Antoinette Tatamo, 32, is the mother of Harissian, her 3-month-old son. After a tragedy she experienced a few years ago, Antoinette is especially attentive to her children’s health—particularly Harissian’s.
“I lost a child before Harissian was born,” she shared. “My baby died at birth, and it was a very traumatic experience for me.”
In 2020, the FIOVANA project began health and nutrition activities in Antoinette’s village of Amporoforo, in the Farafangana District. The project aims to improve food security for vulnerable communities by supporting the health and nutrition of mothers and children under five. While pregnant with Harissian, Antoinette actively participated in the trainings and activities organized for mothers and caregivers.
“Since I was four months pregnant, I went to the distribution site every month to receive corn-soya blend and oil,” she said. “I also attended training sessions where I learned about pregnancy care and child nutrition. For example, I was taught to exclusively breastfeed until the baby is six months old, and I am doing that with Harissian.”
Today, Antoinette is already seeing the impact on her son’s growth.
“Every month, I take Harissian to growth monitoring sessions, and he continues to gain weight,” she shared. “At first, he weighed 6 kg (13.2 lbs), and the following month he weighed 6.5 kg (14.3 lbs). I believe this is because I am exclusively breastfeeding him and because of the food support I receive from the project.”
Through its training sessions, FIOVANA promotes key practices for mothers and caregivers, such as handwashing, proper breastfeeding, child growth monitoring, and diet diversification. Antoinette regularly attends these sessions and applies what she learns at home.
“I really appreciate the advice they give,” she said. “It is very helpful for my family, especially for young children. For example, today I learned about diversifying meals—not only for children but also for nursing mothers to improve the quality of breast milk. These are simple practices that I can easily use at home. Now I know how to prepare healthy meals using local, affordable ingredients.”
For Antoinette, life has changed significantly since FIOVANA began health activities in her community.
“My child and I are healthy and strong today, thanks to the support from the project,” she said. “Before, my older children were not as healthy. I had to take them to the doctor when they were just one month old. With Harissian, I have not needed to take him to the doctor. I feel relieved of many worries and struggles.”
Antoinette is one of 19,536 mothers who received supplementary feeding from the FIOVANA project in 2022. That same year, Harissian and 31,262 other children in FIOVANA-supported communities benefited from monthly growth monitoring sessions.