Feeding Children in Rural Central America & Mexico

I came to know of the amazing work being accomplished by Misiones Internacionales (MI) through my parents, who play an active role in the operations of this organization. In the past few years, MI has set up missions in 7 cities (mostly rural) located in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico, establishing direct relationships with the pastors of these communities:

• Huilihuiste, El Salvador
• Guatajiagua, El Salvador
• Estelí, Nicaragua
• Villanueva, Honduras
• Coban, Guatemala
• Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico
• Nogales, Mexico

While MI initially assisted with funding the building of churches, they subsequently saw that children from the immediate and surrounding areas would flock these structures with the promise of food, activities, and community. Committed to continuing their work, MI set up a comedor infantil or (pardon the translation here) feeding center to make sure these children could count on a meal at least once a week. What does this look like exactly? A monthly stipend of $250 - which feeds approximately 80 kids for that whole month! 5 countries, 7 cities, 560 children; this is the scope of responsibility MI has taken on.

The MI team is small, comprised entirely of Latin@s from the countries they support; their motivation is strong and the mission is personal for them. I want to reiterate that MI is in constant contact, including visits, with these communities. This type of communication is predicated on listening, which creates relationships and trust. The comedor infantil effort addresses a problem identified by the community themselves. However, if you look at the research, food insecurity is an endemic plague in Latin America and is only compounded when you’re in a rural and impoverished area - now layer climate change and COVID-19 on top of that. The meals provided by MI offer these children consistency, resiliency, and more in a time of great uncertainty.

I have committed to raising $1,750 to fund all 7 comedor infantiles for 1 month. Please help me in reaching this goal with a donation! While any amount helps, I am asking for a $16 pledge for an 16K race ($1 per kilometer) I plan to run this summer or you can make a flat donation in any amount. Thank you for your consideration!