Food & fruit for 1,000 children in Latin America

Summary

Fly the Phoenix provides free education to over 1,000 children in Latin America. With many mouths to feed in the house the food we can provide can often be the only meal the children get each day. Due to COVID-19 we aim to provide hand sanitizer and supplies of soap over the long-term for all our students for when they enter and leave the schools each day to reassure parents that it is a safe environment.

Challenge

Child malnutrition is often blamed for poor educational results which is why we combine education with nutrition. Latin America has a very high rate of malnutrition with Guatemala at the highest where one in two children under five is chronically malnourished. We work with communities that suffer from malnutrition, especially children, whom in turn struggle to work long hours, study long hours and develop. To combat that we provide a healthy meal and fruit snack combined with good education.

Solution

A good balanced diet is the key to slowly becoming more nourished and healthy. It doesn't take much, just a simple full, balanced meal teamed with a nutritious piece of fruit and you see much healthier happy children running around the playground. They then start to concentrate more in class, get higher grades, have a growth spurt, have fuller hair and more colour in their cheeks; then you know the project is working.

Long-Term Impact

Malnutrition is something that will affect you for the rest of your life if you let it. If you don't allow your body to develop, grow, stretch out then you will suffer all your life and you will suffer with health problems as well. If you don't feed your brain then it can't learn and you will be restricted all your life. We give each child the best start in life but the rest is up to them. We support over 1,000 children to have a healthier start in life, so they can make it fulfilling.