Success and Impact Stories Report 2016

SRPEEPCOIRATL Xango Meal Pack for tion

MEET HELEN...Nothing fills a heart with joy more than a child's laughter. In thVásquez (in Guaymango, Ahuachapán), between large corn plana 3 year-old little girl who never stops laughing, filling the roomname is Helen Alison Nájera.Helen lives with her father, mother Alba Aracely Vásquez who is 34and her older brother Lisandro, who is 13 years old.The family has bethe area for more than 14 years . Alba’s husband goes out every day tojob, but unfortunately, most times he can't find one, so he usually wofarmer some days. With the low wages he often gets, it has to be enofamily to buy food, most of the times beans and corn only. Theseare really harsh, and resulted in Helen losing weight.But thanks to the support and invitation from one of the Libraspromoters, Alba joined the program and started attendNutripuntos meetings since she was pregnant with Helen. “Ihappy because they taught us how to prepare nutritious food. I walots of new recipes and how to share them with my family. I felt tlearning more every day”.Nutripuntos are spaces to share different learning experiencmoms and children, and all the volunteers help the team to devethe activities effectively and teach about nutrition and healthy rec Alba also received Xango Meal Packs at the Nutripunto, so that feed herself through her pregnancy. “I was given Xango whe pregnant with my baby girl. I really liked it, especially when I learned mix it with bananas”.Today, thanks to AmeriCares and their support of families andcommunities, Libras de Amor gave a donation of Xango to Alba, sshe can feed Helen and improve her weight gain soon. “I hope shgrow healthy and develop well, so that she can achieve normal grand development, as I hope”, says Alba, “Xango is perfect nutritionsupplement for our for our girl”.Helen is a cheerful girl, filled with love and always ready to givsmile to everyone. With the help of this meal, she is now on the roto growing healthy, strong and developing like a normal girl.

he caserío Los ntations, livesm with joy. Her 4 years old, een living in o look for a orks as a ough for the conditions de Amor ding the was veryas learning that I was ces withelop all ofcipes. she canen I was d how toso that he can rowthve a oad



“Thank you, in the name of all the mothers from Guaymango,we are really happy and thankful.We hope God will bless your kind heart for sending us this help,because we really need it. Thankyou very much, in the name of allthe mothers, God bless you and we hope you never forget us”.

MEET DANY...A grandmother's love and dedication is one of the biggest blessings youlifetime. Dany Oseas Chávez is lucky to have a grandmother who is dediand willing to provide him with all of the care that he needs.Dany is 3 years old and lives in caserío Los Monroy, cantón LosGuaymango, Ahuachapán. His parents work as farmers, so they spwork and can't dedicate time to care for Dany and his older broyears old.The family has plenty of problems, they don't have access to drinking wparents’ wage is barely enough to feed the family, buying only someor corn. Sadly, the lack of economic resources and healthy, abundaDany to be underweight for his age. This situation forced his granIrma Elena Torres, to take charge Dany and his brother's care during ththeir parents are worked.Irma has been a volunteer for the Libras de Amor program in Guamore than 8 years. She encouraged Dany’s mother to join the pattend the Nutripuntos every month with Dany. “He was really undhad suffered a lot from bronchopneumonia, which made him lose a lot ofIrma about Dany’s integration to the program.Libras de Amor is an important part of Irma’s life, and being part of it as avolunteer has helped her learn about effective and different health and nupractices, knowledge which she can share with her family and communiIrma says: “As a volunteer and Dany’s grandmother, I am truly gratefprogram because our kids can fully develop, not only by learning new thalso they gain weight like they should, like a normal child with the food weThanks to the support from AmeriCares, Libras de Amor gavespecial donation of Xango Meal Packs, destined to imDany's health and weight. As a grandmother, she expects to see Danystrong and healthy, with the right weight and height. “I want to schildren being active and vigorous, always going directly towards achievindreams in life”.Irma is happy to have this meal for his grandson, because she knows alnutritious benefits that it has and how good it will be for him. She nowhope to see Dany recovering fast and living life at its fullest.

u can have in youricated, committed s Platanares, inpend all day atother, who is 6water and thee vegetablesant food led ndmother,he days, while aymango forprogram andderweight andf weight”, saysa utrition ity.ful to thehings, bute receive”. her amprove y grow see myng their ll thew has



“From me, as a volunteer and even more as a grandmother, I am totally thankful and I hope youreceive a lot of blessings from God for your generous heart.”

