It can be different

By lacking vitamin D in their first year of there life children become ill and quit often develop rickets and anaemia. Because of these diseases and the malnutrition the children develop infections to their bones with irreparable deformation and serious anaemia. Children who are seriously ill get convulsions and developing diabetes. Our children are getting the necessary ingredients via normal nutrition and supplements. In 1999 Rob Pereira came in contact with twophysicians who worked in a hospital in the second largest city of Uzbekistan, Samarkand.

Both physicians, Alisher Rasulov (paediatrician) and Azamat Rachimov (dean of the university), working in Samarqand, a 3500 year old city and approximately twice as big as Rotterdam. They knew what was lacking and could not do more then giving the strictly necessary treatments and keep conscientious track who these fearful diseases widen the grasp on the population. Except of the common disease rickets (30% of all children) and the serious affect of anaemia (60% of all children) 1800 out of the 6000 children died because of the lack of the remedies.

Together with Rob Pereira and the Dutch qualified nurse and interpreter Russian, Marianne de Wit who also joined the MCCEE a small project was initiated in the two poorest areas of Samarqand. Marianne travelled to Samarqand with in her luggage half a million of vitamin D tablets, supplied and sponsored by Solvay Pharmaceuticals in Olst, The Netherlands. For two months she worked with both physicians and other local nurses to distribute the tablets amongst a controlled group of pregnant mothers and infants. The pregnant women took the tablets as a precaution and needed, like the infants, one tablet per day.

The results were astounding. The death of children around these two hospitals by lacking vitamin D reduced to zero and the amount of children with serious illness reduced by 75%. Strengthened by this success and with the knowledge they found friends/colleagues in The Netherlands Alisher and Azamat took on the challenge to get rid of the shortage of iron and vitamin D in the coming five years.

Because the local governments are not able to help many medical specialists and volunteers, all travelling on their own expenses, have started with information, lectures for local physicians and nurses. Also plans are under developments to work with the local health authorities, Unicef and other foreign humanitarian institutions to help Alisher and Azamat to fulfil their plans.

Information circulation about the effects of vitamin D and the improvement of the work and living conditions of the specialists and children of Samarqand is the aim. The costs for the vitamin is approximately € 1,00 per child per year. In the mean time contacts with Uncief and the local health authorities are established and a visit paid to the local minister of health care who is extremely interested in this project of which the extraordinary and demonstrable results are a real improvement for the population of (just a part) of Samarqand.

With every trip to Samarqand the delegation was joined by professional clowns who are working for the Cliniclown organisation in The Netherlands. They volunteered to train local people and performed for the children in the orphanages. Helped by promotional material as T-shirts and stickers the parents and guardians of the children all were approached positively to have and keep the involved in this vitamin and nutrition project.

Although improved lot's need to be done to improve the working conditions in the hospitals. During recent visits it became clear that there is only flowing tap water available for two hours per day. MCCEE can only try to provide medical alcohol and disinfecting soap to help the health workers to do their job as hygienically as possible.