VOA慢速英语2014 Child Welfare in India Improves as Mothers Participate in Peer Support Groups 印度小孩受益于母亲参与同侪支持团体

 

Child Welfare in India Improves as Mothers Participate in Peer¹ Support Groups 印度小孩受益于母亲参与同侪支持团体

New research in India shows that children eat better when their mothers have more power, more education and are able to move about freely² in the communities.

印度最新研究证明，当母亲拥有更大权利，接受更多教育，并能够在社区自由活动时，孩子就吃得更好。

Researchers found that women who joined a job skills training program sought more in control at home and in their families, and children of these women ate more rice and dairy³ foods. 

研究人员发现，参与过职业技能培训项目的女性在家中和家庭中会寻求更多控制权，而这些女性的孩子会食用更多大米和奶制品。

A program in southern India is called Mahila Samakhya. It brings women together to form local support groups. Researchers at the University of Illinois questioned if and how these groups effected the women's sense of themselves and their positions in the family.

印度南部一个项目被称为Mahila Samakhya。它把女性们团结起来组建了当地的支持组织。伊利诺伊大学的研究人员分析了这些组织是否影响以及如何影响这些女性的自我意识以及她们在家庭中的地位。

Kathy Baylis is an economist⁴ at the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois. She led the study.

凯西·贝利斯（Kathy Baylis）是伊利诺伊大学农业、消费和环境科学学院的一位经济学家。她主持了这项研究。

Ms Baylis says that before joining the peer groups, the women knew fewer than five other women who they were not related⁵ to. Ms Baylis adds that many of them did not know the possibilities for women in work and in family life.

贝利斯女士说，在参加这些同侪组织之前，这些女性认识的不相关女性少于五人。贝利斯女士补充说，其中很多人从不知道女性在工作和家庭生活中的各种可能性。

She reads some of the comments from these women that show this way of thinking: "Before I was in the peer group, I didn't know I could stand up to my husband. I didn't know I could work outside the home or work outside the farm. I didn't know women were doctors and lawyers, etc., etc."

她念了一些体现她们这类想法的一些评论：“在我参加同侪组织之前，我从不知道我可以反抗我的丈夫，我从不知道我可以在家庭之外或农场之外工作。我从不知道还有女性医生或律师等等。”

Experts say 40 percent of Indian children under age five suffer from underfeeding. But Ms Baylis says, involvement in the support groups, led the women to provide better foods for their children. 

专家表示，5岁以下的印度小孩有40%营养不良。但贝利斯女士说，参与这些支持组织，使得这些女性能够给孩子提供更好的食物。

Researchers visited the homes of those involved in the groups. They created a simple measuring process. They brought different size food bowls, and asked the mothers which size bowls they were using.

研究人员拜访了参与这些组织的女性的家。他们想出了一种简单的衡量方法。他们带去不同大小的食具，然后询问这些母亲们她们用的是哪种规格的食具。

"And instead of trying to get people to recall⁶ exact number of cups or etc. that they were feeding their kids, we went and asked how many of these size bowls did your different kids get fed of rice and of daal and of various dairy products," said Baylis.

贝利斯说，“我们不是试图让人们想起他们喂养孩子的食具的确切标号，而是去询问，用这种规格的食具，他们的孩子能吃几碗大米、扁豆汤和其它各类奶制品。”

Researches confirmed that the children were eating better based on the size of bowl the mothers used. They found that girls especially started eating more.

研究人员证实，孩子们吃得更好是基于母亲所使用的食具规格。他们发现女孩尤其开始吃得更多。

Ms Baylis says the women also began to resist physical abuse⁷ from their husbands. The women threatened to report the violence of these men unless they stopped.  

贝利斯女士表示，这些女性还开始抵制来自丈夫的身体虐待。这些女性威胁要举报丈夫们的暴力行为，除非他们停手。

The study is one of the first to show the effectiveness of Mahila Samakhya on female⁸ empowerment. The Indian central government established the program in 1995.

这项研究首次证实了Mahila Samakhya项目在女性权利上的成效。印度中央政府于1995年建立了这一项目。

A similar program in Bangladesh - SHOUHARDO has also had success. SHOUHARDO is the Bangla word for friendship. The non-profit organization CARE administer⁹ SHOUHARDO along with the Bangla government and US government's Food For Peace program.

 

孟加拉国类似的SHOUHARDO项目也取得了成功。SHOUHARDO在孟加拉语中的意思是友谊。非营利性的CARE组织联同孟加拉国政府以及美国政府粮食换和平项目一起管理着SHOUHARDO项目。

1 peer   

n.同辈，同等地位的人，伙伴，贵族；vi.仔细看，费力地看

参考例句：

• Children are easily influenced by their peer.孩子很容易受同辈影响。
• He is a peer.他是一个贵族。

2 freely   

adv.自由地，随便地，无拘无束地

参考例句：

• She was unable to keep back her tears,and wept freely.她抑制不住泪水，痛痛快快地哭了起来。
• A liquid flows freely and has no fixed shape.液体能自由流动，无固定形态。

3 dairy   

n.牛奶场，乳品店；adj.乳制品的

参考例句：

• The yogurt sold by this dairy is delicious.这家乳品店出售的酸奶非常好喝。
• He kept a few dairy cows.他养了几头奶牛。

4 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

5 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

6 recall   

n.回忆，召回，取消；vt.回想起，召回，与...相似，恢复

参考例句：

• As you may recall, he was in the army then.你可能记得当时他正在从军。
• We demand that you recall your army from our border.我们要求你们撤回在我们边境的部队。

7 abuse   

vt.滥用；辱骂；诋毁；n.滥用；恶习；弊端

参考例句：

• You can't make personal abuse on her.你不可对她进行人身攻击。
• She screamed abuse at me.她尖声责备我。

8 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

9 administer   

v.施行，实施，掌管，料理···的事务，给予

参考例句：

• It takes brains to administer upon a large corporation.管理一家大公司需要智慧。
• They had the right to administer their own internal affairs.他们有权料理自己的事务。