The Power of a Group

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead

When traveling in the field with Vitamin Angels, we meet so many incredible human beings- the children, who keep us laughing with their silly antics and energy; the mothers, who inspire us with their love for their families; the shopkeepers, restaurant owners, drivers, and hotel staff we encounter who invariably share a story, a piece of advice, or even just a smile.

We tend to focus our attention on the children and mothers. After all, they are the reason we at Vitamin Angels do what we do. And who can resist a chubby-cheeked baby and her proud mother?

The story behind the scenes, though, is just as important.

Imagine spending your days working in the slums, driving for hours in trucks on dangerous roads to reach a few dozen children no one else is willing to, or risking your own safety traveling into disputed areas to help children caught in someone else’s battle.

These are our field partners.

It’s only by partnering with over 400 NGO partners around the world that our work is truly possible.

The dedication, ingenuity, and strength of people who work for our field partner organizations is incredible. These men and women are responsible for ensuring that the vitamins we provide actually reach the women and children in need. They work tirelessly, managing the logistics of transporting vitamins to hard-to-reach locations, translating our educational materials into local dialects, going door-to-door to invite mothers to distributions, keeping health records, and so much more.

In rural Bihar, India we met a group of young women who are being trained as optometrists. The best and brightest of their villages, these women, almost all of whom come from poor rural families, were hand-selected as teenagers to participate in the multi-year training program.

Though they could easily find high-paying jobs in Mumbai, Delhi, or even London, the majority of these women expressed a desire to stay and work in their own communities. They feel compelled to help ensure that no one in Bihar suffers needlessly, especially from something as simple to treat as vitamin A deficiency.

We met with the head of an eye hospital in the village of Mastichak, in rural Bihar. Though he grew up in a privileged family in Kolkata, he knew he was called to a nobler cause. His conviction and passion for serving his chosen community were palpable when he presented the hospital’s plan to eliminate preventable blindness in Bihar state. He was adamant that the key to their success would be community outreach and education, rather than waiting for sick patients to come in to the hospital. The hospital organizes several mobile clinics throughout the region each week, where, in addition to providing eye screenings and vitamin A to young children, they educate mothers about the need for preventive actions such as good hygiene practices and eating a balanced diet.

We met nurses in the city of Patna who see over 300 patients on specified preventive-health days, all of whom are infants and young children. When assisting that many patients, efficiency is key. Each nurse has a specific job- registering the patient, administering vitamin A and Albendazole, preparing immunizations, or keeping records, among other tasks. However, they still find the time to smile at the babies and give words of reassurance to nervous mothers. When we arrived just after 9:00am, the line of mothers and their children was already out the door. When we left the facility four hours later, the line was even longer. The nurses were still going strong, showing no signs of fatigue.

The reason that Vitamin Angels is able to set targets like reaching 40 million children this year is precisely because we work so intimately with our local field partners. Without them, Vitamin Angels would not be able to reach as many children as we do. Our partners understand the complexities of their communities and are able to navigate those challenges and identify appropriate solutions.

Though the Vitamin Angels team is small, only about 30 people, we are able to achieve amazing things because we are deeply connected to a huge network of wonderful people all around the world. We may not ever get the opportunity to meet them in person. But each morning, we can wake up knowing that someone, in places from the jungles of Panama, to New York City, to the rural village of Qutubpur, India, is working hard to get lifesaving and life changing vitamins to children at risk, driven by the same ideals that we are.

This blog was written by Jenna Wolff, Vitamin Angels’ Foreign Travel Coordinator, following a recent trip to observe our projects in India.

Vitamin Angels is a non-profit organization distributing vitamins and minerals to children and mothers in need. Learn more at www.vitaminangels.org