Malnutrition paints a gloomy picture in poor region in C. Java<\/p>\n
Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Wonogiri<\/p>\n
The sun is just starting to lean to the west while Misni, 41,
\nshifts peeled cassava being dried on plaited bamboo trays and
\nplaces it on the ground to get direct sunlight.<\/p>\n
The cassava looked recently pealed when The Jakarta Post
\narrived at the small house in Setren Pojok hamlet in Lemahbang
\nvillage in Wonogiri regency, Central Java.<\/p>\n
\"The cassava has just been pealed and then laid out to dry by
\nMisni himself,\" said Misni's mother Sanikem, 73.<\/p>\n
Misni's younger brothers, Simun, 38, and Samino, 32, came out
\nand greeted the Post, while Samidi, 35, was not around, still
\nhelping fix his neighbor's house.<\/p>\n
Just like the other village residents, they are hospitable and
\nalways try to strike up a conversation even though they cannot
\nspeak a single word.<\/p>\n
Misni and his three younger siblings are mute, the victims of
\nmalnutrition. More specifically, they had an iodine deficiency
\nwhen they were in their mother's womb. They can only communicate
\nusing sign language.<\/p>\n
Since Sanikem and her late husband moved to the hamlet in the
\n1960s, they -- as well as other residents living on the slopes of
\nhills where only corn and cassava can be grown -- practically
\nnever travel, only waiting for harvest time for their staple
\nfood.<\/p>\n
The only thing that comforts Sanikem is that her four children
\ncan still socialize in a normal manner.<\/p>\n
\"They always help people,\" she said. \"When someone is having a
\nsocial occasion they will pick up the dirty plates and wash them
\nwithout being asked to. They also never bother their neighbors,\"
\nsaid Sanikem.<\/p>\n
For decades now, Misni and his younger siblings have been
\ncultivating the land behind their house -- from planting
\nseedlings to harvesting, although someone has to guide them
\nduring the fertilizing process.<\/p>\n
\"We only eat rice when there is a special occasion, or when we
\nhold ceremonial meals for the birth of our children,\" said
\nSanikem.<\/p>\n
Every day, they only eat tiwul, or dried cassava which is
\nsteamed before eating. Salt is hard to get and to make it
\ntastier, grated coconut is added to it.<\/p>\n
The only indication that they are suffering from cretinism --
\na congenital condition caused by an acute deficiency of iodine --
\nis seen from the difference in their growth from their other
\nolder siblings, Jemari, 50 and Sano, 46, who now live outside of
\nthe hamlet.<\/p>\n
Both Jemari and Sano were born when Sanikem still lived in
\nanother village that was not far from town.<\/p>\n
\"When I was pregnant with Jemari and Sano, I frequently ate
\nrice with enough vegetables. We used iodized salt to cook meals.
\nBut when we moved to Setren, we couldn't afford to buy good
\nquality salt because it was expensive,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The hamlet -- situated in the hills between Wonogiri and East
\nJava's towns of Pacitan and Ponorogo -- is located not more than
\n20 kilometers from the district capital but it takes 75 minutes
\nto reach by car. The road is steep and rocky and only wide enough
\nfor a small vehicle.<\/p>\n
The only means of public transportation is a small pick-up
\ntruck which operates once in three days, serving 265 families or
\n1,300 residents wanting to buy their daily needs at Purwantoro
\nmarket in the nearby town.<\/p>\n
Poverty and the poor access to the hamlet has not only
\neffected Sanikem's four children.<\/p>\n
In the hamlet, out of its some 800 residents, some 36 people
\nare suffering from cretinism and 20 others from thyroid problems.
\nFrom those with cretinism, three have been paralyzed and one has
\na condition where both eyes are pushed inward.<\/p>\n
The number of people suffering from cretinism in Lemahbang
\nvillage stands at 64, with Setren Pojok the worst affected.<\/p>\n
Based on the cases found in those born in the 1960s until
\n1979, the Wonogiri Health Office conducted a drive to consume
\niodized salt. \"We don't want our future generation to face such a
\nfate like our elder brothers and sisters,\" said head of the
\noffice, Sukeksi.<\/p>\n
The office recorded 2,175 malnourished children below the age
\nof five, of which 503 were severely malnourished in the regency
\nas of May this year.<\/p>\n
\"A lot of salt with no iodine is still being sold in the
\nmarket. It is even packaged in a similar way to the iodized salt
\nthat has a certificate from the Ministry of Health,\" she said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malnutrition-paints-a-gloomy-picture-in-poor-region-in-c-java-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}