Jiether is a three-year-old boy from the Philippines. He has a twin brother and six other siblings. He loves to play basketball with his twin brother, and he loves to sing and dance. Jiether’s mother is a farmer, and the family lives in a house made of bamboo and wood. They share electricity with their neighbors and source water from a deep well.
Jiether has been diagnosed with acute malnutrition. He began $184 malnutrition treatment on October 18, 2016.
Jiether is being treated by International Care Ministries (ICM), a Watsi medical partner. One out of five children under five in ICM communities is either severely or moderately acutely malnourished. Worldwide, poor nutrition is associated with nearly half of all deaths in young children. In remote communities and urban slums of the Philippines, the lack of clean water and unclean environments add risk to potentially fatal childhood diseases.
ICM’s Home-Based Feeding program provides nutrient-enriched food packs to ensure malnourished children get additional food to regain normal weight and achieve optimum physical and mental development. After identifying a child as malnourished, staff and community volunteers make weekly visits to monitor this child’s progress. To help sustain the health of the child, ICM’s professional staff educate the mother, guardian, or other family members about proper nutrition, sanitation, hygiene, and organic vegetable gardening.
“I hope that Jiether recovers from malnutrition and finishes school someday,” says his mother. “I pray that he will pursue his dreams and goals in his life.”
