Rescue a Malnourished Child in Guatemala

In our July 2023 GlobalGiving report we talked about the brigades and community visits to Masagua in Escuintla that we carried out in partnership with Centro De Salud. Through close collaboration with Centro De Salud we were able to persuade a number of mothers to bring their children to Casa Jackson and receive the life-saving treatment they desperately needed.

Since our visits last year, we have been visiting Escuintla regularly to map out the needs of the communities, follow up on cases and to provide support to families. Last year we built a house in Cuyuta and this year we have given out beds, water filters, solar lamps, Nutri Listo and prenatal supplements to communities in Escuintla, Masagua, El Astillero, Sipacate, La Gomera and Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa.

One family that we have visited on multiple occasions over the past year is the family of Silvia* and Francisca*. These two girls were diagnosed as malnourished during our initial community visits but did not actually arrive at Casa Jackson until 9 months later.

When we first visited the family in August 2023 our main focus was Francisca. She was 1 year and 9 months old and was severely malnourished. Her cousin Silvia, with whom she lived, was at a healthy weight but on the verge of malnutrition. Along with our friends in the Centro De Salud, we discussed the importance of treating Francisca's malnutrition and tried to persuade her mother to bring her to Casa Jackson. We gave the family some solar lamps to help them with the lack of electricity in parts of the home and as a sign of good faith. Unfortunately, our attempts were to no avail.

We revisited the family in September 2023 and talked to them once again. Whilst sceptical at first, Francisca's mother agreed to come to Casa Jackson after the September Independence Day celebrations. Unfortunately, despite our reminders and phone calls, Francisca never arrived at Casa Jackson. At this time we were looking at families to receive a house build from us in Escuintla, and the family qualified, but we wanted to wait for Francisca to come to Casa Jackson before we moved forward.

Our final visit of 2023 was in December, where we once again attempted to persuade the family to come to Casa Jackson. We gave the family some food and voiced our concerns that after four months, Francisca was still severely malnourished. This time we were also concerned at Silvia's weight loss and asked for her to join her cousin. Their mothers told us once again that they would think about coming to Casa Jackson but never arrived.

This year, after a number of further visits, gifts and conversations, we were finally able to persuade both Francisca's and Silvia’s mothers to come to Casa Jackson. Both mothers have had periods where they have stayed with the girls and periods where they have had to work, but both are currently here supporting their daughters’ weight gain. So far, Francisca has gained 0.37 kg or 5% of her initial weight and Silvia has gained 0.5 kg or 4% of her initial weight. Silvia also arrived at Casa Jackson with a severe eye infection which we were able to cure.

The children are making good progress at Casa Jackson and are moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, due to the time it took for Francisca's mother to bring her to Casa Jackson, the damage may have already been done. We hope that her cognitive development is not too delayed due to her chronic malnutrition but only time will tell.

We are also looking at how we can make the positive changes in Casa Jackson more permanent. Both Silvia's and Francisca’s mothers qualify for house builds and so we are looking into the possibility of providing a secure home for the girls in the future. The girls have dreams too. Silvia would like to be a model and a nurse and tell us that Francisca would like to be a chef. We are planning to revisit the family when the girls start school to support them with a school scholarship.

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.