Valentina is a 1 year and 9 months old girl who managed to improve her child development thanks to the timely intervention of the CASITA project belonging to the Community Health Program of Socios En Salud carried out in the district of Carabayllo.
In the Asentamiento Humano Juan Pablo II of the district of Carabayllo, lives Rocio Salas, a 34 year old woman from the department of Ancash. She is the mother of Camila, 7 years old; and Valentina, only one year and nine months old, and she takes daily care of the emotional, verbal and cognitive development of both of them.
RocĂo is aware that the first years of Valentina’s life are essential for her growth and human development. This constant care allowed her to notice in a timely manner that Valentina’s hand movements were not in accordance with her age: she had problems in the development of her coordination and motor skills. Because of this, Rocio and Valentina were invited to be part of “CASITA”, a program developed by Socios En Salud that seeks to improve the bond and interaction between the caregiver and the child, decreasing the risk of neurodevelopmental delay in children under 2 years old.
Now, Rocio does not hesitate to start her activities at 4:00 a.m. to prepare the day’s meals so she has more time to go with Valentina to the John Paul II Community Health Center. Every Thursday Camila reminds her mother that Valentina will receive a visit from Mrs. Maria Luz, community agent of the project who has been accompanying Rocio and Valentia for more than 16 weeks.
“Mrs. Maria Luz gave me the confidence to be able to participate in the project, there was an opportunity that I could not attend and she motivated me to resume the sessions,” explained Rocio.
The arrival of Covid-19 did not and will not stop them. On the contrary, the project CASITA decided to continue with the socialization sessions, which were developed remotely through video calls, images and other previously validated materials. On the other hand, the presence of the father at home was very important and positive for the development of Valentina, who shared much more time together.
“During the 12 sessions I was able to understand the importance of mastering hand movements, coordination and language that we developed alongside our children, together with other mothers, guided by the experts from Socios En Salud and the Health Center before the pandemic. Today, my Valentina picks up the spoon spontaneously and accurately at mealtime,” stated Rocio.
Today, Valentina smiles every time her name is called and plays with a bottle introducing the corn kernels that her mother usually uses to prepare food at home. Rocio and Camila celebrate with applause and laughter encouraging Valentina to continue the game. The dream of seeing her daughters happy has been fulfilled; however, Rocio thinks daily of another dream: building their own house. “Thank God I only have months to go before I can move into my little house,” she shared.
With the actions of the “CASITA” project we seek to promote early childhood development in the communities that need it most, because we strive to create a future in which the right of every person to quality health care is guaranteed.