Our friends who work full-time in nearby Santiago describe this area as "a place of profound suffering and despair. Disease, addiction, crime, illiteracy, and malnutrition reign supreme. La Mosca is a torment for those that live there. It is truly a place characterized by hopelessness."
One of the many ways G.O. Ministries and Luis fight against these obstacles is through their nutrition program. The program serves children in La Mosca one meal per day, 6 days per week. Sadly, this is the only meal many of these children receive. Reina cooks the food in a small outdoor kitchen area behind the church, and volunteers serve the children their daily meal in the church. Not only does the program offer much-needed nutrition, it also provides children in La Mosca a safe place to come together, learn structure and how to interact in a loving way with one another.
The summer of 2013 was the first year I began seeing the positive health effects of the nutrition clinic on the children in La Mosca. In previous years, I had become well acquainted with the signs and symptoms of malnourishment. Many children were difficult to arouse due to fatigue, they were plagued with stomachaches, and they were both physically and developmentally delayed compared to well-nourished children their age.
Several children over the years had our team so concerned that we pooled money to give Luis so he could provide them formula over the next several months. But in 2013, I began seeing real changes. Kids I had previously been so concerned about were now running around with big cheeks, round bellies, and were developmentally catching up to their biological age. This clinic is made possible by the generous donations we (and G.O. Ministries as a whole) receive every year. This goes beyond our week of service every year – this is sustainable provision of basic needs within this amazing community.
Several children over the years had our team so concerned that we pooled money to give Luis so he could provide them formula over the next several months. But in 2013, I began seeing real changes. Kids I had previously been so concerned about were now running around with big cheeks, round bellies, and were developmentally catching up to their biological age. This clinic is made possible by the generous donations we (and G.O. Ministries as a whole) receive every year. This goes beyond our week of service every year – this is sustainable provision of basic needs within this amazing community.