Hunger and Feeding Archives - Cross International

A Summer Without Hunger

August 18, 2022 by Cross International

School Feeding Program Makes Sure Hungry Kids Get the Food They Need

Summer can be an extremely difficult time for children in the developing world. During the school year, many boys and girls depend on daily school lunches to meet their nutritional needs. For some, school lunches are the only food they can rely on. Then when summer “vacation” comes the meals suddenly stop. Without consistent meals, these children can begin slipping into malnutrition. In the more extreme cases, malnutrition can lead to stunted growth, and even impaired cognitive development, which may impact the child for the rest of their life.

For hardworking parents who, try as they might, simply lack the resources they need to ensure that their kids get enough food, the summer months can be heartbreaking. In Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, lack of nutrition during summer remains a major problem. That’s why Cross International has partnered with Divine Shelter Schools (DSS) to implement a summer feeding program for at-risk children in Haiti.

Serving well over 200 children in multiple locations, the Cross International and DSS summer feeding program includes a morning devotion, Bible lesson, art class, math and grammar tutoring, sports, hygiene education and, of course, nutritious meals! To ensure that each child is getting the food they need, the DSS staff also make sure to track the weight of each child throughout the summer.

It’s only because of the generous support of kind Cross International partners like you that these precious girls and boys are enjoying daily, healthy meals this summer. Thank you for showing them God’s love through their fully bellies!

Meet the DSS Summer Feeding Program Students

Claudine

Claudine is a rising 4^th grader attending the summer feeding program at the Divine Shelter School of Bellanger. Claudine’s father works in a factory that produces ice and her mother sells cookies to help provide for Claudine and her three siblings. Claudine is thankful for the food and fun she enjoys at DSS.

Jessica

Sadly, Jessica’s parents are separated so she and her three siblings live with their father in a rented hut. Jessica will be in 4^th grade when school begins again at DSS Bellanger. The daily meals Jessica receives at the summer feeding program are helping her grow healthy and strong!

A Young Woman and Her Family Rise Out of Poverty

May 26, 2022 by Cross International

Josefina was stuck. With four children to care for, Josefina and her husband, Santos, were struggling to find enough work to put food on the table. The pair mainly worked as day laborers in their hometown of El Milagro, Guatemala. Working for others, it was difficult for Josefina and Santos to get ahead. They wondered if they would ever break free of the cycle of poverty.

Little did they know God was about to bless them with a new opportunity.

Josefina was chosen by local Cross International partner, Hope of Life, to receive help starting a new business raising chickens for eggs. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Cross International donors like you, Josefina and her family received training on how to care for and maintain a flock as well as 40 hens and a coop of their own. Because Josefina is not literate, field staff enlisted the help of her eldest daughter to help with keeping track of egg production and sales.

In the first year of the business, Josefina and her family worked diligently to make the most out of their new opportunity. Not only did they start earning a daily income, they were able to reinvest some of the profits in replenishing and expanding their flock. For Christmas, Josefina was able to purchase and raise a small flock of broiler chickens, and they all sold out!

Josefina and her family feel blessed by God to be a part of this Cross International poultry project and they are very proud to have their own business and to be able to support their children.

Thank you for making family agriculture projects like this one possible. You are giving hard-working people like Josefina the dignity and hope that comes from being able to reap the fruits of their labors and build a future for themselves and their kids.

If you want to support other families like Josefina’s, you can donate to the animal and agricultural fund or provide economic empowerment for small businesses in other communities in need.

Raising Chickens: Moving Beyond Poverty in Guatemala

February 17, 2022 by Cross International

Escaping Poverty in Guatemala

Argelia never had the chance to go to school in Guatemala. Now 52 years old, she still cannot read or write. Even so, Argelia worked hard to provide for her children as best as she could, but with little opportunity the cards were stacked against her. Then, thanks to the faithfulness of Cross supporters, Argelia got connected with Hope of Life, Cross International’s partner in Guatemala. With the support of CI donors like you, Hope of Life is in the midst of a three-year community transformation project in Argelia’s village of El Milagro.

One of the core components of this community transformation project is to help individuals build thriving agriculture businesses in order to provide for their families and increase the availability of nutritious food in the village.

Raising Chickens

Because of her hard work, Argelia was chosen to receive help starting a chicken raising business. Argelia has been diligent in attending training sessions and now she has her own chicken coop and is able to harvest eggs for her family to eat and to sell at the market for extra income. Argelia is incredibly thankful to have been able to be a part of this Cross International poultry project in Guatemala. “No one receives if God does not give,” Argelia said. “God is great and powerful and I am so grateful for the benefit of these projects.”

Thank you for blessing hard-working people like Argelia with the means to build a better life for themselves and their children!

If you want to support other families like Argelia’s, you can donate to the animal and agricultural fund or provide economic empowerment for small businesses in other communities in need.

A Baby Nursed Back to Health in Guatemala

October 14, 2021 by Cross International

A Malnourished Infant from a Poor Guatemalan Family

Little Vilma weighed just 4 pounds. At 22 days old, she was already dangerously underweight. Baby Vilma was suffering from severe malnourishment in Guatemala. Her family is from the small village of El Barrial where they live in a dilapidated adobe hut with a tin roof and a dirt floor.

Her family is from the small village of El Barrial where they live in a dilapidated adobe hut with a tin roof and a dirt floor. They have no electricity and no running water. In fact, the only water source the family has is a small stream a 40-minute walk from their home.

Nutrition Help in Guatemala

Cross International friends sent a nutritional rescue team from Hope for Life, a Cross International partner in Guatemala, to help baby Vilma. When the team arrived, they realized just how fragile she was.

