The Jesse Project
A child named Jesse was recently brought to one of our clinics. By the time he came to us he was desperately sick and severely malnourished. Neither of those conditions is unfamiliar to moms and dads in Haiti. A full 50% of children in Haiti are seriously malnourished, and 150,000 children under the age of 5 are acutely malnourished. One child in three is stunted or irreversibly short for their age. Two and a half million Haitians live in extreme poverty with 70% of the Haitian population earning less the $2 per day.
Realizing that food insecurity is a way of life for most Haitians, and that huge numbers of children are suffering from the devastating effects of both acute and severe malnutrition, MHJ decided to do something. We began the Jesse Project.
$200 is all it takes to feed a child with life saving and life sustaining RUTF (Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods). Used around the world, RUTFs are the gold standard for treating and ameliorating malnutrition. We are able to obtain an RUTF called Plumpy-nut or Medica mamba because it is made right in Haiti.
The treatment regimen for each child is prescribed by weight, height, age and ancillary medical challenges (like vitamin deficiencies, worms, infections, AIDS, etc.) Generally, one case (a 1 month supply) to one-and-a-half cases (a 6 week supply) of Plumpy-nut will restore a child to normal levels of health. Additionally, moms who have been unable to nurse their babies because of their own malnutrition are given Plumpy-nut for adults.
Our teams travel regularly to two of the areas where malnutrition is most critical – to the mountains and to Cabaret deaf village. There we conduct medical and malnutrition clinics where moms, families and babies are evaluated and treated. We educate the moms and distribute RUTFs for mom and baby. We provide all needed medical care. All of the babies receive treatment for worms. Moms and babies are given a thorough course of vitamins, and antibiotics are administered as needed.
$200 is all it takes to save a child’s life. Please mark your donation as “Jesse” or “malnutrition” so that we will know to use it exclusively for that purpose. You may make your check out to “MHJ” and mail it to us at 396 Conklin Ave. Binghamton, NY 13903; or go to our Donation page and submit your donation securely online.
Thank you, Sr. B
P.S. Please follow us on Facebook at MHJ Missions to see photos of the dramatic difference that this form of nutrition rescue can make in the lives of the poor.