Of the stressors listed this week, the one that comes to mind to discuss is chaos.  When I was five years old my whole world would become a chaotic mess.  My mother and grandmother got in a car accident in the morning and would not make it past the accident site.  They both passed away immediately.  My whole world would change that day.  I lost both my mother and grandmother in a matter of a minutes and was too young to truly comprehend what that meant at the time.  I never had a father, and still do not know who he is.  I had to live with my aunt and uncle and learn to love my new life with no mother.  It was a very hard time on me and felt the chaos would not end and really did not end until I was moved out, living on my own away from people who never really loved me as they should.

The area of Africa has been facing an issue with hunger since 2011 when a deadly food crisis claimed the lives of many and left many without food.  Children are faced with hunger issues all the time and Africa and struggle to get the right nutrition they need to strive.  The introduced this donation call line where people here in the US can donate money to feed those children.  I have seen this on the TV a few times but also found a very informative website that talks about the event and gives details on ways to help these children eat.

http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.7539035/k.B9FB/Africa_Drought_Sparks_Food_Shortage_Child_Hunger_and_Humanitarian_Crisis.htm

Child Development and Public Health

The topic I chose was nutrition/malnutrition.  I chose this topic because malnutrition is seen so often around the world and truly has an impact on the way a child learns.  A child who does not eat and comes to school hungry and tired, is going to struggle.  A child needs an adequate meal for every meal and there should be no excuse for that to happen.

One place that I found that has a huge problem with malnutrition is the Philippines.  It is not only said that this is a third world country but malnutrition affects mostly the youngest of the population and sometimes leads to death.  They are not facing a shortage of supplies but actually have an abundance of supplies and food and are not putting it to the right usage.  The kids there are struggling in the school system because they have such a poor diet and in turn can not focus on what is being taught.

Malnutrition is seen sometimes in our school.  We offer a free breakfast for such students and there is a huge difference in those students who can have a good meal at school.  I have witnessed first hand a student who was malnutritoned and came to school sick constantly and wanting to sleep.  She was beyond thin and very unhealthy.  After getting on the free lunch program, her academics came to life and she was progressing wonderfully!  That continues to impact the way I teach myself and am always on the look out for students who may suffer from malnutrition.