In Guatemala, chronic malnutrition affects countless children. But in the small community of Chuaferro, hope is beginning to take root—one mother, one child, and one lesson at a time.

Maria Rufina Mantanic Ajqui is a 25-year-old wife and mother of three who lives in Chuaferro. Like many mothers in her community, Maria has faced the challenges of raising children with limited access to health education and resources. But everything began to change when World Renew introduced maternal and child health training in her community.

Concerned about her children’s well-being, Maria was eager to learn more about the program.

“I heard that women with children under two years old were receiving training to help improve their children’s health,” Maria shares. “My baby gets sick a lot, and every time he gets sick, he loses a lot of weight. So I went, and I was very interested.”

Maria began attending the sessions and actively participating in each meeting. Through the training, she learned about nutrition, early childhood development, and exclusive breastfeeding.

“We have learned many new things about how to take care of our children. They teach us how, through certain activities, we can develop motor skills in our children. We also talk about nutrition, hygiene, and many other topics,” Maria says. “I hope to continue learning more because I have realized that there is a lot of information I didn’t have—and that I can improve my children’s health with it.”

The young mother also shares that, before the program, she was not aware of the importance of prenatal care.

“In none of my three pregnancies was I as careful as I should have been, and now I know the consequences this has on my children’s health,” Maria admits. “Now I take better care of them, and thanks to the workshops, I know what kinds of food are most important for my children to grow up healthy. I also pay more attention to food preparation and hygiene. My baby was very underweight, but at the last check-up, I saw how much he has improved.”

Maria gives thanks to God for this new knowledge.

“I pray for the people involved in this project, for the pregnant women, and for the children in my community,” she says. “I know that God has opened this opportunity so that we can support future generations.”

Thanks to support from people like you around the world, mothers like Maria are choosing to learn, grow, and build healthier futures for their children.