Physical Health Guatemala Project #7067

Rescue a Malnourished Child in Guatemala

by The GOD'S CHILD Project

Rescue a Malnourished Child in Guatemala

Project Report | Mar 1, 2024
The Youngest of 12 Children

By Nora Alquejay | Nutricionista Casa Jackson

Brian* was admitted to Casa Jackson on September 6, 2023 at 6 months old, weighing just 3.06kg and 52cm tall. He was diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition, type marasmus, as well as being diagnosed with bacterial bronchopneumonia and Down syndrome. Brian could not hold his head and his movements were infrequent, he had no strength in his body.

He is the youngest child in a family of 12 children living with their parents in a neighbourhood in Sipacate, Escuintla. He was not breastfed because he had hypotonia of the tongue, meaning that the muscle is too stiff to allow normal movement, so his mother fed him corn drinks and formula. The staff at his local health centre referred him to Casa Jackson because he was in poor condition at home and his life was in danger. His mother was not able to leave her other 11 children and so Brian was left in the care of the nursing staff.

Once Brian had entered Casa Jackson we took him to see different doctors and medical experts. The results of these appointments indicated that Brian had hypothyroidism and a congenital heart disease. Fortunately, the condition of the heart did not affect its function to pump blood, so only treatment was started to improve thyroid functions.

Meanwhile, we continued to provide him with the necessary care for his speedy recovery, being without his mother, the staff and volunteers had a lot of affection for him and they all supported each other to give him food, formula, change him, bathe him and play with him. Every day he smiled more and his movements began to be more constant. He went to physiotherapy every week and the strength of his neck and spine was improving.

On February 5, 2024, Brian was delivered to his mother with a weight of 5.95kg and height of 62.5cm and normal nutritional diagnosis. He now has the ability to hold his head but it is important that he continue with physiotherapy and treatment for hypothyroidism. A copy of the case was given to the staff of the local health centre so that they could watch over him at home.

On the 15th of February we decided to follow up with Brian and visited his family in Sipacate. We travelled over 2 hours to the house with Fabiola, Robbie, Rodolfo, Nora and Esther, a volunteer paediatrician from Spain to visit Brian and his family, as well as some other former Casa Jackson baby-patients. When we visited, Brian was suffering from a fever and had done for a few days. We took him to the local health centre, had some laboratory checks done and paid for medicine. When we took him back to his house his fever had reduced. We also gave the family a donation of food and an Ecofiltro water filter. This way we could ensure that the family had clean, safe drinking water and much reduced danger of parasites and bacteria.

We have not finished following up with Brian and his family. We are planning to support the family with beds and stoves in the future, as well as a potential house build. The GOD’S CHILD Project has been working for over 30 years to break the chains of poverty through education, housing, nutrition and healthcare. Please click the link below to donate to support us in our ongoing mission.

Permalink

Nov 3, 2023
Eddy

By Robbie Middleton | Becas & Padrinos

In our last report we mentioned that we had been visiting communities in Escuintla to persuade families to bring their children to recover in Casa Jackson. One such child was Eddy*, who took a lot of time and effort to allow us to help him and his family.

On May 4th we had our first community visits working with Centro De Salud in Masagua, Escuintla. We visited Obero and Guardiania, two small villages around 40 minutes further south towards the Pacific coast. The final family we visited on that day was that of Eddy. Eddy was 15 months old and weighed 6.2 kg and measured 66 cm. He was severely malnourished.

Centro De Salud told us that they had been trying for a few months to persuade Eddy’s mother, Matilda*, to bring him to Casa Jackson to no avail. Robbie and Vecany talked to the family, showed photos and videos and explained Casa Jackson’s processes to try and persuade the family to come. They made progress but there was no definitive answer.

Due to the family’s living situation, a house made of sheet metal and wood with a dirt floor, we gave the family some solar lamps as they did not have constant electricity. Eddy’s mother is a single mother who does not currently work. Eddy’s father is not a part of his life and does not currently support him. There are 16 people living in the house, including Eddy’s older brother Juan*, 5, and his grandparents. The family has almost no income and the men work as day-labourers in the fields.

We unfortunately didn’t hear back from Centro De Salud and so Eddy did not join us in Casa Jackson at that time. That wasn’t the end of the story, however. On the 20th of June, when we returned to Obero to carry out one of our medical days in conjunction with Centro De Salud, Robbie recognised one of the children waiting for a check-up – Eddy! He reminded Matilda that it was very important for Eddy to come to Casa Jackson. Matilda said she had agreed to come and had even packed up her suitcase ready but Centro De Salud had never arrived at the house to bring her. We talked to Centro De Salud to see if they could organise transport. They said they would but once again we didn’t hear back from them.