MEET GÉNESIS..Being a young mother can always be tough, but it's even more whhave enough resources to support your children. Flor de María Syears old, single mother of three kids: Kevin, 7 years old; César, 5little girl Génesis, who is 3 years old.Flor and her children have been living in caserío Los Vásquez, Gfor a year now. They live with Flor’s brother and dad. They supporher brother works in the city and her dad is a corn farmer. Withthey earn, they buy all the necessary things to survive. Flor doeshe only dedicates her time to taking care of her children.Génesis is a playful little girl who loves to play with her brotheraround the house. She is not going to school yet, so she spends thwith her mom. Her mom tries her best to keep her children heabecause of the lack of food, the family usually suffers. Genesis wdiagnosed with malnutrition, which led Flor to get more involveddaughter’s health and not stop attending the Nutripuntos in hercommunity.At the Nutripunto she not only learned new recipes to prehome for the kids, she was also part of many learning experienactivities and received food for little Génesis. Flor says “I was reallyto receive this help, because there are some things that are veryget, but they give us food”.To support the fast recovery from the malnutrition that Genesis hadreceived a donation of Xango Meal Packs, that Libras de Amor got thto the constant support of AmeriCares. Flor says that sheconsumed Xango during her pregnancy and she noticed how goowas for her. She knows Xango will be just as good for the healthher daughter.The mother hopes to see Génesis recover and with the right weiso she can develop happy and healthy. “I want her to be healShe's been malnourished since she was a baby , but I hope shegain weight little by little”, say Flor.

.. hen you don'tSuriano is a 25 years old and Guaymango, rt the family:h the money es not work, rs and runhe day althy, but was with herepare atnces and blessed hard to d, Flor hanks od ith of ight, lthy. will



“I was really blessed by this donation, because there aresome things that are very hard to get, but they give us foodand other important products, and we also learn a lot”.

MEET ANDY...Growing strong and healthy is one of the main factors that allowsremain active and be able to do all the physical activities that he wannot all children have the opportunity to achieve a good nutritdevelop, and sometimes fall into malnutrition. It is necessary twith de adequate support to overcome that obstacle and reach a full dThat is the case of Andy Josué Monroy, a very shy but active kid whoPlan del Guineo, in Guaymango, Ahuachapán. Andy lives with his mofather, and his little brother. He has two older sisters who are 15 anand study and live in other municipalities.Andy’s family life is filled with difficulties. Both mother and father do npermanent jobs. Andy’s father manages to get money from temporaryfarmer, especially during the corn harvest season.With the money that he earns, he is barely able to buy enough fothe entire family. Their daily diet consists of vegetables or beans. Alsoaccess to drinking water, they have to ask their neighbor to give themthe nearest river.All these difficult conditions brought serious and potentiaconsequences to the family: Andy is underweight. Luckily, MayraNutripunto of the Libras de Amor Program. When she got Andy’s diawas advised by the Libras de Amor team about different ways to help Aa healthy weight.The support Mayra receives for her son at the Nutripunto has been keyimprove Andy’s health. They not only enjoy all the early childhood stimuactivities with Andy, but also the new knowledge that they acquire interwith all other mothers. She says, “We learn a lot of things, sometimes in owe are very shy, but with all the different activities and games for the kids,gain more confidence and lose our shyness”.Mayra also received valuable help for Andy’s nutrition, because shdonation of Xango Meal Pack to feed Andy. This meal means a huto Mayra, because she consumed it during her pregnancy and lovhelped her remain strong throughout that stage when she was thvulnerable.Thanks to the support of AmeriCares and Xango Meal Pack, Andyadequately every day, and Mayra is happy to have a complenutritious meal to give her son. “I am very thankful, we always receihelp happily. Thank you very much”, said Mayra, thrilled to recedonation.

s a child alwaysnts. Unfortunately, tion, to properly to provide them development.o lives in caserío other Mayra, his nd 18 years old,not have jobs as aood to feedo, they lack some or go toally deadlya attends aagnosis, she Andy reachy to ulation ractingour houses , we slowlyhe got auge reliefved it. It he most can eatete and ive youreive the





Thank

k you!



