Staying Healthy at School and Home

ANERA staff and trainers learn how to educate mothers in a fun, two-day workshop in the ANERA Gaza office.

A mother and her daughter who attends a preschool in Rafah which participates in ANERA's Milk for Preschoolers program.

ANERA’s Milk for Preschoolers Program (MfP) is expanding to help children outside of school. ANERA is making sure young children are keeping healthy at home by conducting nutrition sessions for preschoolers’ mothers. "We are trying to reach as many mothers as we can. The children spend only 4 hours at school but spend most of their time at home," said Muna, MFP manager. The sessions provide mothers with nutritional tips and easy food recipes.

Inside Zakher Society, in EL-Shijaeya neighborhood, a crowd of 50 mothers attended a two day workshop led by Dr. Fatima Suboh. The workshop tackled important health problems such as malnutrition and anemia. It also discussed unhealthy habits such as drinking sodas, thumb sucking and nail biting.

"I used to prepare yogurt to go with rice for my children, but I have learned that salad is healthier and vegetables are cheaper than yogurt. I am happy that we are learning quick and healthy recipes that are also cheap," said one of the participating mothers.      

The workshop was followed by a 10 sessions in health awareness coordinated by MFP monitors and preschools, in partnership with Islamic Relief-France. The courses were held all over the Gaza Strip. At least 40 women attended each course.

Grandmothers were also among the participants. Most family members were eager to learn about this valuable information and do their best to make their children happier and healthier.

MfP Program Background
ANERA’s MfP program is combatting malnutrition among Palestinian preschool children aged 4 and 5 by providing fortified milk and high energy biscuits daily at their preschools, located in needy communities all over the Gaza Strip. The program reaches more than 25,000 children. The daily fortified snack ensures that preschoolers get at least one source of nutritious food each day.

This vital program is made possible through the generosity of a range of donors, from the Emir of Qatar to Secours Islamique|France to hundreds of individual donors all over the world.

About ANERA
Incorporated in 1968 to help ease the suffering of Palestinian refugees after the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, ANERA is non-political and non-religious and is one of the largest American non-profits working solely in the Middle East for 40 years.