Casa Jackson: Center for Malnourished Children

We've done so many things between this post and my last, but I couldn't resist jumping to the present. Yesterday afternoon, we went to Casa Jackson, a center for malnourished children (desnutridos in Espanol). Casa Jackson was built by a very generous couple from the United States and it is affiliated with the God's Child Project. The God's Child Project was founded in Bismarck, ND and it is an organization that is completely dedicated to helping the impoverished in Guatemala. It is incredible how much they have done for individuals, families, and even communities so far. Check out their website for information on how you can help! (Yes, Mom and Dad, that means you too! :) http://www.godschild.org/

Casa Jackson is in San Felipe, a neighboring town of Antigua. Brandon, our very kind, helpful, and capable neighbor escorted us since San Felipe is not a safe place for tourists. He knows from experience... (We really can't thank Brandon enough for all of the tips and help he has given us. He's a truly great guy from Texas who is the principal at a school affiliated with the God's Child Project. He gave us the connection to Casa Jackson.)

At Casa Jackson, we fed, held, and played with children ranging from about 6 mos to 3 years old. All of the children have very classic symptoms of malnutrition but it is wonderful to see and hear how they're improving. It's easy to be deceived at how old children are. For example, I spent some time with a baby named Dulce (Dulce means "sweet" in Spanish. I can see why she was named that!) Dulce looked and played like a 6 month old. I was astonished when I looked at her record and read that she is 15 months old. She also wears a size 3-6 months. 

The hardest part was definitely leaving. There are usually a lot of volunteers in the afternoons but as the afternoon turns into evening, many people start heading back to Antigua because of the unsafe neighborhood. There are two nurses and a couple of others that stay there all of the time so the babies are well cared for. There just isn't enough people to give them attention all of the time. We were some of the last people to leave and we had to put babies back in the cribs. We left to the sound of about 6 babies absolutely sobbing....

-Dulce, the little girl that I mentioned before. My heart broke when after only about 10 minutes with her, she started calling me "Mama."

-Volunteers feeding a baby.

-Estefani. Here you can see an example of a classic symptom of malnutrition: a round, bloated belly.

-Me holding Estefani. We played together and after she ate, she fell asleep in my arms. I rocked her and it was very cozy. :)

-Kadrie and her little friend. She was great with him because they both have lots of energy! He LOVED her camera, and I'm glad I captured that!

-Estefani looking very pleased with her bowl of food. I started feeding her, and then I decided that I was going to teach her to eat on her own. I placed the spoon in her hand and pretty soon she was eating on her own! She was thrilled at feeling self-sufficient. It was slow going though and she was making a mess so I took the spoon back to feed her. Estefani didn't like that idea though so she very quietly and gently took the spoon back, pushed my hand away, and let me know how it was going to be!

-The three of us wearing masks at Casa Jackson. There's been some sickness going around so we had to wear these the entire time.