Jel, a four-year-old girl from the Philippines, lives with her family in a small house. Her father is a laborer. With his limited income, he has trouble providing enough for the family. Due to a lack of nutritious meals, Jel has been diagnosed with moderately acute malnutrition.
Fortunately for Jel, on October 18, 2016, she enrolled in the Home-Based Feeding program provided by International Care Ministries (ICM), Watsi’s medical partner in the Philippines. One out of every five children under age five in ICM communities is either moderately or severely acutely malnourished. In many remote communities and urban slums, lack of clean water and unsanitary environments add to the risk of potentially fatal childhood diseases. Despite these facts, ICM and Watsi are working to combat the sources of these conditions.
ICM’s $184 Home-Based Feeding program will provide Jel with nutrient-enriched food packs to ensure she regains a normal weight for her age and achieves optimum physical and mental development. Staff and community volunteers will make weekly visits to monitor her progress in the program.
In addition to this treatment, ICM’s staff will educate Jel’s parents about proper nutrition, organic vegetable gardening, sanitation, and hygiene. This information will help them make decisions to sustain their daughter’s health in the future.
“I’m so happy that my daughter is one of the patients who is receiving care from ICM,” says Jel’s mother. “I hope she will recover from malnutrition and become strong and healthy soon!”