If you find a white flag in a window or on a door, made with a piece of sheet, it means something very clear: The family that lives here no longer has food to survive.
For more than five years, the
Utopia Foundation
, based in Catalonia and working in different countries in a situation of serious economic fragility for the majority of its population, has been working in the department of Totonicapan, Guatemala.
Five years in which, together with the reference hospital and the counterpart in the territory, it trains in agroculture and hygienic and food measures to the most vulnerable families, to protect the 7 of every 10 children under 5 years of age who suffer from chronic malnutrition. These are the figures that send us from the country today, due to the global pandemic and the inability of families to go to work. More and more houses wave white flags…
Our organization, thanks to the support of international cooperation, it serves more than 250 families during the year, not only through training and education, but also by offering basic baskets of vitamins and food, both to families admitted to the hospital, as well as to the communities farthest from the main city and the hospital.
At this time, and due to the forced halt of funding in international cooperation that NGOs are sending to projects, we have had to stop our initiatives with the great damage that this entails for all families, already very affected, and now in a situation of crisis increased to intolerable extremes.
What can we do? From the entity we have not stopped since the beginning of the crisis, seeking collaborations and aid, whether from individuals in Catalonia and/or Europe, as well as companies and other agencies in the country of Guatemala to continue delivering supplies, but we do not reach everything, we do not reach anything practically.
That is why we have launched the Infancia en Riesgo campaign on the Migranoderena portal, among other urgent and essential ways of researching funds.
What can you do to collaborate with the people who need it most?
We know that the situation of many Catalan houses is also precarious and difficult…. But imagine for a moment, living in a country where there is no Food Bank service that reaches everyone, no Social Services, no aid to unemployed workers… imagine this and what your little help can do in a territory like Guatemala. You can collaborate with the initiatives of Guatemala’s own country in order to eradicate white flags.
The country and its people do everything they can, and from here we can provide them with invaluable help, because beyond the distance and the South-North differences, children are the reality of tomorrow, and malnutrition affects the global future of the entire world population.
It’s part of the change!