ULM Students Present JELITA Program to Support Child Nutrition Recovery in West Mandiangin
Banjar Regency – Students from Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM) implemented an Impactful Village Development Program titled “JELITA (Jejaring Literasi) for Mothers and Fathers as an Effort to Empower and Optimize the Role of Families in Underweight Recovery through Innovation in Local Food Processing Using Ferns and Haruan” in West Mandiangin Village, Karang Intan District, Banjar Regency.
The program was run by 10 students from across the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Agriculture under the guidance of Field Supervisor Hadrianti H.D. Lasari, SKM., MPH.
The group leader, Muhammad Hefni Camali, explained that this program was a continuation of interventions implemented during the previous Field Learning Experience (PBL). The issue of underweight is a priority issue in the village.
“We see that the issue of underweight in children still requires ongoing support. Therefore, we are returning with a more structured, family-based intervention program, specifically empowering mothers to meet children’s nutritional needs,” he said.
The program design was based on the results of problem identification during PBL 1 in early 2025. Nutritional issues were also voiced by the local neighborhood association (RT) head as an issue that requires serious attention, especially at the household level.
Following a joint assessment by the group, the JELITA Program was designed into a series of five activities: outreach, nutrition literacy classes for mothers and fathers, a “Fathers Care About Nutrition” class, family mentoring, and workshops and dissemination of results. This series of activities was implemented in December 2025 in stages, involving residents as the primary audience.
In this program, ULM students provided basic education on improving child nutrition and implemented the main intervention, which included training and demonstrations on cooking local foods such as fern and snakehead fish, created in modern yet nutritious ways. As a form of sustainability, the ULM student team also compiled and distributed a recipe book for innovative nutritious foods to participants.
Muhammad Hefni stated that this activity received a very positive response from the community in West Mandiangin village. Attendance at the outreach and training activities reached 100 percent, even exceeding the established target. Parents were actively involved in every educational and practical session.
For students, the ULM Impactful Village Development program provides a contextual learning environment where they can apply the health and agricultural knowledge they have learned in the classroom. Through this program, they directly apply their knowledge, from problem identification and effective communication with the community to family-based intervention strategies.
For the community, the ULM Impactful Village Development program is expected to improve nutritional literacy, local food processing skills, and families’ ability to prevent and manage underweight independently.
ULM is committed to maintaining the sustainability of the program through integration into the Impact Village Development scheme and encouraging villages to continue the good practices introduced. With its family empowerment approach, the JELITA program is expected to become a model for sustainable community-based nutrition interventions.
