Hens Hatching Hope: Un Huevo Cada Dia

With every egg that is given, we see a child grow. Yet, the program is successful because the mothers come to a monthly appointment where their children are weighed and measured, and then they receive eggs to cook at home. Our "Mother Hens" are an essential part of our project. We recently interviewed a group of mothers to hear how they felt things were going.  Here are some quotes from the mothers:

There is reliability in the program:

• "Because we receive the eggs on time from farms within our community."
• "Good! Well, I liked it! Look, I was one of the mothers who was not going to weigh, because I have 2 small children, but I am already going with this program, and that day we set it aside to go to the weighing."

They are seeing the effects of the program in the child:

• "The strength is that it helps them with their growth and their weight. They grow better, they are more active, they play more and they no longer get sick."
• "They eat the eggs with love, because they like eggs”. 

Receiving eggs is helping their family economy:

• "I think it is to help a little the economy of the community, of the family, and that little help helps us to buy some medicine for the children or buy them some clothes."
• "...that little money you do not spend on the egg is used to buy other things to be able to eat..."

We are truly happy to know that our biggest allies, our "Mother Hens," are onboard, and alongside them we can continue to make this project a success. All our mothers send thank you to all of those who have given to this project, to their children, to their communities and its future leaders. 

We hope this report brought a smile to your face as it did to ours, we are only able to do this thanks to your continued support and generosity. 

With gratitude, 

Mariela Rodriguez

Communication Coordinator

mariela@shouldertoshoulder.org

We are halfway through 2022 and our nutrition project has now been running successfully for 18 months. In that time we have served 300 children between the ages of 6 to 24 months.

Hens Hatching Hope started as a simple idea of providing one egg a day per child to support nutrition. And eggs seemed like a great place to start because they are a staple food of Honduran cuisine. Our team worked hand-in-hand with local health promoters who did monthly height and weight checks. Once a mother brought in her child, they received another ticket for 30 more free eggs. Health promoters have seen HIGH compliance as the mothers come in excited to receive next month's supply. Making both the mothers and the health promoters happy. 

Additionally, we have supported 27 women starting their own small businesses to produce and provide eggs for our project - building the producers into the community. All of our "farms" are doing well and have even been able to sell extra eggs for profit.

As a result of this combination, we are excited to EXPAND our project moving forward to include children up to 36 months for our second year. Meaning, our hens are hatching more hope in Intibuca. With this expansion we will now be benefiting 500 children plus our 27 farms have all decided to continue partnering with us!

We are hoping year 2 will be just as successful in supporting the nutrition of these children and their futures. Thank you for entrusting us to make this project possible.