Check out the info below from OrphaNetwork regarding the success of feeding centers (posted with their permission).
Last July, I had the opportunity to serve at the feeding center near Tipitapa, as well as set up a makeshift medical clinic to track the kid's progress and have local doctors provide exams and care.
As you may know, Nicaragua is the second poorest nation in our hemisphere, Haiti being the poorest. It's great to have our church be effectively partnering with missions organizations in both countries to truly help those in need.
SDG
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| Then - Yirreth (on the right) had blonde highlights from the lack of protein in her diet. |
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| Now - Yirreth's hair is dark and healthy because she is well nourished and receiving the protein she needs. |
In Nicaragua it is estimated that one in three children is chronically malnourished. When we began conducting health assessments on roughly 4,300 of the children we serve through 26 Local Church Initiatives (LCIs) our baseline results showed chronic malnourishment rates at 26%. Since 2012 ORPHANetwork's Medical Director, Dr. Janice Hebbert, and Nutritionist, Flavia Urbina, have been working diligently with our church partners in Nicaragua to drive chronic malnourishment rates down in the children we serve. Our most recent health assessments resulted in a 14% average across all 26 locations! Our goal for 2013 is to drive the rates down to 10%, and our primary health goal is to wipe-out malnourishment in the children we serve.
What does wiping out malnourishment in our Local Church Initiatives look like? Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to as well as a new initiative that we've just begun:
Education
Flavia suggests menus to each church location with different combinations of ingredients for the best nutritional impact on the children. Cooks are taught about nutritional absorption of the ingredients in the lunches they prepare each day. Children and parents are learning how to wash their hands before they eat and why it is so important to their health.
Increased Calories
Each child that attends one of our LCI's eats a nourishing 800 calorie lunch each weekday. When a child is identified as chronically malnourished they are given soy-fortified milk to add additional calories and nutrition to their daily diet. Many pastors or leaders of the programs make home visits to get a better perspective of what that malnourished child's home-life is like, and often the child is given food to take home to their family as well.
Medical Care
Alternating between health assessment screenings, Dr. Janice's medical team also treats acute medical needs every six months. Twice a year children are given deworming pills to rid their bodies of harmful parasites that may be stealing precious nutrients from their bellies. The children are also given Vitamin A supplements to assist their immune system's ability to fight disease.
Educating New Mothers
Dr. Janice and Flavia just began a new initiative for educating and helping both expectant and new mothers in Nueva Vida. Read more here.
We could not be making the progress we have without God's abundant blessings, our talented team in Nicaragua, and all of your support. Thank you for being ORPHANetwork!
Many Blessings,
Katie Beasley
Communications Director
ORPHANetwork
1 Country, 6 Orphanages, 78 Local Church Initiatives, Almost 12,000 Children Served Daily
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