ZACAPA, Guatemala - For the children of Conevisa village in Guatemala, hunger has become a daily battle.
On any given day, they sift through the local dump in search of something to fill their empty bellies.
In recent months, however, lack of rain has caused widespread crop failure, causing a severe food shortage throughout several departments in Guatemala's 'Dry Corridor.'
The impact on children and families in the community of Conevisa in Zacapa has been particularly devastating.
"Before the famine, these children used to find food at the local dump, but now the community they live in is not throwing away as much trash as they used to and these children are starving," said Mario Bucaro, OBI's national director for Guatemala.
Operation Blessing Guatemala stepped in and has set up a community feeding program in Conevisa that will provide three meals a day for at least 100 children fighting hunger and malnutrition.
On top of offering nutritional meals, teams have also set up an after school program for the children and built a new well providing clean water for the community.
And this is only one of several initiatives OB Guatemala has launched to fight hunger in the 'Dry Corridor.'
Teams have also organized four nationwide crusades that offer food and free medical care. The crusades have also been airing throughout the country on Christian television, raising awareness and several tons of food to tangibly help thousands of hungry people.
To date, more than 40,000 pounds of food has been distributed to famine-stricken families.
Over the next few months, OB Guatemala will be working to create productive, high impact projects at low cost, including microenterprise programs that will train and equip families to raise chickens, understand and implement waste management, and begin mini-irrigation projects.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.