"I dream that my son grows well and becomes a good student," shares the mother of 19-month-old Kevin. Kevin lives with his parents and one younger brother in a one-room adobe house with a tin roof in Guatemala. Kevin loves to play with his toy cars with his brother. His parents want the best for him but, right now, they cannot even afford to give him one egg, fruit, or vegetable per day. That's because his mother works to take care of him and his brother and his father works as a day laborer, making an inconsistent and small income. Kevin is suffering from malnutrition. He is having trouble gaining weight and growing taller because he doesn't have access to the healthy diet he needs. This has made him lose his appetite, and his immune system has grown weak due to the lack of calories and nutrients. He gets sick frequently and, when he does get sick, he often gets dangerously dehydrated and dangerously loses more weight. In the long-term, he could face stunted neurodevelopment, an increased risk of chronic disease, and a hard time getting or keeping a job if he does not receive treatment. Growth monitoring, micronutrient and food supplementation, and deworming medication will help Kevin recover from malnutrition. He will gain weight and grow taller to catch up with other children his age. His immune system will grow stronger with the increased caloric intake, preventing him from having any more life-threatening situations with diarrhea, fevers, and cough. This will further increase his appetite and help him use the extra calories to develop mentally instead of those calories being wasted on getting over frequent illnesses. Kevin's parents will receive support to give Kevin the diet he needs to grow and develop healthily. Intervention now will prevent the future devastating effects of malnutrition, and give Kevin the chance to live a healthy and productive life, finish school, get a good job, and escape the cycle of malnutrition and poverty that made him sick in the first place.

Meet Kelly, an 11-month-old infant from Guatemala. Our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK), tells us, “Kelly is the fourth child in her family. Kelly has four siblings: three older and one younger. Kelly’s mother is young. She noticed that her daughter was not growing very well, but had no financial means to bring her to a doctor or seek medical attention. She cannot afford to buy food as she struggles to live completely on her own after suffering domestic abuse.” Kelly was diagnosed with acute malnutrition. “Kelly is far below the average height for her age and the average weight for her age,” WK reports, “She has diarrhea, and her immune system is weak. Her family is extremely poor and does not have enough resources to buy enough food for Kelly. Without intervention, Kelly is at risk for the long-term effects of malnutrition, which includes suffering from a weakened immune system.” As a result of food insecurity and marginalization, indigenous Guatemalan villages have the highest rates of stunting in the world. In addition to growth stunting, malnutrition can lead to lower IQ, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity later in life. $512 will fund the treatment Kelly needs to address her nutritional deficit. This treatment intervention will provide Kelly with food and nutritional supplements to recoup her weight and height and strengthen her immune system, thus allowing her to fight infection and illness throughout her life. She will also receive deworming medication to treat her diarrhea and continuous growth monitoring to allow doctors at WK to adjust the treatment as needed. Her mother will also have the opportunity to participate in nutrition courses in order to better understand her child’s condition as well as better be able to prepare nutritional meals for her family given a limited income. Kelly’s mother shares: “I wish the best for my daughter, for all of my children really. I hope they do not have to face the hard economic times I have faced in my life.”

“I pray that my dear daughter gets the required treatment,” says Dorkas’ father about his first and only child. Meet Dorkas, a two-month-old baby from Kenya. Dorkas was born with spina bifida -- “a leaking mass on the lower backbone area," says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). Dorkas’ mother is 16 years old, and her father is a casual laborer who earns a monthly income of $36 USD. Dorkas needs a spina bifida closure, a procedure that involves surgically closing the spinal cord. AMHF explains that this will help “prevent infections from developing in the exposed nerves and tissue, and development of tethered cord.” Tethered cord occurs when the spinal cord becomes attached to tissues around the spine, which can lead to scoliosis or kyphosis. $805 will fund a spina bifida closure, a five day hospital stay, imaging, labs, medications, and physical therapy. Let's help support Dorkas' family and fund this important treatment!