Manthan has always championed the cause of health. In line with this, it partnered with Barefoot college to eliminate malnutrition among children of rural communities of Rajasthan. Super 5, a traditional nutritional supplement which is an amalgamation of five natural products- wheat, peanuts, sesame seeds, bengal grams and jaggery. The supplement is known to combat undernourishment in children and iron deficiency in women.
For the implementation of the project, Manthan surveyed 22 schools in Ajmer and Naguar Districts of Rajasthan in July, 2019. The schools were selected on the basis of two criteria- the marginalized communities to which the enrolled children belonged and the enthusiasm of the schools to implement the project. A mix of government, private and CBO schools were selected from Tyod, Jundhda, Brijpura, Chotidhani, Kotri, Jabdinagar, Ulana, Padampura, Bagriyon ki Dhani, Roopangarh, Bhadun, and Tilonia.
Manthan conducted several meetings with the school staff to elucidate them about the Super-5 product, explain them their role and plan the implementation of the programme. It also took permission from the school management and parents of the children before commencement of the project.
Baseline health camps were organized to measure the initial health levels of the students. The distribution of Super 5 commenced in November 2019.
Super 5 was procured from a hygienic, centralised production unit, in Barefoot College Tilonia and weekly stock for every school was disbursed in storage vessels directly from the unit to ensure quality. Manthan also sought to contain environmental Pollution by implementing a system of reverse logistics for retrieval of used sachets from the schools.
About 20 awareness and sensitization sessions on topics of general health, wellness and nutrition were also conducted for school children to achieve a holistic outcome. Quarterly health camps were organized in February 2020 to track improvement in the health vitals. Overall 1187 students- 584 girlsand 602 boys enrolled in 13 schools benefitted from the project. Manthan also conducted 4 puppet shows for communities in the remote hamlets to spread awareness about health and nutrition.