Meet Jose, an 11-month-old baby boy from Guatemala. He is the youngest child in his family.
Jose has been diagnosed with acute malnutrition. He is well below the normal size for his age, all because he has not had access to a healthy diet full of protein, nutrients, and calories.
Jose began to have issues when he was born, as his mother did not have sufficient breastmilk to nourish him. He frequently got sick, and once he was old enough to eat solid foods, he still wasn’t able to gain weight like he should.
Frequent bouts of diarrhea make him dangerously dehydrated, take away his appetite, and force his body to waste energy on getting better, instead of growing and developing. Jose’s mother is worried because the local health center told her he was dangerously underweight, but did not offer to help. She is very appreciative to receive support from Watsi’s medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK), and Watsi.
Jose loves to play with his toy car, and smiles at people when they talk to him. His parents are very caring and hardworking, but lack the resources to buy Jose the foods he needs. Many days, his family only has enough money to feed the kids a few corn tortillas and nothing else.
Growth monitoring, micronutrients and food supplementation will help Jose recover from malnutrition. He will gain weight, grow taller, and his immune system will grow stronger with the increased caloric intake. This will further increase his appetite and help him use the extra calories to develop mentally.
In addition to Jose’s treatment, his parents will receive the support they need to feel empowered to give Jose the diet he needs to grow and develop healthily.
“I want my son to be better,” Jose’s mother shares. “I want to see him grow big, and when he is big, I hope that he is a teacher.”