Feeding Centers

Feed a hungry child for just $15 per month........ .50 cents per day. Will you help??

Every year literally hundreds die of mal-nutrition.

Three out of every five years Eastern Guatemala is in drought. This worsens the already poverty stricken area where the Chorti Indians live. An average meal often times consists of 2 tortillas and salt. The Lord has moved on our hearts as well as our partners to begin opening feeding centers so that the children will not die or go hungry. You can click on each center and read about them. You can also read the story about baby Guillermo. A child that was brought into a medical clinic that we did in 2003 with severe mal-nutrition, he has now recovered and is doing well. Below are some excerpts of newspaper articles in Guatemala this year.

"Malnutrition causes intellectual retardation"

Guatemala, October 18, 2006

                Index of chronic malnourishment in children is 49.3 percent.

                49.3 percent of children suffer chronic malnutrition in the country, which will cause them certain intellectual retardation. "Chronic malnutrition causes loss of neurons in the brain and is irreversible damage, caused by inadequate feeding during the first three years of life of the child" According to the Census of Low Stature of Students, of the 2003, 48.6 percent of children between the 6 and 7 years presently display chronic malnutrition.

           "Loss of geniuses"
                The Secretary of Sesan, was sorry to announce that because of the high index of chronic malnutrition, the collective loss of intelligence is of an equivalent to 250 thousand geniuses.

            ***After Haiti, Guatemala is the Latin American country with the highest index of chronic malnutrition. And on a world-wide level, only Yemen and Bangladesh surpass to Guatemala in infantile chronic malnutrition, details the report of the relater of the UN.

          On an average more than a million children do not count on suitable feeding.

   "Will there be results in 2007?" Guatemala, Sunday July 16, 2006

       "Has there been a reduction in the number of people who suffer malnutrition?"        Not yet.

                 What we can say is that for each 1000 children born, 43 die before turning a year old. We                         recognize that half of the children suffer from chronic malnutrition. In addition, 70 percent of the indigenous population also suffer from it, and that is worrisome.   Also, two third of the Guatemalans are too poor to feed themselves suitably.

    "Chronic Malnutrition" Guatemala, March 4, 2006

            Relater of the UN on feeding notifies of it's conclusions

            At world-wide level, only Yemen and Bangladesh surpass to Guatemala in infantile chronic malnutrition, details the report of the relater of the UN.

            He points out that the more serious cases of malnutrition occur in the northeast of                 the country, although after the crisis of the lack of work for coffee pickers caused more poverty.

Chronic malnutrition, according to the World-wide Food Program, restrains physical and mental development, debilitates forces and decreases the immune system.

50 percent of minors of 5 years suffer, Of those, 70 percent are indigenous.

Two of each three Guatemalans are too poor to feed themselves suitably.

One of each three Guatemalan families cannot pay for half of the minimum food basket.

The report blames Kwashiorkor in the country, a disease caused by lack of proteins causes mental disturbances and distresses, depression and apathy.

The ones affected by the hunger predominantly are, natives who live in the rural area. "the subsistence agriculturists do not have access to quality land, and fight to survive in the microproperty of miserable earth, would need 25 hectacres of fertile earth to adequately feed their families".

The communities most devastated by the drought are Camotan and Jocotan in the Chiquimula province, near Guatemala’s eastern border with Honduras.

"Various communities in Guatemala have been very seriously affected by the drought," Hernan said. "We used to watch TV and see the African children and lament for them. Now only three hours by car and another eight hours by foot we have our own scenes of misery and hunger."

The cases have increased since 2002: "the situation is serious" says Antonio González, of the Cuban Medical Brigade. He takes care of mothers and mal-nourished children in the Nutritional Recovery center of Jocotán. "the situation is aggravated. In which last year, 2004 38 children with serious or moderate mal-nutrition have entered. There are cases of red and orange levels of mal-nutrition (the 2 gravest levels); and yellow, which is moderate but still very alarming. According to the doctor, the census conducted by the Ministry of Public Health is not a preventive measure. "It is difficult to reduce starvation. Two years ago pursuit of the weight and the stature of the smaller children of 5 years was established. Today, once again we come to register mal-nutrition incidences ", he emphasized. The symptoms: Malnutrition presents/displays some clinical signs, among them, the malnutrition marasmátic and the dominant Kwashiorkor. The symptoms are the following ones: Apathy and irritability, old appearing Dry skin, Thin Extremities, very under weight, Diminution of the muscular weave and fatty tissue, Full Moon face, reddish or fragile Hair, muscular Thinning, Spots in the skin, Swelling or edema in legs, Swelling of stomach.

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