Meet Leandra, a one-month-old girl from Guatemala with a severe case of malnutrition. Our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK) explains, “Leandra has been losing weight and getting sick frequently, due to her severe case of malnutrition. She has lost weight since she was born because her mother cannot make enough breastmilk to help Leandra grow.”
“This has made her mother very stressed and upset, because Leandra cries all the time due to her hunger. In an effort to make her stop crying, she has been giving her sugar water, which has made her gain a little weight, but puts her at risk of diarrhea, starvation, and seizures due to the lack of calories, antibodies, and electrolytes,” WK shares.
“Leandra is the second child in her family. She lives with her parents and older sister in a one-room house made of wood. Her mother works at home, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids. Sometimes, she goes out and helps her husband look for wood to chop and sell, all the while carrying Leandra on her back. Her husband also works fishing in the nearby lake, and sells the fish he catches. Although they work hard, they often do not have enough money to buy even basic foods for their family, and often make less in a month than what formula costs,” WK continues.
$1,016 will cover the cost of Leandra’s treatment, which involves supplying Leandra with formula and her mother with health education. Her mother said, “I am so thankful to the donors that think of my daughter and want to help her.”
