Lottery! Nutrition for me and all my friends

Por: Aranza Santos

In Los Altos, Chiapas 9 out of 10 people suffer from food insecurity, because they don’t have an availability of food or the lack of resources to obtain it. This situation is even more alarming in the case of children, where 5 out of 10 child deaths are due to malnutrition. With your help we will be able to provide decent food, dramatically transforming their quality of life. 

In Mexico there is a problem of malnutrition as in other developing countries that is even more worrying in rural areas. The lack of a sufficient, varied and nutritious diet causes children to grow up without the necessary energy to play, create, learn; and that they are more likely to die from disease and be stunted for the rest of their lives. It isn’t necessary to have an advanced degree to suffer serious consequences; many of children who die from related causes are only slightly or moderately malnourished. 

This is why Amextra has promoted the project “Lottery! Nutrition for me and all my friends”, for the benefit of children, nutrition and food security, where 70 tzoltzil families in Chiapas will increase their corn production, plant fruit trees, expand community greenhouses, they will begin with the installation of chicken coops, in addition to interactive workshops, practices to achieve a balanced diet and the correct preparation of healthy food. Thanks to these activities we will achieve that in one year, 120 children from these families will have access to a greater diversity of fresh and nutritious ingredients, helping them to have a healthy life and development.

The municipalities where Amextra has collaborated in this project are Aldama and Chalchihuitán, which are among the 5 municipalities with the highest percentage of families living in poverty in Mexico.

With this work, 6 strategies will be implemented to develop lasting conditions of balanced nutrition:

• Maintenance of community greenhouses. 

Keep the protection of crops safe against environmental damage.

• Installation of community chicken coops.

A safe haven for chickens and a place where hens can lay their eggs.

• Workshops on agro ecological techniques. 

This knowledge will help them to better understand natural processes, conserve biodiversity and the natural resource base. And achieve increased food production, in order to reduce the use of inputs external to the site and to optimize the efficiency of cultivation systems.

• Recovery and sharing of native seeds. 

This will allow not only to have a high rate of success in the implantation, but also to create a strong ecosystem, which survives and sel-perpetuates.

• Locally produced various food preparation workshops.

So that they can take advantage of each of the foods safely, through good hygiene to avoid different diseases.

• Breastfeeding workshop for new and experienced moms.

Guide mothers on how to breastfeed correctly and comfortably for both the baby and herself, and inform them of all the benefits.

With this project, we seek to ensure that children can grow up with proper nutrition and prevent various diseases, radically changing their future. Thus, not only short term malnutrition reduced, but production techniques are maintained and prepared in an efficient and sustainable manner in the years to come, so that this acquired knowledge can be passed on to future generations and neighboring communities. 

Be part of this project!

Transform the lives of tzotzil children and help us fight food insecurity, making a donation from September 12 to 16 that will be doubled thanks to GlobalGiving by clicking here.