From being severely malnourished to growing up healthy – this is Rahul’s story!

CRY has been working in Gujarat to combat the issue of malnutrition amongst children across 10 villages.

Rahul* was one such child who weighed a shockingly low 1.7 kgs during birth. Born into an impoverished family, he suffered from severe malnutrition in addition to deformities in his legs due to improper bone development. Three days after his birth, Rahul was vaccinated and put into an intensive care unit. Due to an unforeseen side effect of the vaccination, his hand and shoulder became swollen and he developed a fever that persisted for a few days. Seeing this, his parents decided to discontinue his vaccinations - putting him at risk for deadly diseases.

That’s when CRY project Adivasi Vikas Trust (AVT) heard about Rahul’s situation and decided to intervene. The CRY team counselled the family on the importance of vaccination and its long term benefits for children. They also helped educate them on how to provide the right nutrition for Rahul and facilitated the treatment for his legs. After several sessions and a lot of persistence by the CRY team, the parents relented and decided to allow all the necessary vaccinations. They also began to routinely visit the Anganwadis and Rahul’s mother, on CRY’s advice, breastfed the child for an additional six months.

Today, Rahul is a much healthier child - he weighs a robust 7.2 kgs and is no longer in danger. Thanks to CRY’s intervention with the local government, Rahul’s parents were also able to get his legs operated from a local government hospital, free of cost.

You can give more children like Rahul the chance at a healthier future. Donate to CRY by clicking here

*name changed to protect the child's identity