Fight Malnutrition in Rural Guatemala

Aldea Maya has been helping the Chuk Muk preschool for many years with educational toys as well as colouring supplies.

We are now partnering with the Chuk Muk Preschool to offer nutrition and cooking classes to the moms and grandmoms. Undernutrition in Guatemala is a serious issue that effects mental, physical and social well-being. Infants and small children are the most vulnerable to this dangerous condition. In Guatemala, almost 50% of children experience inadequate growth and stunted growth due to lack of appropriate nutrient intake. These classes offer each participant a 4-month course that teaches how to supply nutrient rich food, at low cost. 

It is a common practice in the highlands of Guatemala for infants and small children to be fed coffee and caffienated soft drinks. Our courses illustrate the dangers of these feeding habits and we use interactive games and movies in their mother tongue to show a better way of feeding young children. They also receive a picture cook book to reinforce the new ideas.

Many of the recipes incorporate chaya ( tree spinach). This green, leafy vegetable can drastically increase the intake of vitamins and minerals and can be easily grown in their yard. Each mom received several chaya sticks to plant.

Aldea Maya is working diligently to increase the nutritional knowledge of the elementary and middle school children in the village of Chuk Muk. We are continuing with our program to have the students actively participate in our organic school garden. The students learn about soil health and how to plant and maintain a garden. Then when their crops have produced they make a salad from the proceeds. A gret time is had by all.

We also have the middle school students working together to prepare a meal. The students rarely get the opportunity to eat meat. We therefore had them prepare a chicken meal with a salad and a drink made from the flower of the hibiscus plant.  We then decided to make this event even more fun by pairing it with a movie night. These events help to build relationships between the students and a feeling of community.