Simron Story Attending Father Class to Promote Stunting Prevention
10 January 2025
The role of parents is important to prevent stunting. This is what Simron Rehobot Kolorens Taek (30 years old) and his wife Rahap Nenohai (25 years old), a couple from South Central Timor District (TTS), East Nusa Tenggara, are doing. Simron is a farmer, while his wife is a housewife.
As a father, Simron realizes the importance of the role of fathers in child development. He has been involved in the Bina Keluarga Balita (BKB) Emancipation of Stunting Children (EMAS) group since January 2023. Apart from being a farmer, in June 2022 he was also elected as a Community Empowerment Cadre (KPM) in his village. Every month, he regularly attends the Posyandu to monitor the implementation of activities.
According to Simron, BKB EMAS activities at the Posyandu are very important for all parents to understand in nurturing their children to become a healthy, smart and characterful generation. He also encourages his wife to regularly participate in BKB EMAS activities because they are very useful in stunting prevention efforts.
BKB EMAS activities in Falas Village are facilitated by cadres Kristiana Liu and Ketsia Soinbala. Since March 2024, the BKB EMAS father class has been implemented, and Simron is one of its members.
“Since joining the BKB EMAS father class, I have started to get involved in parenting because children are the responsibility of both parents, not just the mother,” said the father of two daughters, Aneke and Meilan.
Simron also helps his wife in the kitchen, cooking, cleaning the house, taking care of the children, and fetching water. “Poor my wife, she’s already given birth to children, and it’s much harder,” Simron explains. If his wife is traveling or has to leave the house for a long time, Simron takes care of the household, cooking, and caring for his two children.
Simron’s change in behavior is recognized by his wife, Rahap. “Lately, my husband has been very concerned with housework, such as washing clothes, fetching water, and taking care of our two children,” says Rahap. For Simron, it is normal for men to take care of children and do housework with their wives or take turns.
Simron hopes that her children grow up to be women who respect and love themselves so that they have strong principles to respect and love others.
Efforts to Prevent Stunting
Plan Indonesia has assisted seven stunting model villages, including the father’s class. In addition to the father’s class, in an effort to prevent stunting, Plan Indonesia also continues to build clean water facilities in several villages. In 2024, five clean water facilities were successfully built in five assisted villages. In addition, Plan Indonesia also organizes adolescent posyandu to prepare a better young generation through the provision of materials related to reproductive health, health consultations, measurement of height, weight, upper arm circumference, and other services.
