpose of implementing this progress and importance of the convention towards the CDWs and children.
Eleonor Ayan, Nutritionist Dietitian III and SPF Head Protective Service Division, highlighted the convention’s long-term goal, “we conducted this event tapnu mabawasan ken maiwasan ti case ti malnourished kids iti naduma-duma a lugar”.
Ayan added that these daycare workers are teaching children aged three to four so they need to teach them the importance of eating properly and nutritiously so that they can grow up healthy.
Continued learning
Evelyn May Masidong, a CDW in Bauko, said that she learned how to manage what the children should eat and what should not.
“Adu a ti nadal mi especially ta maisuro mi nu ania dagiti mayat ken saan a kanen dagituy uubing (We learned a lot especially because we can teach these children what they like and don’t eat)”.
A child development worker of Sagada also shared her takeaways, emphasizing the importance of food handling and food hygiene especially that they are teaching children.
“Babaen daytuy convention ket mabalin mi nga maiaplikar ti wok, iapply ti pamilya, ken iapply ti panagbiag mi ken sapay kuma ta agtultuloy daytoy nga event tapnu manayunan pay ti maadal mi (We can apply this to our work, family and life purposes and we request that this program should continue for us to learn more)”.
The program is conducted for the first time with the participants from different barangays of the 10 municipalities namely Barlig, Sadanga, Besao, Sabangan, Bauko, Sagada, Paracelis, Tadian, and Natonin.