Lance is a one-year-old boy from the Philippines who loves to play with toy cars and balls. He lives with his parents, two siblings, and grandmother. Their only source of water is a pump. Lance’s father, Alven, is a laborer, and he cannot afford to support his children. Consequently, Lance has a bloated stomach––an indication of kwashiorkor, a serious disease caused by a lack of protein.
Lance began $184 malnutrition treatment on October 18, 2016.
Lance is being 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.
Lance’s aunt hopes that “someday Lance will finish his studies and will grow up healthy.”