Ken-Ken is a 4-year-old boy from General Santos in the Philippines. He lives with his parents and two siblings in a small house made of bamboo and scrap materials, without proper water supply and electricity. Due to a difficult financial situation, Ken-Ken is now suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Despite having a weak body, he still likes running and playing with his toys.
“I really hope that he will recover and become strong because he wants to be a basketball player someday,” said Ken-Ken’s mother.
Ken-Ken will be treated by International Care Ministries (ICM), a Watsi medical partner. One out of five children under 5 in ICM communities is either severely or moderately acutely malnourished. Worldwide, poor nutrition is associated with nearly half of all deaths in young children. In remote communities and urban slums of the Philippines, the lack of clean water and unclean environments add risk to potentially fatal childhood diseases.
ICM’s Home-Based Feeding program provides nutrient-enriched food packs to ensure malnourished children get additional food to regain normal weight and achieve optimum physical and mental development. After identifying a child as malnourished, staff and community volunteers make weekly visits to monitor this child’s progress. To help sustain the health of the child, ICM’s professional staff educate the mother, guardian or other family members about proper nutrition, sanitation, hygiene and organic vegetable gardening.