“Bayron is a curious boy who likes to observe his surroundings,” shares our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK). “He loves to play with a tiny plastic ball given to him by his neighbors and often pushes it around the house while his parents are away at work.”
Bayron is a 15-month-old boy from Guatemala. He has acute malnutrition, also known as “stunting.” Stunting is the most common form of growth failure among children in Guatemala. If left untreated, stunting will continue to weaken Bayron’s immunity and put him at risk for diseases well into adulthood.
Prior to their assessment, WK reports, “Bayron’s mother did not know her son was malnourished. She always thought his constant sickness, diarrhea, and low weight was due to ‘mal de ojo’, a superstition that is popular in his area where a neighbor or ill-thinking person in the community casts a spell of poor health upon a young child or baby.” After Bayron’s mother learned more about stunting, she is armed with new information and feels empowered that she can do something to improve her son’s health.
$535 will fund the intervention that Bayron needs to recoup the weight and height he has lost. As part of his treatment, Bayron and his family will be assigned a personal case manager over the course of one to four months. During that time, Bayron will receive food and supplements as well as blood testing to determine if he has any acute infections or disease. If an infection is detected, antibiotics will be prescribed as needed.
To make a lasting impact on this treatment, Bayron’s parents will receive intensive education on how to properly feed and care for their child. Upon completion of this intervention, Baryon’s “long term outlook is improved cognitive potential, school completion, and economic prospects,” WK adds.
His mother says, “The work you are doing is so good and is going to help us so much. This is just such a big help.”
