Hope for the Hungry in Jocotan

“Virtual Village Project”



Elias, the small boy pictured above, was brought to a small inpatient nutritional rehabilitation center in an area of Guatemala that is experiencing famine due to long term drought. The boy was in the care of his 10 year old sister as his mother was at home, gravely ill.  Elias was sponsored in 2005 through OWH and became the first member of the “Virtual Village” Child Sponsorship Program. His severe malnutrition was due to a lack of food availability coupled with the fact that he, like most children of this region, was host to worms and parasites which limited his ability to absorb what little nourishment he received.



The Outreach for World Hope Child Sponsorship Program saves lives by providing a monthly food supply while offering hope for the future by way of agricultural advancements and improved education. OWH is enrolling the neediest families of the villages of Jocotan and Camotan into the "Virtual Village" program through which they will continue living in their own geographic villages, but will receive large supplies of food each month as well as vitamins, treatment for worms and parasites and other needed medical care and social services. Medical personnel are assisting in the identification of families with children at risk of starvation. The OWH agriculture team is identifying and growing drought tolerant and highly nutritious crops in demonstration gardens that will help improve the agricultural output of the region.



With your help, more children like Elias can be re-nourished,  attend school, and have hope for a better future. Please consider dramatically changing the life of a child at risk of starvation by becoming a child sponsor.  You will be blessed by the opportunity to communicate with your child on a regular basis and could make the difference between life and death for him or her.

 

Below is a picture of Elias, the same child pictured above, taken after just three months in the program.  He now falls within normal weight expectations for his age, is healthy, and has a full head of hair.