Child Protection Mexico Project #34180

Nutrition for me and all my friends: Chiapas

by Amextra, Inc.

Project Report | Dec 18, 2018
Anthropometric measurements: Los Altos and beyond

By Stephanie Ahlgrain | Fundraising and Alliances Coordinator

Anthropometric measurement in Ocosingo

The first years of a child´s life are essential for growth and development. It is important to monitor the gain or loss of weight and height in order to diagnose malnutrition problems from an early age, to prevent more serious health problems later in life.

Along with the Dr. Simi Foundation, the Amextra team in Los Altos, Chiapas has been able to test for hemoglobin levels in children under six and pregnant women from the communities of Aldama and Chalchihuitán, Chiapas. With this test we can detect if there is iron deficiency in the population and take necessary steps to reduce the anemia. When anemia is diagnosed, our nutritionist works closely with the families to discuss ways to decrease anemia through dietary measures. We also work closely with health centers and are able to make referrals in cases of anemia or malnutrition that require further follow-up.

During October of 2018, the Amextra in the region of Altos accompanied the Amextra Ocosingo, Chiapas regional team to perform the first anthropometric measurement in this reagion. This first measurement will serve as the basis for the anthropometric and hemoglobin monitoring of children under 6 years of age, pregnant and lactating women. In total, Amextra is attending to 72 infants and seven women in these regions of Chiapas. Also, this year an internal manual was created by the Amextra teams in order to have organized and systematized information on the anthropometic measurement of women and children. This manual will help our six regional teams to have more communication and professionalization of their nutrition and health program processes.

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Oct 8, 2018
Its harvest time in Chiapas!

By Stephanie Ahlgrain | Fundraising and Alliances Coordinator

Women and children thankful for the harvest!

In the last two months, the Amextra regional team working in Los Altos, Chiapas has been busy providing health and nutrition workshops, accompaning the communities with the harvest, building ecological toilets, strengthening the beekeeping program, and monitoring the health and nutrition status of the women and children in 5 communities. Here´s a quick recap:

Harvest in the greenhouse
In the community of Xulumó of the municipality of Aldama, Chiapas, the third and last harvest was collected, obtaining a total of 85 kilos (187 lbs!) of Saladette tomatoes, as well as 18 kilos (19 lbs) of jalapeño peppers. This harvest allowed for the diversification of the diet of families, as well as material for canning and sale to supplement the families´s economies. A win-win situation!

Backyard Chicken Coops
Through the food preparation workshops, we seek to introduce healthy and nutritious dishes using local harvests or the production of meat and eggs from backyard chicken coops. In September, twenty-one people (women, men, and children) in the community of Tzacucum, of Chalchihuitán learned to prepare boiled eggs stuffed with tuna fish and chayote (a local vegetable, similar to zucchini) as well as the atol corn drink.

Training and reforestation in the apiary.
In the community of Santa Cruz in Aldama, Chiapas, theoretical and practical workshops were given to a group of beekeepers in topics such as: control of plagues and diseases in bees, honey safety standards, and reforestation, in order to produce a quality product for consumers and also to preserve the life of these very important pollinating insects.

Finally, Rosa, 60 years old midwife, from the Tzacucum community, shares with us her story of participating in healthy cooking classes. ¨With Amextra, I always learn new things. I´ve invited other women so they learn about cooking new things, too. I liked the session on preparing atol with milk, because it´s a new way to consume corn. Before, we used to only eat corn with salty foods. Amextra teaches us to consume foods that we have available, in this case corn and milk. Before, we never drank milk because we didn´t know how, so we left it there, with no one drinking it. I like atol and will make it again.¨

Thanks to your support, many women like Rosa are both harvesting a greater variety of foods and learning to prepare them. Looking ahead at the next few months, we are excited to continue accompanying these communities to have even greater crop production and create more recipes!

Chopping the chayote (vegetable) for todays class

Learning first-hand to make the dishes

Eggs are a great source of nutrients, like protein

Practicing work with bees first-hand!

New and experienced beekeepers sharing tips

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