Thursday, September 17, 2009

Hunger in Guatemala

A number of articles have come out recently on the food shortages and malnutrition affecting Guatemala (“Malnutrition in Guatemala: A National Shame,” The Economist; and “Mueren de hambre in Guatemala,” BBC Mundo en Español). While serving there in the Peace Corps, I knew malnutrition was a problem, but I never realized how serious it was. According to Unicef, almost half of the children in Guatemala are chronically malnourished. In some rural communities, child malnutrition reaches 80%.

And now, thanks to the global recession, higher food prices and reduced remittances coming from family members working in other countries, millions are at risk. Coffee Kids’ partners in Guatemala understand the problem and are managing a variety of projects to help increase food security and economic independence in their communities, but they need your help.

Check out more information on our partners in Guatemala on our program page and learn how you can donate to Coffee Kids and help.