UPDATE - Nutritional Supplements for Severely Malnourished Children in Guatemala

The first tranche of funding ($2,500.00) has been sent to the Rotary Club of Guatemala Vista Hermosa Satellite Uwara. They are picking up 2000 bags of the nutritional supplements from the manufacturer on May 29 and delivering them to our friends at Mayan Families. From there the supplements will be given weekly to 100 selected undernourished children as a special formulated food supplement. The families will be visited regulalry by two social workers. We want to thank the Rotary Club of Chemainus, Don Mercer, Jacqueline, Mealing, Virginia Hambly of Sidney, Disaster Aid Australia, Pat and Maggie from Ladysmith, and all of the others who are supporting this project. We could not do this without you!
 
Gerry Beltgens and Jacqueline Mealing
 
Rotary Clubs of Ladysmith and Chemainus have teamed up with Disaster Aid Canada and the Rotary Club Guatemala Vista Hermosa Satellite Uwara to address malnutrition in the Mayan Villages. Click HERE to donate

You can provide 2 kilo of Nutritional Supplement that will provide the required Nutrition for a mother and child approximately $5.00 Can per month or $4.00 US. 

Over 60% of the children are severely undernourished. These Rotary Clubs have been working in Mayan villages for some time and are very aware of the decreasing height and weight of children under six. As a consequence many also suffer from respiratory infections and hunger.
 Malnourished children have significant learning difficulties with only a fraction finishing primary school (grade six). Impacted families face additional health issues, and have fewer opportunities to get jobs with a decent wage. Climate change has also greatly reduced corn crop yields, the main source of food. Beans have tripled in price this year. There is little opportunity to break the cycle of poverty, resulting in families increasingly dependent on sending their teen-age sons illegally to the USA. With the pandemic repatriation funds that had become a means of survival are now rapidly drying up.
 
Providing nutrition for children is the first step in building a sustainable future for families: Incaparina is a nutritional supplement that is readily available and doctor approved; it provides the essential vitamins, minerals and proteins required for growth in children. It is usually added to a traditional hot corn drink called atòl, and is very popular with kids.
 
Our program will provide the supplements to selected children and pregnant mothers. The mothers will participate in literacy classes, nutrition courses, and family planning presentations. This is the time to make the changes that affect the future.
 
The goal of the Rotary Clubs involved and supported by Disaster Aid Canada, is to raise money to buy Incaparina in bulk and distribute it through the help of the Rotary Club of Vista Hermosa Satellite Uwara and the Mayan Women's groups working in the region. They know their community like no one else and will ensure it is used wisely.
 
Your donations through Disaster Aid Canada have already raised close to $18,000 to provide food, medicine, and rebuilding projects for these communities in 2020.
 
Now we plan to raise another $10,000 for Nutritional Health. Donations can be made HERE Be sure to click down to the "Guatemala Nutrition Program"