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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - El Salitrillo, Jutiapa, Guatemala

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El Salitrillo, Jutiapa, Guatemala
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Rebecca4



Registered: July 2021
City/Town/Province: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 1
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Hi, I'm Rebecca. My family adopted my little sister, Bella, from Guatemala in 2006. Ever since that time, my family and I have been involved with charity work in Bella's beautiful, but very impoverished, country. Spending time in Guatemala opened my eyes to the inequality and lack of opportunities suffered by those who just happen to be born into poverty. I decided early on that it was my obligation to help those who have less than me. Over the years, I have spent my time collecting school supplies, warm clothing, and toys for kids in Guatemala. In 2015, I helped paint and inaugurate the primary school in a rural mountainous village in Guatemala that my brother built as a result of his schoolstarter project.
After spending time with kids in one of Guatemala's malnutrition hospitals, I decided to focus my efforts on this severe and debilitating issue. Guatemala currently has the highest malnutrition rate in the Western Hemisphere and the fourth highest rate in the world!
This is a result of extreme poverty as well as a result of the poor farmability of the land that the Mayans were forced to escape to during the Civil War.
My sister is currently six inches taller than she would have been, had she grown up in Guatemala, simply because of the good nutrition she received here. When I think of all the kids left behind in Guatemala that do not have the same opportunities that bella has, my heart breaks for them.
Malnutrition causes stunted growth, developmental and psychological delays, and also lowers the immune system, leaving the kids to get sick much more often.
Last summer I launched my mealworm project to help combat the malnutrition problem. It involves using insects as a protein source for the villages where other protein sources are not affordable. It was very well received, and I hope to see this project spread to even more villages.
While introducing my worm project, I noticed that many families still cook over open fires INSIDE their homes, while all the smoke ravages their eyes and respiratory systems. To address this problem, I have partnered with an organization called the DIG to provide a healthier alternative to this cooking method.
We provide for local villages an amazing program called Community Empowerment. Through this program, a donor can change an entire family's lives forever. For just $200, you can provide for a family a smokeless, vented stove, a cast iron pan to provide essential minerals, and a collection of nutritious plants.
When these items are delivered, the look of gratitude from the villagers solidifies what an amazing, life-altering gift this is.
These smokeless stoves reduce respiratory illnesses by 95% and they cut down on the use of firewood by 90%, thereby saving the forests and ecosystem. The nutritious plants and cast iron skillet will continue to provide much-needed nutrients for years to come. It has been a privilege to offer assistance to those in need, and I plan to continue solving the many environmental and nutritional issues that developing countries face.
· Date: July 11, 2021 · Views: 2038 · File size: 14.9kb, 905.7kb · : 2058 x 3136 ·
Hours Volunteered: 10,000
Volunteers: 10
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 17 & 14 to 52
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