Our Savior Lutheran, we are so grateful for your support of the Survival program at Iglesia Bautista Sendero de Luz in Managua, Nicaragua. Thanks to your gracious giving, babies registered in Survival have a greater likelihood of reaching their first birthday. Your generosity enables the staff at Iglesia Bautista Sendero de Luz to provide critical care to children at the time of life when they need it the most — at the very beginning!
Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America and the second poorest in the western hemisphere (after Haiti). Survival is crucial for infants in Nicaragua. For every 1,000 live births, 52 babies die. The maternal mortality rate is 150 deaths for every 100,000 live births. An estimated 17 percent of children suffer from stunting, while nearly five percent suffer from malnutrition. Around 88 percent of births have a skilled birth attendant present.
Pictured above is Angela, one of many mothers at this center who are experiencing God’s love through the spiritual support and care of the staff at this Survival center. Mothers and babies enrolled in Survival receive home visits, medical checkups, vitamins, vaccinations and supplemental nutrition if needed. Classes are offered on child development, breastfeeding and income-generation among other topics. Angela wrote a letter to thank you for your generosity and support of the Survival program. Read Angela’s beautiful story below.
A Letter From Survival Caregiver, Angela
Dear Friends,
I hope that you and your family are well and that God blesses you greatly.
My name is Angela and I am the mother of baby Irvin. I want to express to you what the Survival program has meant to me and my baby. The home visits from the Survival specialist have been of great benefit to me because she brings up very important issues for me and the other mothers. These lessons have taught me to be more careful with my baby. The activity that I like the most in the Survival program are the group meetings. They teach us how to stimulate our baby’s early learning, they speak to us about the word of God, and they give us lessons about early childhood development. Thanks to these lessons, I am seeing little by little the healthy development of my baby.
I feel very grateful for this program because it also blesses me with food and medical checkups. Thank you for your generosity. I pray you have many blessings in your life and it is a pleasure to be able to write to you.
Sincerely,
Angela
Survival Statistics at Iglesia Bautista Sendero de Luz
(January – June 2019)
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- 34 mothers and their babies received Survival support
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- 7 Pregnant moms in the program
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- 2 births occured and 100% were at a normal weight
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- 6 babies, on average per month, treated for malnutrition
Recent Survival Activities
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- A child receives his medical checkup. Various tests are done to ensure that each child is growing healthy and strong.
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- Birthdays are celebrated each month in the Survival program. At this celebration, there was cake and a member of the church dressed as a chicken and danced and sang with the children.
Transitioning From Survival to Sponsorship
Two babies enrolled at this Survival center celebrated their first birthdays and are moving into the Sponsorship program at Centro de Desarrollo Integral Camino al Padre. These children are healthy and ready to receive holistic care from a dedicated staff of volunteers. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of vulnerable mothers and infants!
I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. Psalm 140:12 (NIV)