Rescue a Malnourished Child in Guatemala

                                                        A DREAM OF HOPE

Sahibi is from San Benito, Petén in the North side of Guatemala and she is only 19 months old. She was born with psychomotor problems, not having the ability to move as she should at her age; unfortunately her vision is not well and she is blind, also has lungs problems making difficult to breathe. 

Sahibi’s mother was sexually abused by her own father and she became pregnant as a result of this.  This is the main reason why this little angel was born with so many physical problems.  At the time of her birth there were complications and she almost died.

When she was fifteen years old, the young mother suffered of physical abuse, psychological maltreatment and was sexually abused by her father.  Despite all the bad experiences she never gave up and had Sahibi dreaming on giving her the opportunity to have a better life.  Due, to all the terrible conditions the Child Support Office in Guatemala started with the investigations of the abuses committed by the father, but when he realized of that he escape and was never caught. 

The Child Support Office in Guatemala took Sahibi and her mother to a foster home.  During their time there, they both received everything they needed such as a shelter, protection and a lot of physiological support; but that was not enough!

Sahibi started to have malnutrition problems and that is how she came into Casa Jackson in September of 2016.  At Casa Jackson she started to receive the necessary treatment to recover but that is not the only thing she received; she received love, attention and care making her improve very well and fast. 

The staff at Casa Jackson started to make the necessary procedures to give her an eye surgery through another institution but because of her short age and weight it was not possible.  When she was recovered she was dismiss from Casa Jackson in December 2016 and she went back to the foster home with her mother.

In January 31 of 2017, Sahibi’s young mother brought her back to Casa Jackson because she didn’t know what to do since the little girl was severe malnourished saying that at the foster home they did not gave her attention when she asked for it, and since she is a very young she didn’t have a clue of how to take care of her baby.

Sahibi was admitted into Casa Jackson and immediately started with her nutritional recovery treatment, since that time she has been there and she is still receiving a special nutrition and waiting to recover and get back to her mother.

Sahibi’s sixteen year old mother’s dream is to give her little girl a better future and to protect her from suffering the bad things she went through.  She only wants to have her baby by her side and give her a better future.

This past December I saw a familiar face waiting to see the nutritionist at Casa Jackson for a follow-up appointment but I couldn't quite place her. I approached the woman and asked her child's name. "Estiven," she said and in my mind I went through the children we had cared for and sent home over the past few months and then it came to me, the healthy-looking 15 month old boy she held was the same child that had come to us just over a year before very severely malnourished. The difference was astonishing!

You may remember Estiven from an update we gave in December 2015. What wasn't mentioned then is that when Estiven came to us he was 2 months old and weighed just under 4 and a half pounds. He was tiny and was struggling to survive. Thanks to donors like you, we were able to provide Estiven with the medical care, vitamins and special formulas that he needed in order to grow, develop and eventually be released from Casa Jackson. Additionally, we were also able to teach Estiven's parents about nutrition so that once he went home he would continue to receive proper nutrition. It is clear that his mother took very close notes during these trainings because Estiven is now a very healthy and happy 15 month old. Estiven is still a bit behind in his development, which is one of the lasting effects of malnutrition, but his parents are working with him and he is progressing quite well. 

When cases like these come around we take a moment to celebrate. We celebrate you, our donors, staff and volunteers who make this possible, the mothers who heed our advice and make the necessary changes in their children's diet, and the children who have fought malnutrition and won. Thanks to donors like you we are able to celebrate time and again the recovery of children like Estiven but the need for help continues so we quickly return to caring for those that need it the most. With your help we can continue to fight malnutrition in children like Estiven through both treatment and prevention.

Thank you for your continued support of Casa Jackson!

Kendell Martell

Administrative Director of Casa Jackson

Links:

• The GOD'S CHILD Project website
• The GOD'S CHILD Project on Facebook