SUCCESS STORY

Meet Orlando GaliciaOrlando plays every day with his cousins and siblings. Tand help each other up. The days are too short when placreate unique worlds in their head and deal with enjoyin

a They run all over the yard, they hug each other, they fall aying together. Under the trees, in the cool weather, they ng the funniest games ever.



Orlando is one of the youngest members of the GaliciaCatalán family. They live in the cantón Ceiba Espino,municipality of Ataco, department of Ahuachapán. Theroad to his home is complicated: a steep slope with soilstreets full of holes and stones.There is no public transportation to get to their house, soto go to the town they have to walk a couple of hours.As they begin their journey, the houses become moredistant, the paths narrower. But even in the mostremoteness, where you think that there is nothing morethan nature, there is a humble house that fills the silenceof the countryside with the laughter of many children.

“We have been living here for 12 years and used tolive below, in the baneful. We went through the backroads and from there we moved here. It’sbetter here”–Narcisa.The nearest neighbors are several minutes away fromthem. The house is surrounded by logs, pieces of woodand metal, making the fence. Passing the door is theyard where the children play, a small chicken coop,the laundry room and a few clothes lying. To the sidethere is the house, with its walls of laminate andwood, and soil floors.Inside there is some old furniture, a cupboard with somefood for the week, and a wood-burning stove.





The familySilvia Maribel Galicia, 25 years old, is the motherof Marisela, Orlando and Byan, 6, 3 and 1 yearold respectively. She has raised her children withthe aid of the family in which she grew up in,giving them the same love and care that herparents gave her, especially Narcisa, her motherand the dedicated grandmother of all the childrenwho live in the home.Silvia, her sisters and sisters in-law do notwork, they dedicate themselves to taking care ofthe children and do the household chores. Silvia’sfather and brother go out to the plantations towork as day laborers, with the responsibility tosupport more than ten people, children andadults, with less than 200 dollars monthly thatthey earn together.“They work from Monday to Saturday, as daylaborers, although these days they do not go sooften, because the harvest is going down. But withwhat they earn we try to buy all the necessary food,but mostly it is only beans, rice, vegetables andsometimes a few eggs” –Narcisa.



Orlando is one of the littlest inthe house. Though there are nottoo many children close by, that does not leave him without friends… There are a lot of kidsto play with! His two siblings, two older cousins and two younger cousins who are still babies.

Marisela, Orlando’s sister, goes to school every morning, aBut he is only 3 years old and is not enrolled yet. “He wantdown to give the classes, Orli goes out to stand at the door auniform, because on Monday he wants to start his classes. Tuniform so he can go at least one day to school, because he knOrlando wakes up at 5:30 in the morning, gets ready stake Marisela to school. “We wake up early because my sonsisters), that is when he gets up and ask for food “mom, give mWhen returning from dropping off his sister, Orlando goepaths. “If I am going to collect firewood he also goes with meAnd for the rest of the day, Orlando is an unstoppable eartcan and plays with his friends.

and Orlando can't wait to the day that he can go as well. ts to go to school, at seven in the morning the teacher comes and every day he asks the teacher if he is going to bring him a The teacher has told him that next year he will bring him a nows that Orlando would love to be there”–Silvia. since early, eats and prepares to go with his mother to n who works leaves at this time. I get up and they too (Silvia’sme food, give me food!”” –Narcisa. es with his mother to collect firewood to the ravines and e, sometimes he only brings a little stick”, said Silvia laughing. thquake of energy: he runs all around, jumps as high as he



