28 September 2009

A Letter From Our Team

Where We Work

In Managua, Nicaragua, capital of the second-poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, there is a place so destitute that it stands out against the surrounding poverty.

Life inside Managua’s city dump, known as “La Chureca,” reserves a particularly foul brand of injustice for the children that are born within its confines, living among the trash and smoke. They can be found barefoot, muddy, and often half or completely naked playing in the waste-laden pathways that snake through their tarp and scrap metal homes. Living conditions result in high rates of parasite infection, skin and respiratory disease, anemia, and lead poisoning. Understandably, many children in La Chureca also suffer from varying degrees of malnutrition.

What We Do

Manna Project International’s Child Sponsorship Program targets severely malnourished children in their most critical stages of development. By providing vitamins, milk, and oatmeal for each child, we are able to reverse the harsh sentence of malnutrition. Our children also receive regular consults with a pediatrician, as well as any blood work and medication necessary for treatment of illness.

MPI partners with Nicaraguan-run community clinic Casa Base de Salud to host weekly health classes to which a guardian of our sponsored children is accountable. Growth charts and weekly visits with mothers allow us to determine when a child is able to maintain an acceptable nutrition level, at which point the child is graduated from our program.

Sponsoring A Child

The Child Sponsorship Program is currently at capacity, but the unyielding conditions of La Chureca constantly bring new cases of malnutrition to our attention. 20 dollars a month allows Manna Project to provide nourishment to a child that would otherwise go without. As our volunteers and Program Directors raise their own funds, every dollar given to Child Sponsorship goes directly to feeding your sponsored child.

To sponsor a child, or for more information, visit Child Sponsorship online at http://www.mannaproject.org/nicaragua-child or e-mail us at childsponsorship@mannaproject.org. For more information on Manna Project International (MPI) visit www.mannaproject.org.

Thank you for taking the time to consider sponsoring a child.

Our sincerest regards,

The Child Sponsorship Team

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