Dear Mil Milagros Amigos-
Mother’s Day is a special day in Guatemala when women are honored by their children for their hard work and commitment. It is also a special day for Mil Milagros because we get to honor and celebrate the mothers and grandmothers who work tirelessly to improve the lives of their children. Mil Milagros staff visited the 130 mothers and grandmothers who were preparing the lunches throughout the first week of May to present them each with a rose as a small token of our appreciation for their dedication, love, and hard work.
Mil Milagros partners with over 400 mothers and grandmothers to prepare healthy meals for 830 hungry children at our six partner schools. They make over 150,000 lunches each year! Because of this special partnership, we are seeing healthier children who are better students, and a significant reduction in the dropout rate. Last year, 98% of the children supported by Mil Milagros graduated from sixth grade, compared to the Guatemala national average of 30-40%.
Depending on the size of the school, 2 to 10 mothers arrive in the morning each school day to start the firewood “stoves” and begin preparing lunch, which is served after classes between 12:00 noon and 12:30 p.m. The mothers work together with the teachers at each school to plan menus for the school year, including chow mein with fresh vegetables and chicken spaghetti with meat sauce, beef stew, chicken and rice, and a fresh piece of fruit on the side. The mothers and grandmothers constantly tell Mil Milagros how grateful they are. As one mother commented: "We can’t provide all of the different types of food that Mil Milagros provides for our children. If it weren’t for Mil Milagros, I don’t know what would happen to us. But thank God, you are here.” Another mother told us: "Honestly, I have seen that the lunch helps a lot because food costs a lot and there are eight people in my family. Three of my children get lunch at school and I don't have to worry about how I am going to feed them every day. I can save that money to give them something to eat in the afternoon. The program helps a lot. Thank you."
Many of the mothers and grandmothers also participate in workshops to designed to teach the mothers about healthy local foods and to strengthen our efforts to prevent malnutrition in our young children. The workshops are organized and delivered by our partners from the Wuqu’ Kawoq health care organization. In some communities here in the department of Sololá where Mil Milagros works, as many as 80% of the children are malnourished. The most recent series of workshops focused on the most nourishing local foods to eat when pregnant and lactating, how to treat nausea, and best practices for breast feeding. The workshops begin with a raffle of prizes (intended to encourage attendance) and conclude with a delicious snack. Every three months, our mother volunteers weigh and measure the children, and distribute a month’s supply of “chispitas”, which are nutrient-rich supplements. Mothers often give us updates on how their children are doing: “Thanks to this nutrition program, my child is growing and is no longer malnourished. She looks like she is six years old and should be going to school, but she is only four years old.” Wuqu’ Kawoq is providing us with an analysis of the children’s height and weight data so that we can track progress and make sure that children and families who need it, get individualized attention.
We at Mil Milagros are grateful for our mother and grandmother leaders. We also give thanks to and for our Amigos for your generous support and steadfast commitment. Together we are changing the lives of over 1,000 children each day in Guatemala.
Please continue to follow the children's progress and growth by viewing photos on Tumblr, following us on Facebook, and staying connected as a Mil Milagros supporter and amigo.
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Dear Mil Milagros Amigos -
Thank you for helping us to exceed our goal in 2012 and for your continued support into the New Year! We are thrilled to join the GlobalGiving network after participating in the Winter Open Challenge last year and are in awe of all the amazing connections we made for our children with donors through our project page.
This New Year has already been an exciting one for Mil Milagros! The new school year in Guatemala began on January 14th and we welcomed 830 excited children, 43 teachers, and 400 mother and grandmother volunteers back to school. Mil Milagros now partners with six schools and communities to work to improve education, literacy, nutrition, health and hygiene, and to prevent chronic malnutrition in the babies and young children. In 2013, we welcomed our sixth partner school, Nuevo Progreso ('New Progress'). The children at this school are very excited -- when asked about what Mil Milagros' mission is, they replied: "To help us kids and make sure we graduate!” We love to know that the children are enthusiastic about having Mil Milagros at their school and that is why we continue to partner with schools and actively seek opportunities for expansion of the MM program.
Over 200 mother and grandmother volunteers from another community, Pahaj, have been enjoying their newly renovated school kitchen, made possible by generous MM donors. The renovations were completed during the school vacation period -- the roof has been lifted and walls have been heightened to help better ventilate the wood burning stoves, the kitchen workspace was expanded, and concrete floors were poured to improve cleanliness and sanitation (see attached photos).
During the back-to-school 'inaugurations' this year, MM staff gathered with the children, teachers, mother and grandmother volunteers and other family members to celebrate the beginning of another fun year of learning. The children always write cards and letters to MM staff and Board members when they visit each partner school. A student named Myron wrote: "Thank you, Mil Milagros, for the food you have given us, and for allowing us to fulfill our dreams and study". Another student, Ofni, wrote: "A thousand thank yous to Mil Milagros for lunch every day. We are growing healthy and strong. God bless you for everything you have done for us".
It is because of your support that these special children are able to enjoy a nutritious meal each school day, grow stronger, learn more, and continue their education. On behalf of Ofni, Myron and every other child served by Mil Milagros, mil gracias for helping them to grow into healthy, well-educated children with dreams for better lives.
Please continue to follow the children's progress by viewing photos on Tumblr, following us on Facebook, and staying connected as a Mil Milagros supporter and amigo.
Links:
