Returning to San Marcos, Guatemala

On February 21st I'll be returning to the district of San Marcos, Guatemala, a district where the majority of the population is designated as living in "extreme poverty." UNICEF and the World Health Organization define extreme poverty as "not having sufficient funds to buy a basic basket of food." What that means is that the people can't get enough food to fulfill their basic caloric needs, and for the children, it means they are malnourished, stunted and always hungry. Teenagers look like 10 year olds, eight year olds are the size of toddlers, and one year olds are barely above birth weight. Last year at this time, during a clinic in the rural municipality of Tacaná, I saw children who subsisted on coffee, sugar, a few tortillas and "vegetables."  The vegetables are actually weeds, grass and leaves that their mothers boil in sugar water and feed to them so they have something to fill their bellies.  When I returned home, I began a fund drive to help the villagers build community gardens.  The project has been very successful with multiple large and small gardens and some greenhouses in villages at high elevations. The project pays for leasing land, soil testing and enrichment, tools, gravel, drainage, fencing, and the services of a local agriculturalist  who advises the village elders on plants hardiness, fertilizers and gardening techniques.  Fundraising has been through donations at www.crowdrise.com/greenhousehungerproject,  and through some small grants.  We are now looking toward financing the sustainability part of the project.
A good friend from medical school, Mary Rappazzo-Hall  an internist in Albany, New York, will be accompanying me on this trip.  It will be wonderful to be traveling with a friend, and the fact that she will see the adults is a real bonus.  I always feel terrible turning them away.