But not anymore. The food crisis in Guatemala has become so severe that the president has declared a state of calamity, and the rate of undernutrition in children under 5 has reached 49 percent.

Many remember the famines in China in the 1950s and 60s. Or in Ethiopia in the 1980s. But famine is just not a problem of the past. It still happens in countries that have economies prosperous enough so that no child should have to suffer chronic or severe malnutrition. This is the case in Guatemala.

In Guatemala, the face of poverty and hunger is young, indigenous and rural. Guatemala, with the fourth-highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world and the highest in Central America and the Caribbean, faces a serious challenge in reducing the rate of chronic undernutrition.

One of the causes fueling the current food crisis is the state of education in Guatemala.

Based on a 2002 census, nearly 24 percent of Guatemala’s population is illiterate because, for example, children desert education in order to help their parents work. This is especially common in rural indigenous areas.

Another reason is a lack of knowledge of the Spanish language, as many of the rural indigenous population speak Mayan languages. Guatemala has 22 officially recognized Mayan languages.

Besides education, culture also fuels malnutrition. Nutritionist Jacobo Jiménez works for a government institution in Zapaca, and has seen the damage some cultural traditions can do:

“We daily fight the taboos that screw up sound ways of having a healthy intake and make things utterly hazardous for the inhabitants in this area.

“A young mother with a baby … she refused to eat eggs because of the town’s belief that [eating eggs] will make the milk she gives to her baby rotten.

“The lack of education of many Guatemalan mothers prevents them from having the right habits and nutritional knowledge in their first months of pregnancy and the baby’s first months.”

Another cultural problem adding to the crisis is sexism.

“Women decide to feed their husbands instead of the children, and I think this is not fair. Girls are forced to stay at home and do chores or take care of their youngest siblings while boys are encouraged to attend school.”

The girls are fed less at home, furthering their undernutrition, and they also do not have the opportunity to learn about health and how to care for themselves and their family as they are denied access to education.

Government decisions have contributed to the crisis as well.

Guatemala has lost the capacity of producing what it consumes (nutritional sovereignty) as a result of economic policies that slant towards a particular market, oriented to reduce the costs of the most dynamic industries, which obtain the majority of their raw material from foreign countries.

Between 2007 and 2008, the area dedicated to corn and beans, the base of the country’s economy, was reduced 40 percent. This lower production drove an increase of importation, which is now happening with five main products coffee, sugar, cardamom, bananas and African palms.

The climate has led to the food crisis, too.

Guatemala, as well as other countries, has been battered by the weather phenomenon called “El Niño.” Effects on weather vary with each event, but ENSO (El Niño) is associated with floods, droughts and other weather disturbances in many regions of the world.

In the Atlantic Ocean, effects lag behind those in the Pacific by 12 to 18 months. Developing countries dependent upon agriculture and fishing, particularly bordering the Pacific Ocean, are especially affected.

Throughout the duration of this devastating weather phenomenon, and just when the crops in Guatemalan soil needed rain the most, there was no rain at all.

Attacking the Global Food Crisis

Living in the small town of San Cristobal Verapaz, Freddy attends the Rayitos De Esperanza Student Center. Surrounded by beautiful green mountains, Freddy and his family have gained hope.

“During the last medical checkup, Freddy [had] gained 10 pounds, thanks to the Complementary Intervention activity we have been hosting,” states Lucía Jom, general coordinator of the student center.

This Complementary Intervention activity was made possible with the funds that were raised in the Global Food Crisis Day held March 11, 2009. Forty student centers have been assisted by this activity, benefiting 2,500 children diagnosed with malnutrition [slight or chronic].

“When a disease is detected, we give assistance” states Erick Castillo, Compassion Guatemala’s Health Specialist.

“The children are diagnosed with the standards that the World Health Organization gives related to weight, size and malnutrition.

“Our health intervention consists in giving the children diagnosed with malnutrition balanced meals. This can be breakfast, lunch or dinner that has been cooked by persons who have been previously trained.

“This training consists in giving knowledge to the cooks of each student center on how to prepare nutritious meals. Mothers of sponsored children are trained as well on how to take advantage of local crops in order to give them the most nutritious meals they can with the family budget they have.

“What we want to do next is strive to find funds to keep educating and training on how to harvest hydroponic crops, such as celery, cucumber, beans, spinach, tomato, turnip amongst many. These crops are rich in minerals and vitamins that can complement the meals prepared at home.”

“The community approves this way of helping children” states Lucía, ”and they are interested in sending their children to have this kind of assistance.”

One of the expected outcomes we wish to reach with the children is that they may choose good health practices and are physically healthy.

