1. Final Wiki SpaceMalnutrition in Nicaragua Emily Brown LAS111 5/12/2010

2. Family living in a garbage dump in Nicaragua INTRODUCTION This website is going to be focusing on malnutrition in Nicaragua, and why we need to have more programs to help combat malnutrition in children. It is going to tie in what malnutrition is, statistics on malnutrition, what is happening currently in Nicaragua, and what you can to do help. I hope after viewing my website you will also see how serious of a problem malnutrition has become, and that we have to start today to help innocent children that are dying from malnutrition. There has been a lack of programs for combating malnutrition, and when we don’t have the programs to help with this, then the numbers of children dying are more likely to increase. http://www.flickr.com/photos/glaciertim/4536819104/

3. HISTORICAL CONTEXT Many Latin American Countries are suffering from extreme poverty, but I am going to focus specifically on Nicaragua. So what exactly is Malnutrition? Malnutrition is defined as ,” the insufficient, excessive, or imbalanced consumption of nutrients. The World Health Organization cites malnutrition as the greatest single threat to World Public Health”( Wikipedia). So how bad is Malnutrition in Nicaragua? Nicaragua is actually the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere( Food for the Poor, 2009). There is approximately fifty percent of the population that live in poverty, and 19 percent that live in extreme poverty. The leading cause of death under a year old is intestinal disease and malnutrition. History obviously played has played a role in the creation of this issue. Some people many wonder why malnutrition is so common in Latin American countries, and that answer is simple; lack of education, poor conditions, and lack of work. “ Workers often got wages too small to support a family. To make ends meet women and children who had formerly stayed close to home, cooking and mending and tending the family's chicken and garden now had to join the field gangs who worked under the watchful eye of an overseer”( Chasteen,2006,p. 185). This quote is describing just how bad times are for people, and the poor conditions. Also as we know women have always been a target, and the women are silenced. “ Whether the man are making political organizations or participating in what they want, its at the expense of women who stay in the house, take care of the children and struggle for survival”( Dangl, 2007,p.170). Even though there are horrible conditions in Latin America there have been some good stories. One of those people were Carolina Maria De Jesus. She was a thirty three year old female who had three kids.

4. HISTORICAL CONTEXT CONTINUED.. Carolina Maria De Jesus She provided for her children by collecting waste paper, and she sold them for 25 cents a day. “ She found usable notebooks in the trash and wrote about her life and her aspirations” ( Chasteen, 2006, p. 250). She could only read and write. This was her ticket out of shantytown, however millions of other people stayed eating putrid food, dying from preventable diseases miserable and desperate”( Chasteen, 2006, p. 250). The following quote demonstrates just how poor she was, and that she would do anything she could.“I wanted to buy a pair of shoes for her, but the price of food keeps us from realizing our desires. Actually we are slaves to the cost of living. I found a pair of shoes in the garbage, washed them, and patched them for her to wear.“(Dejesus, 2005). Even though Carolina got out of horrible conditions, many other suffered and continued to die from preventable diseases. This just reaffirms that there needs to be more preventive programs to help combat malnutrition. www.foodforthepoor.org/about/work/nicaragua.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malnutrition Chasteen, J.( 2006). Born in Blood and Fire. Boston: TwaynePublishers Jesus, C., & Stclair, D. (2005). Beyond All Pity. New York: McGraw-Hill

6. - About 40 percent of the population has no access to acceptable drinking water as of 2007.

7. 24 percent of children are currently not in the school system , and child labor effects about 10 percent of children and adolescents ( Unicef.org).

9. - Today nearly 800 million people suffer from malnutrition, 1100 million don’t receive appropriate nutrition”( DeGrave,2007,p.261)I think that these statistics really speak about what the problem is. The statistics that I mentioned are only a small portion of how serious and how severe malnutrition is. The saddest part about malnutrition is that it can be prevented. Another sad fact is that these children are so young, and many of them don’t even get to experience their fifth birthday. They don’t even get to experience all of the wonderful things that life has to offer, instead they are worried about if they will get to eat at night. www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nicaragua www.tortillaconsal.com/hunger_nicaragua.html DeGrave, A., Santos-Phillips, E., & Degrave, J. (2007). Taking Sides. New York: McGraw-Hill. http://www.caputo-children-fund.org/starving%20kid.jpg

