Harold is a 1-year-old boy who lives with his family in a bamboo house in the Philippines. The family sources water from a deep well and shares their supply of electric power with a neighbor. Harold’s father, Onofre, is a laborer. Harold’s mother shared her hope that “when he grows up, he’ll be able to find a job so that he’ll be able to help us.” For now, Harold likes playing with toy cars.
Harold is malnourished. He will be treated by International Care Ministries (ICM), a Watsi medical partner. One out of five children under 5 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.
