Zion Grace is a sweet four-year-old girl from the Philippines. She lives in a small community with her parents and four siblings. Her father works as a farmer and is the sole provider for the family. Zion Grace loves to entertain her family with her little singing voice.
Zion Grace has been diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. Malnutrition threatens her growth and development and could even be fatal if not addressed. Fortunately, she will begin $268 malnutrition treatment on February 22.
Zion Grace will be 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 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.
Zion Grace’s mother is relieved to be receiving assistance. She says, “I hope that Zion can recover from malnutrition and that she will be healthy and will have good grades when she starts to go to school.”
