When baby Isaías was admitted to the local health center, doctors weren’t sure if he’d ever walk. Isaías was severely malnourished and dangerously underweight.
The municipality of Palín has faced high rates of child malnutrition. One out of every five Guatemalans experiences food insecurity, and there were once more than 1,000 malnourished children in Palín, making it one of the hungriest communities in Latin America.
But Send Relief partnered with the Community Health Department and a local church to combat child malnutrition.
Teaching Nutrition to Families
In 2022, health officials in Palín devised a training program for local mothers. They taught them how to provide healthy, affordable food for their children. Send Relief and a local church stepped in. They distributed food baskets that helped families recover from the effects of malnutrition and helped instructors teach lessons about healthy food choices. Global Hunger Relief funds provided food supplies, supplements, and vitamins, leading to an 89% reduction in acute malnutrition.
The project opened doors for the local church to minister to some of the most vulnerable families in the community, including Isaías. He received the vitamins, milk, iron, and food supplements he needed. And with the ongoing support of the pastor and church community, something amazing happened: Isaías took his first steps.
His mother said, “They told me it would be difficult for my child to walk due to his condition, but thanks to God, with all the vitamins, help, and support, my child walked before the month was over.”
Fighting Malnutrition Led to Physical and Spiritual Transformation
The story of Isaías is one of many that giving to Global Hunger Relief makes possible—nutritional healing paired with gospel hope. In the community of Palín, over 1,100 children have been impacted, and families are now hearing the good news through the churches hosting nutrition training programs. As a result, both physical health and spiritual transformation are now taking place.
Not long ago, leaders from the Guatemalan government attended a celebration in Palín and thanked the health workers and Send Relief partners for their work. Volunteers from the church not only helped distribute food and vitamins, but they also shared the gospel more than 1,000 times. Now, people from all over Palín are hearing about Jesus. The director of the local health center and her son even decided to follow Christ and are now faithful members of the church.
When you give to Global Hunger Relief, you’re helping families like Isaías’ move from desperation to joy—and opening hearts to the gospel along the way.
Give to Global Hunger Relief Today
Published May 21, 2025