Give children in rural Guatemala a healthy start in life

From me to you: “today is a good day, for you and for me, but perhaps not for everyone. So let’s turn a bad day into a good day, for those who need it most”.

A year ago, I arrived in Guatemala, unpacked my suitcases in a small village around Lake Atitlan, and started working for this beautiful organization called ODIM Guatemala. ODIM stands for the Organization for the Development of the Indigenous Mayans, because behind the vivid colors, millennial traditions and rich culture, Guatemala is still facing serious development issues.

When I started my career here, I wanted to contribute my grain of sand into making this world a better place for all. Today, I’m asking you, will you join me on this journey?

In January 2021, I will take on the Ultimate Guatemala Challenge: 8 intense days of sports challenges and raise funds for mothers and babies in ODIM Guatemala’s Healthy Mommy & Me program. It is set to be a tough but life-changing adventure. The three challenges I will be completing are:

1. A 62k jungle trek from the ruins of Yaxhá to the ancient Mayan city of Tikal
2. Overnight hike of volcano Acatenango (height 13,041ft. / 3,976m above the sea)
3. 12km Paddle boarding across Lake Atitlan

Our goal, as a team is to raise enough money to fund the ODIM’s Healthy Mommy & Me Initiative in 2021. Here in Guatemala, child mortality and chronic malnutrition are among the highest in the world, and the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean. In fact, in the rural communities where I work, 8 out of 10 children are malnourished, and a worrying number of babies don't make it to their 2nd birthday. The current Covid-19 crisis has made conditions even worse, with many families losing jobs and unable to put food on the table or provide for their families.

ODIM’s Healthy Mommy & Me program provides mothers and babies from rural communities with prenatal and postnatal health care, health education, family planning, vitamins, supplements and food vouchers, to give the children a healthy start in life. Many children who are malnourished during this critical “first 1,000 day” will have lifelong lasting impacts, that’s why it’s important to act as soon as possible and give pregnant mothers and babies all the care they need – and you can be a part of this great effort!

I need to raise a minimum of $3,000 which equals the cost of 150 women's participation in the program for one month. Any donation - big or small - euros or dollars - will go a long way to helping these vulnerable moms.

Will you help me give these children a healthy start in life?