Alex is a 13-month-old baby boy who lives with his family in Guatemala’s rural highlands. He is a smiley, friendly child who loves to eat his favorite foods, which are beans and eggs.
Alex is underweight and small for his age. He has malnutrition, a dangerous condition that results from consuming too little protein, calories, and nutrients. While malnutrition can have devastating effects, it is also very treatable. Growth monitoring, micronutrients, and food supplementation will help Alex recover. He will gain weight, and his immune system will grow stronger with the increased caloric intake. Community health workers will teach his mother about creating a nutrient-rich diet with limited resources. Treatment will give Alex’s family tools to maintain nutritious diets, and it will give Alex a chance to grow healthily.
Alex’s father works in the local countryside as a day laborer, and his mother takes cares of the family’s household needs and weaves traditional Mayan textiles in her free time. They cannot afford the hospital and treatment fees. She needs $492 to fund this treatment. Fortunately, with the help of our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq, Alex will begin his malnutrition treatment on May 25.
Alex’s mother says, “I am grateful to the donors and the organization for worrying about children in this community, and especially for Alex, because we do not have the resources and education to give our children all that they need. I will do all I can so that my son recovers his growth.”