Twelve-month-old Kiezer lives with his parents in a house made of bamboo without proper water supply. His father works as a tricycle driver, struggling to provide for the family. As a result, he is now suffering from moderately acute malnutirtion. Although he is a little weaker than other kids, he still loves to play!
Fortunately, he will be receiving treatment for malnutrition on October 21. He needs your help to fund this $184 treatment.
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 the additional food to regain normal weight, and achieve optimum physical and mental development. After identifying a child being 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.
“I hope he will recover from malnutrition,” says Kiezer’s mother.