Some children in Chacaya waiting in line for their hot lunch

This year, 360 more rural children in the Santiago Atitlan region will be receiving nourishing school lunches, thanks to the generous support of Pueblo a Pueblo’s donors and funders. In addition to continuing three schools in our lunch program from 2011, this month we’re starting our hot lunch program in the schools of Tzanchaj and La Voz Atitlan.

In total, we’re now bringing nutritional, dependable meals to more than 830 primary school children every school day—and we plan to expand even further, into the Panaj school, by the end of March!

Lunchtime always brings a big smile!

These hot lunches not only keep the children attentive in class, they also provide an added incentive to send children to school in the rural communities of Santiago Atitlan, where school lunch is sometimes the children’s only healthy meal of the day. Beyond providing nourishing meals, our school lunches are part of an integrated program of ongoing education in health, nutrition, sanitation, and organic gardening that teaches the children how to stay healthier and better nourished for a lifetime, and creates long-term, sustainable changes within their communities.

The Maternal Child Health (MCH) Program has started the year with a bang. Last week our monthly session focused on dental hygiene. The mothers learned about the importance of dental hygiene for their babies and how to care for baby teeth and permanent teeth.  Thanks to a donation of toothbrushes by St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Youth Group from Bellingham, Washington, all of the mothers and children received toothbrushes and practices effective brushing techniques.

We also gave the mother’s a sneak peek at the new services that we’ll be providing this year, such as a Pap smear clinic day and classes on family planning methods. While the fertility rate across Guatemala has dropped to four births per woman, in and around Santiago Atitlan it still averages seven. Many women want to space the births of their children or prevent additional pregnancies, but do not have the resources to purchase birth control methods.  We are excited to add these crucial reproductive health services to the MCH Program. These services will ensure the continued good health of the women and will allow them to better care for their children.

At the end of the class, each of the children received a pair of new shoes, thanks to a generous in-kind donation from the Pediped Foundation (www.pedipedfoundation.org). We had lots of fun trying on shoes and testing them out.

Two of our happy grads!

Sponsors in our Child Health and Education Sponsorship (CHES) program have made an enormous difference in the lives of children in Santiago Atitlan in 2011. Let us count the ways!

• 22 sponsored children graduated from elementary school. Isabella Chicom graduated from middle school, and Irma Leticia Xicay graduated from high school.

• 183 students received benefits through the program and were able to stay in school
• All of our sponsored children received numerous benefits, including:
  • A backpack and the school supplies they need at each grade level
  • Gym uniforms, socks, and sneakers
  • A nutritious lunch every school day
  • Books of short stories to encourage reading and reinforce language and literature skills
  • A general medical check-up, along with a course of vitamin A and deworming medicine
  • Ongoing medical care and free medicine whenever needed
  • Financial support for graduation costs

Thank you to each of our CHES sponsors. Together, we are putting children on the path to a brighter future every single day!