Save a Child: Reduce Malnutrition in Bolivia

Bolivia is a country of high poverty with severe health, economic and social issues. One third of Bolivia’s children go to bed hungry every night and Bolivia has the highest childhood and maternal mortality rates in Latin America. MAP International has worked within the community of Chilimarca, Bolivia for 10 years to provide hope and health. During this time, MAP staff has supported “Healthy Food for Healthy Children” a program that helps families act as the guardians of their own health.

Chilimarca is an extremely poor “squatter” community of mostly Quechua Indians, the indigenous people of Bolivia, who are at the bottom rung of the social ladder. As in many rural communities in Bolivia, unemployment in Chilimarca is high and families find it very difficult to provide basic, healthy food for their children.

MAP is helping to address the food and nutrition problems of children and their families with training and support for “Healthy Food and Nutrition Practices for Healthy Children.” Providing adequate nutrition for children, facilitating nutrition education training for parents, and providing gardens and small animals will provide nutritious food and income for families.

MAP works with mothers and children to help them understand their nutritional needs and how they can take care of their own health. Families participate in the program at home and at school, learning about good nutrition, gardens, animal husbandry and responsibility for nature.

MAP helps families design a program to fit their nutrition and health needs. Local groups meet weekly to discuss issues and identify solutions to problems such as nutrition, healthy food for families and home food production. The project “Healthy Food for Healthy Children” is designed and implemented by the community to meet their own nutritional needs.

100% of children attending the dining room show proper nutrition and normal development in their growth curve monitoring chart. 150 children at high-risk in the community of Chilimarca have daily access to a safe lunch of high nutritional value.150 children and their parents gain knowledge and skills in nutrition, gardening and preparation of high nutrition food. 150 children and their parents gain knowledge and skills on raising small animals

Links:

• MAP International

• Healthy Food for Children in Bolivia (PDF)
  

While most organizations focus on either child survival or early childhood development, MAP International integrates best practices from both areas into a seamless whole. Our innovative approach advocates healthy infant brain development as one of the most strategic interventions to break patterns of intergenerational transmission of disadvantage, violence, poverty, and ill health.

The project will help families and communities to provide nurturing conditions for pregnant women and infants and to gain control over key determinants for early brain architecture development: (1) appropriate physical nutrition, (2) emotional nourishment, (3) cognitive nourishment, (4) infant self-awareness, and (5) safe & enriching environments. Changing the Bolivian communities for long term positive impact.

No funding has been received from Global Giving, MAP will continue to fund this project.