Chamos Health Programmes for Children in Venezuela

We recently came back from a visit to Venezuela where we where able to visit a number of our projects, meet with our partners and beneficiaries. It was an incredible trip and I wanted to share with you a short summary of the health programmes we support thanks to your generous donation through GlobalGiving.

School Meals Programme

We visited the school Niño Jesus de Praga where we provide 192 children with an arepa every day. This daily meal - which is nutritionally balanced to include all four basic food groups - not only improves the health of these children, but also gives them an incentive to attend school, and helps them concentrate while there. We met the kids - polite, intelligent, ambitious children, who all told us that they love the arepa they get every morning.

Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

It was a pleasure to visit some of the schools and community centres where we have deployed WASH infrastructure over the past three years, and to understand the impact of these donations by talking to the people that use them every day. On one of our visits we met Gladys, who works in the kitchen at one of the schools, and who told us that the filter we donated in 2020 filter has been transformational. She used to have to boil huge pots of water to potibilise it - both time-consuming and dangerous in a tiny kitchen like this one - but now, she can simply use the filter. She said: "It saves us so much time - not only me, but everyone that works in the kitchen!”

Nutritional Recovery Programme

We had the opportunity to see how this very important programme runs in a very strict and effective way. The babies and their caregivers are monitored closely every week, they are weighed and seen by a doctor and nurse, and after recording and assessing their progress there are given the adequate baby formula. As part of the programme, they are also given water purification sachets. This is a vital part of the recovery programme, since water quality in Venezuela is very poor and it can cause little progress with the weight gain due to diarrhoea and it can also cause severe gastroenteritis in babies that can be fatal especially if they are undernourished.

Paediatric Wheelchair distribution Programme

Mobility is Possibility

On our final day, we were able to attend a distribution of 10 of the 100 specialised paediatric wheelchairs that we sent to Caracas last year. It was really special to have the opportunity to speak to the parents of the children receiving the chairs, and my biggest takeaway from this day was the incredible love and care of these parents - in spite of the difficulties and sacrifices that they have experienced. Many of the mothers I spoke to had been carrying their children (some of whom were teenagers) for their whole lives, because they didn’t have any other way of moving them around. These wheelchairs will make such a difference - not only to the lives of the children themselves, but also to those of their parents.

We also had the opportunity to visit some of the other projects we support during a busy but uplifting week in Caracas, we left Venezuela feeling very hopeful and proud - of what we do, the opportunities and dignity we are giving these children, and the amazing community of supporters that we rely on to make this possible. 

Having experienced first-hand the impact of our work, once again, I want to personally thank you - on behalf of Chamos, the kids we met, and our partners - for your support. If you’d like to hear any more about the trip or about any of our specific projects, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

All the very best,

Mariana

We are happy to share that to date 70% of the wheelchair container that we sent with your help to Venezuela during 2021 carrying 100 paediatric wheelchairs has been safely distributed during the months of November and December.

 Distributions occurred in separate lots between the first week of November and the first weeks of December, under strict covid protocols, with the attendance of members of our team and the presence of our partners (FUNDAPROCURA), at their distribution centre in Caracas.

On distribution days beneficiaries attended with their parents, or representatives, they came from many different places in Venezuela, and more than 60% of them came from areas outside the Caracas. 

        71 chairs were fitted and distributed.

       75% of recipients were receiving their first wheelchair.

       For all beneficiaries this was their first ever specialised wheelchair.

       38% of the parents of the beneficiaries did not have access to formal employment.

One of the most powerful takeaways from the distribution was:

        GRATITUDE 

Even though it had taken many of the beneficiaries and their families many hours and difficulties to reach FUNDAPROCURA’S distribution centre, as public transport in Venezuela is chaotic and not adapted for disabled needs, and private transport is very expensive, they managed to arrive on time, and with the biggest smiles.

In a country that is far off from reaching standards for wheelchair accessibility, this is even more remarkable. Subways are not wheelchair accessible, since there are only manual stairs; buses don’t have ramps and most people live in ¨barrios¨, which are scattered in uneven and hilly terrain with no paved streets.

These circumstances demanded a big effort from the beneficiaries and their families, some of which had to wake up as early as 5am, to arrive to the centre by 9am, while others started their journey a day or two before to first reach the capital (Caracas) from their different locations so they could be in time for the distribution.

This wonderful gift of mobility will bring these children in many cases a transformation of their lives as they will not only be more comfortable, more independent, and more mobile, but will help their families and caregivers, by improving not only the recipient quality of life, but also the people who surround them, multiplying the impact of this precious donation.

On the following months we will follow up with the beneficiaries to make sure the wheelchairs where correctly fitted, are in good condition and that no further adjustments to their posture are needed.

All of this will not be possible without your invaluable donations and support! 

Please find some photos attached of the distribution, hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

I am also attaching our annual report where you can see the full scope of our work and learn more about our other projects that help improve the lives of the children of Venezuela.

sincerely,

Mariana Siblesz de Alvarez 

Links:

• CHAMOS 2020 Annual Report
• Celebrating 2021