Luciano Cipriano, a 28-year-old farmer, has a special reason to remember a two-day workshop to mark World Breastfeeding Week.
On the first day, 6 August, Luciano’s second child was born. That evening with his wife Joselina Fatima they celebrated the birth and named their newborn daughter Silveria Fatima.
Luciano Cipriano was keen to support his wife who had just given birth.
The following day, Luciano was back at the workshop in Baucau, Timor-Leste’s second city, keen to learn how to support a breastfeeding mother. A first-timer at such an event, he heard about the value of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and the importance of ensuring nutritious food as the child grows.
“I can help my wife with things like food preparation,” Luciano says. “For example, I can grind and filter rice porridge so that it becomes a paste and is more easily fed.” Local foods such as cabbage, mustard, eggs and chicken must be included in children’s diets to boost their vitamin and protein intakes, he says.
Of 72 workshop participants, 41 were men. That male majority was no accident. Inviting men to learn about what is traditionally seen as women’s business was a deliberate move by the organisers World Vision, the Ministry of Health, and the local NGO Alola Foundation.
Luciano is from Bahamori village, an hour from Baucau. Father-of-three Adolfino Jose Guterres travelled from Uai-Oli village, three hours away. He welcomed the opportunity to find out more. Breastfeeding can contribute to the spacing of children, as well as their health, Adolfino says.
Adolfino Jose Guterres heard about the workshop through his wife's Mothers' Club.
“I will show my wife how to hold the baby so that milk flows best. I can also help with the housework so that she can continue with the breastfeeding.”
He heard about the workshop through his wife’s Mothers’ Club. These are groups that World Vision sets up for expectant women and young mothers in remote villages to share their experiences and learn about ante- and post-natal care, plus good hygiene and disease prevention.
The clubs are part of World Vision’s Maternal and Child Health (MCH) program in three Baucau sub-districts that are home more than 14,000 people. The five-year program, which is funded by AusAID, will run to September 2015.
According to the UN, in the years 1990-2011, Timor-Leste recorded the second-highest fall in child mortality of any country in the world. However, the mortality rate of children in their first month is still too high – a problem that exclusive breastfeeding addresses.
Timorese mothers at the Baucau workshop.