In August we started to do home visits once again in Masagua with Centro De Salud and, once again, we visited Obero and Guardiania. This time we and Centro De Salud were more forceful with the family, telling them that Centro De Salud would be coming on the 5th of September to bring Eddy to Casa Jackson. Matilda and her family were reluctant at first but ultimately agreed. We also took down details for a potential future house build.

On the 5th of September, 4 months after our initial visit, Eddy arrived at Casa Jackson. Within 2 weeks he walked for the first time.

When Eddy arrived at Casa Jackson he weighed 6.49 kg and measured 71.5 cm. Due to growing taller he was actually more severely malnourished that when we first visited him in May.

In late September we revisited Eddy's house to follow up with a potential house build. They are currently on our waiting list to see if they can receive a house in the future. When we arrived the family told us that they had heard from Eddy's mother and that they were very happy with Eddy’s progress and how he was already walking. They were also hopeful that they would see Eddy and his mother again soon.

Eddy was able to go home on the 19th of October. He spent 45 days in Casa Jackson and, in that time, gained 1.47kg or 23% of his initial weight. He also grew 0.5cm taller. Eddy made rapid progress in Casa Jackson, gaining around 33g a day. Eddy’s progress developmentally was equally as impressive as his weight gain. He began to take his first steps within 2 weeks of arriving, becoming very confident on his feet. He was also a lot happier and became much more active. Eddy loved to play with the toys in the playroom, dance to music and eat his food.

On top of that, we worked with Matilda to build her self-esteem. She took part in a number of classes, learning to cook new dishes and gain new skills. She also talked to our psychologist and had a number of medical appointments that we were able to facilitate. Matilda was noticeably healthier and happier when she left too.

The GOD’S CHILD Project has been working for 30 years to break the chains of poverty through education, housing, nutrition and healthcare. Please click the link below to donate to support us in our ongoing mission.

Permalink

Jul 7, 2023
Casa Jackson Community Visits

By Robbie Middleton | Becas & Padrinos

Since the beginning of May, we have been taking Casa Jackson out of the Dreamer Center and into communities. We have been working in tandem with the Centro De Salud in Masagua, Escuintla, and the Centro De Salud in Sacatepéquez to identify children and families with malnutrition and other needs.

At first, in May, we visited the houses of children who had been identified by the Centros De Salud as malnourished. Vecany, Robbie and Ana went to measure and weigh the children and to invite children diagnosed with malnutrition to Casa Jackson. These children were based in the villages around Masagua, with some as far as 40 minutes away from the main Centro De Salud. In total we were able to visit the homes of over 30 babies, of which 19 were diagnosed with malnutrition.

We were also able to give out other types of support to the families, providing solar lamps to families and houses without electricity and giving out bags of clothes as well. On one occasion we were also able to take Dr Dian, a long-time supporter of Casa Jackson, with us to check on the babies’ health and wellbeing.

In June, however, we changed our approach after discussions with the Centro De Salud. Rather than going to children’s houses, we visited 6 Health Centres in and around Masagua over a two-week period and the families came to us. This time we also brought prenatal vitamins that had been donated to us by Direct Relief so we could hand it out to expectant mothers. The mothers, aged between 14 and 50, first passed with the doctor and were then given a prescription for prenatal vitamins which we handed out to them.

The babies were weighed and measured by the Centro De Salud and had a talk with Nora, our new nutritionist. If they were malnourished then Centro De Salud referred them to Robbie and Nora to see if the families could be persuaded to come to Casa Jackson. Our interns who came with us also took the information and details of the people we saw in order to see how we may be able to help in the future.

In total, we were able to give out prenatal vitamins to over 100 mothers and weigh and measure over 50 babies. Through our house visits and Health Centre visits, we were able to convince 9 mothers to bring their babies to Casa Jackson.

Moving forward, we are in discussions with the Centro De Salud to once again begin home visits to families who have been identified as having malnourished babies but have not yet been convinced to come to Casa Jackson. We are looking to start the visits very soon. We are also taking the lessons learned from these visits and brigades and planning to move into other departments of Guatemala with high levels of malnutrition so we can continue to fight for food security in Guatemala.

Permalink

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ... 18 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.