They took Vilma back to the Nutrition Recovery Center where the little girl responded beautifully to the child nutrition plan they put in place. Vilma began to overcome malnutrition and hunger in Guatemala. In less than two months baby Vilma had gained enough weight to return home to her family.

Nutrition Education for Mom

Wilma’s mother received help too. Thanks to Cross International and Hope for Life, she received education on how to fight malnutrition so that she can make sure that Vilma will continue to grow healthy and strong. She will also be taking Vilma to all of her follow-up appointments so that Hope for Life can continue to monitor Vilma’s health. Cross International supporters also gave Vilma’s mom nutrients and formulas that will help her continue to feed Vilma all that she needs.

Vilma’s parents see the care they received from Cross International and Hope for Life as their own little miracle. They are so thankful to God and to Cross International supporters like YOU for helping to heal their daughter.

Earthquake in Haiti: Update

September 30, 2021 by Cross International

Cross Supporters Send Emergency Relief to Disaster Victims

On August 14^th, 2021, a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti’s Tiburon Peninsula with devastating consequences. To date, over 2,200 people have been confirmed dead and more than 137,500 homes were damaged or destroyed.

Altogether over 800,000 people have been affected. “It looked like a war zone,” Zach Oles, Cross International’s Vice President of International Programs stated. “Buildings were reduced to rubble. People were suffering—especially children. They were sleeping in fields. It was devastating.”

While the quake was stronger than the one that inflicted catastrophic damage on the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince in 2010, this time the earthquake’s power was focused in a rural area. While this thankfully limited the death toll as compared with the disaster a decade ago, the affected region’s limited infrastructure and resources are making the recovery process exceptionally challenging.

Disaster Response in Haiti

The devastation and loss across the island nation is great, however, thanks to the kindness and generosity of Cross supporters like you, our in-country disaster response team has been working to provide essential emergency relief to earthquake victims across southern Haiti. The team’s reports have been heartbreaking, but even in the midst of such tragedy, the Haitian people remain resilient and strong. “It’s important to understand that we’ve been in these communities for 20 years,” Zach Oles said. “Cross is deeply rooted in Haiti and we are committed to steadfast support for our partners and our friends and family in Haiti.”

Faithful friends like you are showing disaster victims in Haiti that they are not alone and not forgotten. Cross International’s generous supporters have sent emergency food supplies, medicine, and other disaster relief to meet the most urgent needs in the days and weeks after the earthquake.

Haiti Ministry Partners

Cross International’s ministry partners in Haiti have also suffered great loss. In the South Department all but three of the 14 Cross International sponsored schools for restavek children (restavek is modern day child slavery that still persists in Haiti) were damaged or destroyed by the quake. ” Zac Oles commented that, “School starts on Monday, (October 4) and we want to make sure that kids get back to school and make sure that the school feeding program is in place on the first day.” To accomplish this, Cross worked to construct temporary structures to provide shelter while the children attend class.”

With poor infrastructure, impassible roads, gas shortages, and gang-controlled access points, the challenges of getting relief to those in need are daunting, but even so our ministry partners remain committed to helping disaster victims and sharing the love of God during this difficult time.

Two Phase Disaster Recovery Plan

With many pressing needs in the wake of this devastating earthquake, Cross International’s relief plan will include two phases. The first is concentrating on providing the essential, life-sustaining relief required in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. “We’ve got to get people out of the rain, get them off the ground, and get the kids back to school.” Zach Oles said. The first phase, which will cover the first 90 days after the earthquake, has so far included the following:

WITHIN THE FIRST 30 DAYS, WE HAVE DISTRIBUTED:

Disaster relief supplies for more than 13,000 people in 15 communities. Supplies include tarps, foam mattresses, blankets, pillows linens, work gloves, face masks, tote bags, plastic dishes, personal care items, cleaning products and children’s sandals.
Medical supplies for a medical clinic in Camp-Perrin and for mobile clinics in Lougou and Raymond, and L’Aisle and Musotte. Supplies include antibiotics, wound care kits, IVs and pain relievers.
5,500+ food kits, serving more than 15,000 people in 15 communities. These kits contain locally purchased food products, including pasta, oil and fish.
More than 260,000 meals of pre-packaged fortified rice, specially formulated to address malnourishment. These meals will primarily be used in the hot lunch program for the 14 restavek schools.
2,000 aqua tabs to help chlorinate contaminated water. One tab treats 5 gallons of water.
Construction material for the building of 11 temporary school shelters. All temporary shelters are scheduled to be completed in time for school to start on October 4.

The second phase will focus on long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts. Some of Cross International’s priorities in this phase will include:

Rebuilding the 11 schools that were damaged or destroyed to be hurricane and earthquake resistant.
Reconstructing 156 homes for students enrolled with Cross International’s partner, MEBSH
Establishing community water systems in 14 MEBSH communities

Even as the world’s attention quickly moved on from the devastation and loss in Haiti, Cross International’s dedicated supporters continue showing God’s love in powerful and tangible ways to Haitians facing so much tragedy. “We are gospel-driven, kingdom building, and all about bringing glory to God,” Zach Oles affirmed. “We are mandated to love our brothers and sisters and to stand with those in need. That is the foundation of who Cross International is and why we’re focused on working in rural communities who have nowhere else to turn.”

Cross International is committed to the long-term relief and recovery process that disaster victims need in these critical times and it’s only through the support of friends like you that important work like this is made possible. God bless you for your heart to bless those in need.