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The signs of chronic malnutrition include thinning hair, pale skin
and growth stunting.
Dear BPD Friends,
You may have read articles or seen televised reports about the dire situation with food security this year in Guatemala because of storms. The situation is so bad that in April the Guatemalan government declared a nationwide "Nutritional Risk Alert." The goal of the "alert" is to prevent a full-blown food "emergency."
Our staff in Guatemala tells us that in some villages there is already a food emergency. For instance, in Chichoy Alto a storm wiped out the 2010 crop right before harvest time and too late to plant a second crop. With funding from Oxfam, we were able to help these families with a food-for-work program. Additional funding from Healing Hands will allow us to extend this program through most of July, but this is weeks before their crops are ready to pick. Many villages are facing the same situation as their stored corn and beans from last year's crop have now run out and the price of food, especially corn, has skyrocketed.
Even before the crisis, 80% of rural indigenous children suffered from chronic malnutrition. Children who are chronically malnourished are significantly shorter and lighter than they should be for their age. The long-term effects include diminished cognitive abilities, impacting their capacity to learn and to earn a living. Click on this link to a video that helps explain the nutrition situation in Guatemala.
Our staff on the ground is closely monitoring the situation and we are poised to fill the gap until the 2011 crops can be harvested. This kind of help provides targeted aid just until the community can produce again. Please consider making an unrestricted, tax-deductible donation so that we have the funds available to respond quickly and to continue to strengthen the villages' capacity to withstand food shortages and other health threats in the future.
To make a donation, click on the "Make a Donation" link below, or send a check payable to Behrhorst Partners for Development, 2411 S. Superior St., Milwaukee, WI 53207.
Sincerely,
Victoria WardPresident
Behrhorst Partners for Development
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