Demuel is a two-year-old boy from the Philippines. He lives with his parents and six siblings in a bamboo house. His parents are both farmers. Without a stable source of income, they have difficulty providing for the family.
Demuel has been diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. He began $268 malnutrition treatment on October 20. He 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 my son will reach his normal weight and become healthy and strong,” says Demuel’s mother. “I also hope that he can finish his studies and have a nice job someday.”