10. CURRENT ISSUE As I had mentioned before Malnutrition is a serious problem, and I think I made that well known from my statistics and the many people that suffer. So what is currently going on right now? There are some wonderful programs out there that are trying to help combat malnutrition, but we have to keep doing more. The first program I am going to mention is a program that is called Project Concern International which began working in Nicaragua in 1991 which was aimed at “ improving the health and well being of women and children in poor urban areas”( Project Concern International). This organization strives to improve the quality of life for the poorest , vulnerable families , through interventions particularly in health, nutrition, education, human rights agriculture, the environment, and water sanitation( Project Concern International). They have been active not only for immediate relief, but also long term. For example, rebuilding efforts as a result of Hurricane Mitch, in 1999 as well as Hurricane Felix in 2007.The second program is Save the Children. Save the Children is a non profit organization that is helping children in need along the world. “ Since 1980 Save the children has worked to improve the lives of children in Nicaragua and families that are living in poverty. In relation to save the children there are many challenges with children. Only 1/3 of all Nicaraguan children never even enroll in elementary school. Thirty two percent of the population are illiterate, and over 80 percent of the population only lives on less then 2 dollars a day and 45 percent lives on less then a dollar a day ( Save the Children).

11. CURRENT ISSUE CONTINUED.. I think that Poverty and education goes hand in hand. If you are severely in poverty you don’t think about education, you worry about how you are going to feed your kids at night. In the article titled Increasing poverty in Nicaragua and its effect on Education it states that 700,000 school aged children didn’t start education this year, and only 40 percent of children who started first grade completed it. “Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in America and 47% of the population is below poverty( Kathyei, 2009). The millennium goal stated that they would 100 percent of primary education rate by 2015, however Nicaragua is so far behind that goal presently. Currently there are many health issues that are going on in Nicaragua. These issues are a result of poverty, diseases such as malaria and parasitic diseases, natural disasters, and malnutrition all contribute to suffering and necessity”(fsdinternational.org). As I had mentioned numbers about malnutrition , and lack of education, so how are the numbers getting better? “number of undernourished in the developing world actually increased from 1990-92 to 1997-99 from 623.7 million to 660.9 million.”( World hunger.org). http://www.projectconcern.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Combating_malnutrition_and_poverty_in_Nicaragua http://www.savethechildren.org/countries/latin-america-caribbean/nicaragua.html Katheyi( 2009). Increasing poverty in Nicaragua and its effect on Education.http:/empowermentinternational.org. http://www.fsdinternational.org/country/nicaragua/healthissues http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nicaragua.html

12. LOOKING FORWARD Even though I feel that we have made some strides in developing programs to help alleviate some of the malnutrition with children and families, I still think we have a long ways to go. I wish to see more programs that help with malnutrition and poverty. Even though there are programs like I mentioned such as Save the children, and Project control International, there still isn’t enough being done when their need to be. I would suggest more programs like prevention, and programs to help the families with food. The prevention programs would help the children get adequate drinking water and nutrition would prevent a lot of preventable diseases such as severe diarrhea, and other conditions all related to poor sanitations and drinking water. So what can you do as a students? “First, you should understand that hunger anywhere effects people everywhere and that we are involved in the problems of hunger and malnutrition, and there are specific actions that can be taking by each and everyone of us “ ( Feedingminds.org). Hunger is a global problem but the solution starts at many small steps at the local level. An example of this at the local level is as follows : In Nicaragua, farmers obtained a small grant to purchase metal silos to help protect harvested maize from humidity and pest. Each silo holds 550kg of grain, which is enough to feed 10 people for a year”( Feedingsminds.org). That might not seem like a lot but it’s a step in the right direction, and small steps will help make change. Also you can have students contact different hunger and poverty organizations and find out what is currently being done. This is a way for students, or anyone to get involved and to make a difference. So join me in this fight against hunger, and malnutrition and lets all start today by making a difference. If everyone comes together changes will be made. www.feedingminds.org/handouts/l3_less3.pdf http://donationsstatic.ebay.com/extend/logos/MF25214.jpg

13. REFERENCES Chasteen, J.( 2006). Born in Blood and Fire. Boston: Twayne Publishers. Dangl, B., (2007). The Price of Fire. New York: McGraw-Hill. Degrave, A., Santos-Phillips, E., & Degrave, J. (2007). Taking Sides. New York: McGraw-Hill. Jesus, C., & Stclair, D. (2005). Beyond All Pity. New York: McGraw-Hill. Katheyi( 2009). Increasing poverty in Nicaragua and its effect on Education.http:/empowermentinternational.org www.foodforthepoor.org/about/work/nicaragua.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malnutrition www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nicaragua www.tortillaconsal.com/hunger_nicaragua.html http://www.projectconcern.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Combating_malnutrition_and_poverty_in_Nicaragua http://www.savethechildren.org/countries/latin-america-caribbean/nicaragua.html http://www.fsdinternational.org/country/nicaragua/healthissues www.feedingminds.org/handouts/l3_less3.pdf