Blog posts tagged with 'children'

Among the many challenges faced by disadvantaged populations in Guatemala is that of providing adequate nutrition for themselves and their families. Guatemala has the fourth highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world. The mainstay of the typical diet is based on corn (in the form of tortillas) and beans, and also includes sugar, cheese, eggs, meat and fresh fruits and vegetables. Although many Guatemalans enjoy the exceptional coffee grown in their country, it is typical a much weaker brew than that preferred in America and is usually served with plenty of sugar. The most impoverished people in Guatemala often subsist on a diet of just corn, beans, and fruit, which provides inadequate amounts of many nutrients, including amino acids and fat.

Almost 20% of the population of Guatemala is categorized as undernourished by the World Bank.  Children under the age of five are especially at risk, with over 25% being underweight and over 50% being stunted (short for their age). Most at risk are rural, indigenous people, who are also the less educated and poorest populations in the country. Anemia is big risk particularly for pregnant women and infants. The underlying cause of the much of the nutritional deficiency for the majority of Guatemalans is economic access to food. 54% of the population is living below the poverty line, and these people only consume about 60% of the minimum daily caloric requirement, leading to malnutrition.

Unique Batik  provides vital income to just this at-risk population through fair trade purchases of their handmade crafts. Seeing the nutritional challenges faced by so many of the people of Guatemala, we wanted to do more, and when the good work of ODIM was brought to our attention, it seemed like the right partnership for advancing the cause of good nutrition in Guatemala. Unique Batik has been a supporter of ODIM for several years, funding their Children’s Cultural Exchange (CCE) and Nutrition Project.

ODIM is an organization operating in the Highlands of Guatemala on the shores of Lake Atitlan in two villages, San Juan and San Pablo La Laguna, with a focus on healthcare and education. ODIM stands for Organization for the Development of the Indigenous Maya, and the two villages where they work have a total population of approximately 20,000 people, almost entirely indigenous Maya. ODIM’s Nutrition Project was founded in 2010 after seeing a drastic increase in severely malnourished children at their healthcare clinics. The Nutrition Project is a comprehensive nutrition program that works with twenty families. Participants attend monthly classes in hygiene, nutrition, combating common illnesses, safe food preparation, and family budgeting. The program also includes cooking classes, bi-monthly health checks, emergency food assistance and a community garden where families in the program work and share in the vegetable harvests.

The nutrition, cooking, and budgeting classes, as well as the organic vegetables and herbs from the community garden established especially for them, has greatly improved the lives of both the mothers and children involved in the Nutrition Project. ODIM no longer sees such extreme cases as the month-old baby girl, weighing 4 pounds and the 10-month-old baby boy, weighing 8.8 pounds who were the impetus for the program.

You can support the good work of ODIM by visiting their website http://www.odimguatemala.org/, connecting to their organization on Amazon Smile, and , of course, continuing your fair trade purchases through Unique Batik!

In Guatemala, over a million children are not in school -- one in 28, according to a UNESCO educational report. Many kids are working to support their families, while others would go to school if their parents could afford the fees. Although primary school in Guatemala is ostensibly free and compulsory, only thirty percent of students who begin school finish the six years of primary school. While school is theoretically free, in reality, there are high registration fees, costs for materials such as textbooks, and more, putting even basic education outside of the realm of possibility for many families. Those who drop out are disproportionately rural and from indigenous families, just like the ten students who are receiving scholarships through Unique Batik.

Thanks to your purchases from Unique Batik, ten children who could have been part of these dire statistics made it to school last year. Ten students at a rural school in the mountainous state of Solola , Guatemala, received scholarships through Unique Batik to continue their primary and middle school education. The group, composed mostly of girls, all come from families with limited economic resources who would otherwise be unable to provide an education for their children.

Because they know it isn’t always guaranteed, these children value education and see it as a bridge to a better future for themselves and their families. Recently, we received a packet of thank you cards from Pedro, the local scholarship coordinator, which contained three handmade notes from scholarship recipients. Pedro also sent pictures of the students and the school. In their pictures, the girls, dressed in the traditional Mayan costume of embroidered blouses and a woven wrap skirt bisected by a wide belt of woven fabric, stare seriously at the camera, but their solemnity at having their pictures taken is belied by the sparkly stickers and handdrawn flowers that decorate their letters. The handdrawn strawberries, glittery stickers, and rows of fanciful flowers and a carefully cut out scalloped edge, express the pride and creativity of the girls who made them.

In a country with the second lowest literacy rate in the Western Hemisphere, simply being able to write a thank you note is a great achievement. Indigenous women are the most marginalized population in the country, with a literacy rate of only thirty percent. This is the group from whom we buy most of our handicrafts, and the ones we aim to help with our scholarship program. The education they are receiving has allowed these girls to dream of a life different from the one their parents have led; they can conceive of a bigger world, filled with opportunity. Filomena writes that she hopes to achieve her dreams of being a successful professional, and Elena anticipates finishing middle school, an accomplishment made by only the top third of the population.

If the statistics seem overwhelming, remember that you can make a difference. You have made a difference. The support of Unique Batik customers has changed the narrative for at least ten kids. We couldn’t express our gratitude any better than they did:

I am grateful to you with all my heart for helping me with my studies and helping me achieve my dreams -- Belinda, 4th grade.

I am very happy that I completed the sixth grade. With your help, I will get my diploma -- Filomena, 6th grade.

I am very grateful to you for helping me in my studies so that I can achieve my goals -- Elena, 8th grade.