KUMBANG x KENYANG ― 1st Intervention

KUMBANG X KENYANG: Growth, Development, and Nutritional Balance of Dear Children is a collaborative activity between the Student Engagement Grant, The University of Melbourne, Capella Foundation, and the Center for Indonesian Medical Students’ Activities, Gadjah Mada University (CIMSA UGM), which aims to improve public awareness, especially health cadres and parents, on issues of growth and development. Kumbang Kenyang is a social project that focuses on children’s growth and development, especially among children under 5 years of age. We aim to screen 100 children with the help of volunteers who are medical students.

This activity began with a webinar held on December 12th – 13th, 2020, via Zoom Meeting. Based on this background, this webinar has a theme of Growth, Development, and Nutritional Balance of Dear Children. This activity was carried out in two sessions presented by Prof. Susan Sawyer and dr. Mei Neni Sitaresmi, Ph.D, dr. Braghmandita Widya Indraswari, M.Sc., Sp.A, and dr. Meta Herdiana H. Sp.A (K).

Prior to the intervention, volunteers were given a training to collect data. This training was held online through synchronous sessions via Zoom Meeting with dr. Fitria Mahrunnisa, M.Sc., Sp.A and dr. Joko Kurniawan, M.Sc., Sp.A. The session started with a material on monitoring children’s growth and development with a brief explanation from the doctor, followed by answering several cases related to the material so that the information can be implemented afterwards. This training aims to train volunteers to be able to monitor children’s growth and development. Monitoring children’s growth and development can be done by plotting and interpreting growth charts. Through this activity, we hope that volunteers will be able to directly retrieve data independently on interventions that will be implemented afterwards.

When implementing the intervention, all volunteers will be matched with parents to provide accurate information for their child’s development. The intervention was held through WhatsApp group from 16th – 31st of March. The intervention was closed by holding a cooking class with Chef Leona Victoria and holding a competition to re-create the menu. We hope that with this intervention, it will improve crucial aspects of children’s growth and development, providing an alternative online screening program during this pandemic, and enhancing medical students’ knowledge regarding children’s growth and development as volunteers.