Fight Rising Malnutrition in Rural Guatemala

Dear Friends,

Our staff members on the ground in Guatemala are the engines that keep us going and make our work possible. They spend hours a day, rain or shine, traveling via crowded buses and moto-taxis to reach our patients. Today I’d like to introduce you to two of them!

Meet Karyn, one of our nutrition technicians and complex care coordinators. Karyn tells us, “I love my job because through my work I can reach people that no one else dares to see and treat diseases that the health system rejects and doesn’t treat. I like that at Wuqu’ Kawoq we are innovators and pioneers of many things, like our nutrition program, 10 years ago no one was talking about this but now our work is spreading to other organizations who are changing their methodologies to make a difference in the lives of children.” 

We also love what Irma, another one of our nutrition technicians, has to say about her job. “Each child is a story. The children in our program live within the means that their parents can provide, and although we encounter difficult and sad situations, the children continue to fight and recover little by little. Happiness, attentiveness, and love towards our children can also be the medicine that they need to be well and grow up healthy. I am thankful for the opportunity to live these beautiful experiences with the families in our programs, and especially with the children.”

We are pleased to report that over the past four months we have delivered water filters to over 120 families. Drinking contaminated water can have devastating consequences for malnourished children, inducing diarrhea and counteracting the effects of nutrition supplementation. Upon delivering the filters, our nutrition technicians engage parents in a discussion about how water becomes contaminated and what we can do, through good hygiene and using strategies such as water filtration, to protect and improve the health of our families. We believe that empowering families with education is just as important as equipping them with tools like water filters. Before receiving filters these families were either drinking and cooking with contaminated water or spending valuable time and energy boiling their water. Now they have a clean, reliable water source in their home. One of the mothers tells us, “I thank you with all my heart for the filter. It’s for my kids, but it will benefit me too.”

Thank you for your continued support. Without your donations, the work of community health workers like Karyn and Irma would not be possible. Thanks to you we are able to improve the lives of thousands of children and their families across Guatemala.

With gratitude,

The Wuqu’ Kawoq | Maya Health Alliance Team