“Dylan is suffering from malnutrition, meaning that he is much too small for his age,” says our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK). “Not only has his physical grown been stunted, but he also has a weak immune system due to a lack of protein, calories, and nutrients.”
Dylan is a nine-month-old baby who lives in rural Guatemala with his parents. He’s the youngest of two children. His father works in the fields as a day laborer where he earns a few dollars a day when work is available. His parents don’t have the resources to feed him fruits, vegetables or eggs needed to maintain healthy growth.
WK explains, “Unfortunately, malnutrition also decreases his appetite–Dylan’s mother says that she has to struggle with him to get him to eat. If Dylan does not receive treatment, he could face the consequences for the rest of his life—such as short stature as an adult, lower IQ, a harder time focusing, and have trouble in school–all making it more likely that he will have lower-paying job as an adult and have children who are also malnourished.”
For $512, we can enroll Dylan in WK’s malnutrition therapy program, which will provide growth monitoring, food supplements and deworming medication, allowing him to resume normal growth. If he’s treated now, he can resume normal mental and physical development. “His parents will receive motivational nutrition education so they can learn how to best feed Dylan, even with the little resources they have,” WK says.
“This treatment will give Dylan a better chance of escaping the cycle of malnutrition and poverty,” WK says.