Comparte lo que tienes y transforma vidas

Incaparina, a fortified food rich in vitamins and minerals, has become part of the family's daily diet. Maribel mix Incaparina with the dogh and discovered that Juanita loves them. At the end of November 2023, Maribel was invited to participate in a new project called STRONG. The STRONG Project, financed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDSC), and implemented by CRS and its local partner Cáritas del Quiché in order to improve the nutrition of girls, adolescents and young women, promoting lives healthy, productive, dignified and that break the cycle of intergenerational malnutrition. She was motivated to join when she learned that she would be taught about nutrition and savings through project activities. Since she started participating, Maribel did not miss a single session, as her enthusiasm for learning and sharing with her friends and neighbors remained throughout her time with STRONG. In Maribel's home, a liter of soda was the drink that accompanied her meals every day, an ingrained habit that seemed difficult to change. However, thanks to the STRONG project's Nutrition Circles, Maribel began to understand the negative effects on her health and that of her family. The sessions provided her with the tools and motivation to transform the habit into a healthier one. Maribel tells us how sugary drinks have been gradually eliminated from her and the family's diet. Now, soda has been replaced by delicious natural beverages made from fresh fruits harvested from her own garden, such as lemon, papaya, guava and orange. Through STRONG’s activities, she learned that these drinks provide vitamins and nutrients essential to her health. Learning about the multiple benefits of Incaparina was something that marked a before and after in the way Maribel fed Juanita, her daughter. Thanks to the STRONG project, she was given a recipe booklet with many creative recipes that she could cook using Incaparina, such as omelets with vegetables. She also learned how to mix Incaparina with the dough for her tortillas and discovered that Juanita loves them. When Maribel makes tortillas, Juanita likes to participate and it is a moment they both enjoy. In Santa María Nebaj, Quiché, malnutrition threatens the health and well-being of adolescent girls, young mothers (AGYW)³ and their children, who struggle with lack of income, rising food prices, and limited local availability of nutritious food, slowing their development and growth, and reducing their learning potential and life opportunities. Inadequate feeding practices and limited health care for AGYW have caused the cycle of malnutrition to continue. Nutritional deficiencies, limited access to quality health services and low knowledge of a healthy diet and low intake of iron and folic acid supplements5 , weaken immunity against infections and limit their development. The learning circles were implemented in segments: 10 to 14, 15 to 19, and 20 to 24 years old, through which the AGYW were trained to identify and explore different ways of preparing nutritious food, to adopt the habit of consuming micronutrient supplements: iron and folic acid, to prevent anemia. Before participating in the circles, the AGYWs were eating junk food and drinking sodas. Through STRONG, there was a behavioral change in the selection of nutritious foods, the types of nutrients in different foods, and how they affect their body.