Author: Agen Riga, Project Leader

In December last year, Butuo County was already in deep winter. The wind was blowing with snow, and the undulating mountains in Lean Township were all covered in white .

I looked at the snowy mountain in the distance and sighed with emotion that time was flying. The two-year Humana People to People Lean Community Development Project was about to be completed, waiting for the final evaluation. Perhaps the unique climate of Butuo increased my reluctance.

On December 19^th, 2019, the project arranged for children aged 5-9 from Shougu Village and Luoen Village to have a physical examination in Lean Township Health Center. Due to the limited equipment conditions in the township health center, we borrowed routine instruments for stool testing from the central hospital in advance and invited support experts from Jiangyou City to help our children do physical examination.

On this day, parents and their children left home early. At 9 o’clock, the health center was packed with children and their parents who had come for the physical examination.

All the medical personnel of the health center participated in the children’s physical examination. Physical examination items include height and weight measurement, facial features examination, limb/chest/spine examination, blood routine examination and stool routine examination.

At the hospital, parents led their children through various examinations in an orderly manner. Our project personnel and medical personnel provided psychological counseling to the children by encouraging and praising them to create a relaxed examination atmosphere.

Some children are especially nervous during the blood routine examination, so parents put their children in arms. However, some children do not need their parents to hold them. They stand at the testing window and reach out their hands to the medical personnel, turning their heads to one side and biting their lips tightly. This lovely movement of the children has added a lot of childlike interest to this physical examination.

When taking blood samples for children, medical personnel diverted their attention and encouraged them to be brave while chatting with them. And children were brave, no one shed tears because of the pain. They also politely and actively greeted and thanked the medical personnel.

With the joint efforts of Le’an Township Government, central school, health center and project office, the children’s physical examination of the project endline was successfully completed. The physical examination was conducted for 142 children, of which 117 children were involved in the project for two years and 25 were newly enrolled.

After all the children’s physical examination data has been analyzed, the township health center will send the physical examination report to the appraiser for the children's nutrition and health assessment. At that time, our project personnel will inform parents of the physical examination results and evaluation results in time so that they can understand the growth and physical condition of their children.

The back of the leaving children makes me sad. I spent two years on this project and already developed deep feelings for the familiar things and people of Shougu Village and Luo’en Village. No matter when, I hope our children will grow up healthily and happily!

Project introduction:

The Comprehensive Rural Community Development Project in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province is funded by the Federation for Associations Connected to The International Humana People to People Movement (Switzerland) Sichuan Representative Office in association with the Bureau of Poverty Alleviation and Immigration of Butuo County. The project covers 462 households and 1802 villagers of Shougu Village and Luo’en Village of Le’an Township, Butuo County, and will execute the development model of "Foundation + Government + Commonweal Organization" to take part in the national precise poverty alleviation program and improve income and living quality of local villagers.  

This article only represents the views of the author and not the views or positions of the donor.