Keila is an eleven-month-old baby girl from Guatemala. She lives with her parents and her three siblings in a one-room house made of tin and bamboo. Her father works as a day laborer, and her mother works at home, taking care of Keila and her siblings. Although they want the best for her, they cannot afford to give her even one fruit, vegetable, or egg per day.
Keila has been struggling with the consequences of hydrocephalus, a build up of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the cavities of the brain, since she was born. She had to have surgery when she was only a couple months old to repair a birth defect in her spinal column (spina bifida), and since then she has not been able to gain weight like she should. She is now acutely malnourished, and needs to gain weight in order to help her development, and get her healthy enough to have surgery to relieve the pressure of the CSF that is building on her brain.
Growth monitoring, micronutrient and food supplementation, and deworming medication will help Keila recover from malnutrition. For $512, she will receive the treatment she needs. She will gain weight and grow taller to catch up with other children her age, and give her the chance to receive surgery to correct her hydrocephalus. Her immune system will grow stronger with the increased caloric intake, giving her more of an appetite and energy to grow and play. Her parents will receive the support they need to feel empowered to give Keila the diet he needs to grow and develop healthily, even with limited resources. Intervention now will give Keila the chance to live a healthy and productive life.
Kelia’s mother said, “I hope that Keila grows well. I know that her condition is difficult, but I hope that one day she can get well enough to get the surgery for her brain.”