“We’ve recently started a new nutritional program in this community, and we are identifying a lot of new children, like Carlos, whose families are food insecure and lack the resources to provide medical treatment to their children,” explains Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK), our medical partner in Guatemala.
As a nine-month-old, Carlos is “the youngest addition to this large family. The family lives and works on a rubber plantation in the southwestern part of Guatemala. Carlos has had several severe intestinal infections and, as a result, has lost a lot of weight. He is lethargic, and he doesn’t eat well. He is very developmentally delayed; for example, he is too weak and uncoordinated to sit alone. He needs intensive nutritional intervention so that he can begin to grow again,” says WK.
For $540, we can fund a treatment approach that offers both treatment and prevention. WK explains, “We’ll provide food and vitamin supplements, as well as laboratory and medical evaluation to rule out severe anemia, thyroid disease, and other treatable problems. We’ll provide close accompaniment to his mom so that Carlos’ diet can improve. We expect him to start to gain weight, to start eating better, and to start developing normally again. This will help to guarantee that he reaches his cognitive potential later in life.”
Let’s help Carlos get back to growing!