One of the things I noticed during my first years in Jakarta, was the way children eat, and what they eat. Small kids are either carried in a shawl, or they play in the dirty ground outside, and meanwhile there mum shoves a spoonful of rice in their mouth. When I take a closer look in the bowl I see rice with soup, some vegetables and sometimes with a little chicken, and no doubt they added some taste powder.
This is the typical way children in Indonesian slums are fed, and that means little vitamins, little variation, little hygiene. According to Unicef data in 2013, still one third of children in Indonesia are suffering from stunted growth, 7,6 million children.
One of the reasons for this could be that the best food goes the elderly, and children get what is left. The same as the fathers always gets to wear the helmed on a motor bike. If there is a second it goes to the mother, and usually the children lose out, and are allowed to protect their brain with a thin woollen cap if they are lucky.
In my orphanage none of that! Healthy food for all, both the children and the staff. I make sure the food the children eat is a good representative of the food pyramid. So lot’s of fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat or chicken, fish, and grains.
Before the meals the children already know to wash their hands with soap, and then they sit at their dinner table. A round yellow table, with colourful chairs, where they can see each other well, and which leaves good opportunity to make conversation, uhm, that is, have arguments over who gets which plate.
Our menu contains Indonesian dishes, Italian meals, and even a Dutch treat ‘hutspot’. A while ago we had a volunteer from England, and she made a very tasty Shepherds’ pie, Fish pie, and Coconut chicken curry. How is that for variation? The children love to try new food, and like a real Masterchef they taste it, and give their verdict. It gives me such a good feeling to see the children enjoy their fruit, orange, strawberry, and melon, they eat it all until none is left on the plate. I love to see them munch away a piece of raw carrot, or bite in a boiled egg.
Yes, our children get their share of cookies, sweets and ice cream as well, but the funny thing is they enjoy that just as much as the healthy food. Every meal they have something else to eat.
There faces shine when they ask me: ”What is for dinner?”