Did you know that chronic malnutrition causes 80% of all sickness and disease, and kills more people every year than all forms of violence including war?
In the village of Rio Azul, Guatemala 74% of children are chronically malnourished due to to unsafe drinking water, a lack of proper sewage system, lack of nutrients in their diet, and other poverty-driven factors.
This blog tracks the Food for the Hungry / Friends Church work to end chronic malnutrition the village of Rio Azul, Guatemala.
Rio Azul is a small village of about 2000 people, 10 minutes from the city of Nebaj and roughly 7 hours from Guatemala City.
Due to its location in the Cuchumatanes mountains, Rio Azul has remained mostly isolated from the rest of the world. Its people have therefore maintained their traditional culture free from influences of the outside world. Most of the men are farmers, and most of the women are weavers. The people primarily speak the Ixil language. Most people also speak Spanish as a secondary language, and school is taught in Spanish.
During the Guatemalan Civil War (1960-1996), the Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP) used the surrounding mountains as a base of operations. The Guatemalan Army pursued a scorched-earth policy to destroy villages. The villagers of the community were caught in the crossfire, and thousands of civilians were killed, tortured, or disappeared.
Friends Church works with Rio Azul year-round, and a small team travels to Guatemala once each year, to continue building relationships with the community. Written with input from the whole team – we will, for the first time, be able to track our movements, on the ground, in real-time – and let you know what’s happening and how we are bringing water to a community in need.
We hope you will join us.
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If you would like to donate to our work to bring water to the people of Guatemala, please click here: http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=16811
Water: anything that God uses in and through us to make the world better. How are you bringing water to your world today?