Gaining Silver Medal in I2ASPO, Thursina IIBS Students Came with the Idea for Stunting and Anemia Awareness
Recently, students of Thursina International Islamic Boarding School (IIBS) won a silver medal in the Indonesia International Applied Science Project Olympiad (i2ASPO). The high level of competition was one of the biggest challenges. The team consisted of Andi Zaskhia Haswan, Radya Parahita Adiputri, Naila Zahra, Aqila Wiyono, and Yasmine Sakina Hamzah. Bloestun, the idea raised, refers to the idea of school-based health application for awareness and prevention of stunting and anemia.
Andi Zaskhia Haswan explained that adolescence is considerably crucial stage of development. Some signs that are often found include biological, cognitive, and emotional changes. They are susceptible to malnutrition and unhealthy habits, such as being idle of drinking water, skipping breakfast, practicing unhealthy diet as they would like to be slim, preferring fast food, and others. In general, anemia is a health problem with negative impact on performance and cognitive growth. "Therefore, it is necessary for teen girls to understand the risk of anemia and know how to overcome it by consuming balanced nutritious food," she said.
Many Indonesian families also experience stunting. Radya Parahita Adiputri explained that it refers to a condition in which the body is extremely short, exceeding a deficit of minus two standard deviations (-2SD) from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) for child growth standards. It means that a child is experiencing chronic malnutrition. However, school-age children are the next generation of the nation. The quality of a country is determined by their health conditions as well. Nevertheless, the fact is that many elementary school-age children suffer from nutritional problems, especially stunting.
The team developed features such as HemoTrack to monitor the health of the user with Bloestun. BloeChef Corner makes it easy for users to find recipes to meet the body's iron needs. The MediConnect feature is a collaboration with the school medical center to analyze and see student development at school. There are also BloeAlerts, Bloestun Academy, Bloestun Allies, IronQuest, Anemia Ease, Secure Health Vault, and Feedback Forge. "All of these terms focus on preventing stunting and anemia," added Radya.
Thus, no achievement goes unappreciated. The hard work of the students and thorough preparation to achieve brilliant results would strengthen the reputation of Thursina IIBS as an educational institution that is capable of preparing excellent generations. The school persistently supports the students in participating prestigious competitions. (sls/lil)