“I am so happy that you want to treat my daughter’s malnutrition and will give her support,” shares Dianca’s mother. “Without you, I don’t think she would have the power to recover from malnutrition on her own.”
Meet Dianca, a 19-month-old infant from Guatemala. Our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK), tells us, “Dianca cannot talk, but she loves to make sounds imitating the songs she hears in church with her mom. She likes to play with the plastic cups left around the house, as well as small woven baskets her mother uses to carry goods to sell at market.”
“Dianca is suffering from malnutrition, which results in a cough and fever,” WK reports. “She is far below the average height for her age and weight for her age. We believe her symptoms are also markers for limited mental development.”
As a result of food insecurity and marginalization, indigenous Guatemalan villages have the highest rates of stunting in the world. In addition to growth stunting, malnutrition can lead to lower IQ, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
$512 will fund the treatment Dianca needs to address her nutritional deficit. This treatment intervention will provide Dianca with micronutrient and food supplementation, growth monitoring and medication as well as nutrition education for her parents. This two-prong approach will give Dianca’s parents the tools they need to continue providing nutrition to their child after treatment is complete. Without these combined efforts, Dianca will continue to have low energy and limited mental potential.
This nutritional intervention has far-reaching benefits. Dianca will recoup her weight and height and strengthen her immune system, thus allowing her to fight infection and illness throughout her life.
