COVID 19 in Guatemala
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With Shelter in Place in Guatemala,
Many Don’t Have Food.
If you have never been to Guatemala, it’s hard to understand how hard this virus has been on the people here in this country. Many Guatemalans live day to day. You may be familiar with the idea of living paycheck-to-paycheck. For many Guatemalans, paycheck-to-paycheck would be a luxury who are living day-to-day. So if they don’t work today, there is no food tonight.
To make things more difficult, many people don’t have a refrigerator to keep food. They go to the store each day for food for that day.
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Then the public transportation stopped. So if you happen to live outside a city, there is no way to get to the market. If you have money, which most don’t, it is still really difficult to get food. There is no travel allowed between towns, even with private cars or transportation. Many small towns have markets that depend on people traveling there to setup. Those people aren’t coming.
Imagine living in one of these small villages. You’ve been accustomed to having vendors travel to your town who sell you food — and suddenly the country shuts down. You now live in a village with no food. Nobody is coming and you can’t leave.
Transportation is shut down. Checkpoints make it hard or impossible to travel from one town to another. A daily curfew of 4:00 p.m. has been imposed — if you’re out after 4:00 p.m. you likely go to jail. And people over 60 can’t leave their homes at all.
The government here is promising to get aid out to these villages, but it is very slow in coming. Even when it gets here it will be very minimal and most likely difficult to access.
This is where you can help. Cultiva has partnered with local food banks to get food to the people who need it now. These small local food banks are passing out food everyday to those who would otherwise go without. Please donate now to help people get food now.
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Cultiva is partnering with local food bank to provide food now.
Acute vs. Chronic Needs
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Cultiva has been helping Guatemalans with malnutrition for a decade. Even before this crazy virus took over. Right now there is an ACUTE need. People need food for today, and so Cultiva is partnering with local food banks to help now.
However, Guatemala has a CHRONIC (ongoing) malnutrition problem. Guatemala is the most malnourished country in North America and the second most malnourished country in the Western Hemishere. Many indegionous people here eat only corn tortillas their whole life. NOTHING ELSE, JUST CORN TORTILLAS. Without vegetables and fruit for growing kids, height is stunted, IQ is imparred and the cycle of poverty continues. They get enough calories to survive, but not the nutrients they need to properly develop.
Cultiva teaches families how to grow their own food, right at their own house. This small investment in them gives them more than just healthy food, it gives them hope.
Since Cultiva was founded, we’ve placed more than 2,000 garden boxes with families here in Guatemala. These families are growing their own food right now. Many families here are better off today than they would otherwise be because of the support of many donors to help these families lift themselves out of poverty.
But many more are suffering today — and have a real need today. They are in a desperate spot right now, and you can help by providing money to get them basic needs today.
For as little as $5/month you can change the LONG TERM outlook for a whole family.