Jorge lives with his mother, his older brother, and his mother’s parents in Guatemala. His mother is raising him without his father, and has been waking up every day at dawn to wash neighbors’ clothes to earn enough money to give her children food to eat.
Jorge’s mother cannot produce breastmilk, leaving one-month old Jorge acutely malnourished. In his month of life, he has lost weight and been getting sick, since he has not had access to the protein and nutrient-rich milk from his mother. His mother has been asking a neighbor with a small baby to help feed her son, but that has not been enough to make him stop crying. She has been giving him boiled water with sugar to calm him down during the night.
Jorge was provided with formula to stabilize his condition until he could receive a personalized nutrition plan from our nutritionist and formally begin treatment. During this delicate developmental time, Jorge needs formula to ensure healthy growth, normal brain development, and to prevent seizures and diarrhea, which can result from not consuming formula or breast milk.
Although Jorge is very sick, treatment is simple and incredibly effective. Every two weeks, his mother will receive deliveries of formula as well as personalized nutrition classes, so his mother is capable of recognizing future signs of malnutrition and ensure he has a healthy diet. This treatment will save Jorge’s life, and put him on track to have a normal and happy childhood.
“I want to see my sons grow healthy,” Jorge’s mother shared. “I worry because I not want him to get sick. I do not have the resources to help my son and feed him with milk, but I appreciate the help that you are going to give my son. I want to see him healthy and go to school to study and become a teacher.”