His improvementOrlando no longer sleeps in the afternoon.Perhaps for others this is something simple, but forhis mother and grandmother, it is a significantachievement.“Now he doesn't sleep through the day. When hehad malnutrition and anemia, he did not like toplay, and he used to not eat; he always left his food.When he overcame what his illness, he started toplay and no longer sleeps during the day, hespends his days playing and at night he sleepsearly”, commented Narcisa, proud of thischange.The little boy was weak, he did not play, he did notrun, he did not like to eat, and he was asleepduring the day. This is a concern for hisgrandmother and his mother and they decidednot to stand by and took action immediately.Orlando Galicia joined the Libras de Amor program(where his grandmother has been a volunteerfor eleven years) where he was evaluated and hadan alarming diagnosis, according to Silvia: “My babyhad anemia”.

Many elements influenced in Orlando’s diagnosis.The lack of nutritious food for the childrenwas one of them, and affected especially. Themeals were prepared for all of the familymembers, often they were beans and corn, andthe nutrients were not enough for the child andthe few portions he ate in a day.When going to the Nutripunto of Libras de Amor,Silvia had the opportunity to share experiencesand knowledge about nutrition together withother mothers in her community, in addition toreceiving the support of Narcisa and theLibras de Amor team.“There you get to know if the kids have adequateweight and height or if they have anemia, as mychild did”, says Silvia.





And Orlando recovered!“Thanks to the program he started recovering littleby little, until he finally overcame anemia” -Silvia.Orlando developed thanks to two things: his family’sdedication and the MannaPack meals that FeedMy Starving Children donates and are fromulatedespecially for kids like Orlando.Libras de Amor gave this food to the Galicia family,so that they can always have something nutritiousto feed their kids, and boost their healthimprovement.“The boy was really underweight. Thus I gave him thepotato and the rice from MannaPack more often.Three months later when they came to do hisfollow-up exams they told me ‘congratulations, thechild no longer has anemia’”, said Narcisa.Physical checkups were not the only ones showingOrlando's good health: now he asks for more foodand his appearance has completely changed. A detailas simple as his flushed cheeks was a significant achie-vement for his family.“He already started to blush on his cheeks and then star-ted to sweat a little,” said smiling Silvia, while watchingher son jump around the yard with his cheeks comple-tely red.

A happy childhoodOrlando has the chance to go through the daydoing all of the activities that he desires andenjoys his childhood to the fullest. Now his daysare full of funny pranks, like the time he took allthe chicks out of the coop; he loves animals,Napo the dog is his pet, and loves to hug a littlechicken he got from his grandma. He also playsgames and has great times playing with hiscousins.Nutrition is the first step for kids to growwith hopes of a better future. Without thesupport of Feed My Starving Children, Orlando’srecovery could not be possible, and he couldnot be the healthy, playful and happy kid he isnowadays.Thanks to your help, a lot of kids in El Salvadorcan grow healthy and enjoy a childhood filledwith happiness and nutrition.



Sharing is CaringFor eleven years, Narcisa Catalán has been partof the Libras de Amor program. Her youngestdaughter, who was part of the program, is now ayoung student in seventh grade. For Narcisa,being part of Libras de Amor became anopportunity to give back to her community all thesupport and knowledge that she acquired, as well astransmitting the same to her daughters andgrandchildren.She is one of the volunteers who gives theirtime, attention, care and love for the health of thekids in her community. Every month, the humblehouse of the Galicia Catalán Family becomes aspace to share knowledge and nutrition withmothers and children from the surroundingvillages. Narcisa helps in the activities of earlystimulation, leadingn nutrition workshops andhelping in measuring the weight and height ofthe children.“I tell them that when I had young children, thiskind of help didn't exist, I lacked the knowledge. Wetook care of our children in our very own way. Nowthey have educated us in everything that is good forthem and all that we must do so that they arehealthy… And I love that!” says Narcisa proudly.







Thank

k you!

Sustcocrieesss