From 27 January to 3 February 2011, together with the Director General of UNICEF Poland, Marek Krupiński, I had the pleasure and great satisfaction to participate in the ITAKA and UNICEF Poland’s mission in Sri Lanka. The trip was a result of cooperation between ITAKA and UNICEF Poland, which has been ongoing since 2009. Since then, ITAKA, as a corporate partner of UNICEF, has supported UNICEF's 3-year program aimed at aiding children in the 10 districts of Sri Lanka with the highest levels of malnutrition. ITAKA, as the only Polish tour operator, offers Polish tourists charter connections (holidays and sightseeing tours) in Sri Lanka. During the journey, together with invited journalists from TVN and National Geographic, a camera operator and a photographer, we saw how the support of the company directly translates into real help for children and their mothers in Sri Lanka.
We were also able to learn the details of the programme for extremely malnourished children: from changing hospital infrastructure, through building awareness of proper nutrition among women, to monitoring the weight of children in care centers. We visited hospitals in the poorest districts of Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, I have to admit that the condition of the hospital rooms was drastically different from the standards we know.
We were also able to learn the details of the programme for extremely malnourished children: from changing hospital infrastructure, through building awareness of proper nutrition among women, to monitoring the weight of children in care centers. We visited hospitals in the poorest districts of Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, I have to admit that the condition of the hospital rooms was drastically different from the standards we know.
We became acquainted with the changes in hospital infrastructure as a result of support from UNICEF & ITAKA. It is thanks to this initiative that an additional ward for mothers in need of professional postnatal care has been established at the hospital in Dickoya.
The director of the hospital in Dickoya expressed great gratitude towards Itaka. This ward was financed entirely by ITAKA. It was a very touching moment for me. During our visit to the Diyatalawa hospital in the Badulla district, we visited the newly built nursing ward. At the main hospital in Nuwara Eliya our attention was drawn to the fact that hospital conditions for mothers and children continue to be alarming.
Visits to hospitals and direct contact with patients and medical staff confirmed my conviction that there is still a lot to be done. We were all impressed by the commitment of hospital directors, doctors and nurses. We have also learned that the childcare system in Sri Lanka also includes monthly visits by nurses to the homes of malnourished children. At the mothers' training center in Talawekella, our team could see how the nutritional information programme was run from scratch. At monthly meetings, specialist nurses show mothers how to prepare full meals, how to organize a small vegetable garden, etc. Mothers gather every month at the center in Halli-Ella to weigh their children. Regular monitoring of their development is recorded in special medical records books We participated in meetings with mothers of malnourished children, during which nutrition and dietary supplements were issued, financed under the ITAKA&UNICEF programme.
During their work, the women in Sri Lanka have the opportunity to leave their children at the child development centers located in the tea plantations where they work. Unfortunately, some of these buildings are in a "poor condition". However, thanks to the ITAKA & UNICEF project, many of them have been renovated. We saw how children spend their time with their caregivers in renovated, aesthetic centers.
The smile of these children was the best way to thank me for the support ITAKA had provided. During the whole visit, the Polish group was accompanied by representatives of UNICEF SRI LANKA: Suzanne Davey, responsible for communications, Dr. Nishamini and Dr. Solomon. Their presence allowed all the participants of the expedition to better understand the problems of children in Sri Lanka.
On the last day we visited the UNICEF Sri Lanka office in Colombo, the capital of the island, and together with the Director General of UNICEF Sri Lanka, Reza Hossaini, we summarized the first year of the ITAKA & UNICEF programme. Despite striking statistics in Sri Lanka's 10 districts where child malnutrition is the highest and the still alarming state of hospital infrastructure, ITAKA&UNICEF left Sri Lanka with the feeling that the first step had been taken. The results of the existing support are visible and slowly yield results. We have another 2 years of the programme ahead of us. After my visit to Sri Lanka, I look with even greater optimism at the continued cooperation with UNICEF, I have a deep conviction that this is the right thing to do and I feel that there is still much to be done.
Piotr Henicz
Vice-President of the Management Board