Compassion Guatemala has made an intentional effort for all children registered in our sponsorship program to experience reduced nutritional deficiencies and know how to prevent nutritional deficiencies.

The curriculum includes such topics as:

• “What is a lunch?” — with an objective of describing and defining the ingredients of a nutritiouslunch
• “Making a group of healthy food” — with an objective of identifying the five basic groups of food and their value to keep the body healthy
• “Breakfasts are very important” — with the objective of describing and identifying the ingredients for a nutritious breakfast and its importance for good health
• “Make a healthy meal” — with an objective of dramatizing potential scenarios related with different food options
• “Favorite recipes” — with the objective of making a book that contains recipes of food used in their communities

In the midst of the worst of the famine to befall Guatemala in the last 30 years, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs from the United Nations as well as other institutions have predicted that this famine can turn even worse if the second harvest at the end 2009 is destroyed by the lack of rains and low temperatures. This is especially possible in the northwestern part of Guatemala.

The government is already trying to take some actions to assist the families that may be affected by this famine, but this won’t be enough.

We have proven our leadership by currently encouraging people to become involved and donate for the sake of this noble cause. It is thanks to the money raised on our last Global Food Crisis Day more than 4,000 children in different student centers nationwide are being assisted to reach a better physical state.

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” – Matthew 25:40, NIV

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Jesus says to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.

The teacher of the law responds to Jesus, agreeing with what He has said, and then in understanding also states that these two commandments are “more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (summary of Mark 12:28-34).

I have found that this act of love, to love our neighbor as our self, is no mystery. It is the living, breathing body of Christ working within the power and capacity of the Lord. Hurting when others are hurt, rejoicing when others rejoice.

We walk forward and love with love that has been poured on us, our hearts made sensitive to the needs of those around us.

We are intricately connected, I believe more so than we even suspect. We are one body, the Bride of Christ, each one of us examples of Christ’s love.

I expound upon this for a reason; I recently heard a story at Compassion in a meeting that left such awe resonating in my heart. So much so that I went and hunted down the pictures, the full report,* and then I requested to share it with you.

It is an account of the body of Christ in action, the call to love our neighbor being fulfilled.

Breathing was extremely difficult and oxygen had to be administrated 24 hours a day. His daily life had to be overseen 24/7 and the worries of the medics grew day after day as Stuart had to struggle with an illness called subglottic stenosis.

Subglottic stenosis causes the throat to narrow and makes the breathing process complicated, and for Stuart restricts his life to 50 percent of normal capabilities.

Stuart has suffered from this illness since he was 3 years old, and as the doctors in Nicaragua examined his case, they realized that the appropriate treatment could not be done there but rather only in Europe.

Dr. Erick Castillo (Compassion Guatemala’s Health Specialist), worked closely with Dr. Nubia Figueroa (Compassion Nicaragua’s Program Implementation Manager) sharing reports about Stuart’s health status, and found in Guatemala a medic who could fulfill this surgery and suggested this new option.

Reluctantly, Stuart’s mom agreed to travel to Guatemala, but later regretted her decision and turned down her permission to let Stuart travel. Her fear was that this surgery leaves a small open hole in the patient’s throat for at least one year, depending on the alimentation and care that he is given.

Eventually, though, Stuart was able to travel to Guatemala and had this laser surgery that resulted in a successful outcome for his life!

Ingrid González (Compassion Guatemala’s Curriculum Specialist) opened her home doors for Stuart and his mother while he was recovering from this surgery, and along with Erick Castillo, treated him the very best they could by praying, giving encouraging words and striving to help them feel at home as they were in an unknown country.

Compassion Guatemala, through its Country Director as well as the local office’s prayer group and many of its staff, constantly monitored Stuart’s case to see how he was doing. Stuart received many gifts from the staff and was even taken to church and then to an outing by one of the staff members on a beautiful Sunday.

Stuart continues to thrive in life, and his health is continually improving since his surgery.

Dr. Castillo and Dr. Figueroa continue to oversee Stuart’s health by sharing mutual reports, since Stuart must return soon to Guatemala for his respective medical follow-up to make sure everything is all right, especially the small hole left in his throat.

Compassion Guatemala continues to advise our partners in Nicaragua to give Stuart proper support, from his student center to his home.

Stuart’s birthday was June 9, the first birthday that he did not spend in a hospital. What a beautiful thing!

The command to love our neighbor as our self is a great task but one that can result in victories … even in saving lives.

And let us remember how Jesus responded to the man who acknowledged the beauty of the command:

“When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’” – Mark 12:34 (NIV)

*Stuart’s story was written by Samuel Llanes in the Compassion Guatemala office.

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