Viva Review 2009
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I was only seventeen when I first witnessed the poverty and deprivation that plagues so much of Latin America. Earlier this year I was back there again, stepping off a plane into the warm Costa Rican breeze. Even though eighteen years have passed, I still saw the same thing: the amazing dedication of local people to the struggling children around them.
We can do so much more when we work together like this! It’s not just a tagline for Viva, it’s not just a nice theory: it really works. It could seem complicated, and it could seem like a long chain of organisations - the local church, the network,Viva, Global Angels. But to me it’s exciting that so many people have played a part in giving those 800 children a new lease of life. No one of those organisations could achieve as much without the input of the others. I must confess that when I was seventeen I found myself quite overwhelmed by the scale of the need.There were people helping, of course, but it seemed so vast a problem, so impossible a task. Now, as I see those local people working together, combining their compassion, creativity, and tireless commitment, I no longer feel the bewilderment I felt as a teenager: now I feel excited about what is becoming possible.
When parents from some of the poorest local communities were asked what they most needed, the reply was this: they simply longed for their children not to be hungry. It’s not a big request. It’s just about meeting the most basic of human needs. In Costa Rica our network is working to do just that. Four local churches have been running feeding centres, and through the network they have come together as ‘Project Maná’. In partnership with Viva, and with some funding from the Bedingfield family’s Global Angels charity, they are making it possible for 800 children to receive nutritious meals three times a week.
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As I walked through these churches it was amazing to see so many smiling faces, so many children who have gone from being weak and malnourished to being lively, noisy, normal children. It was also fantastic to see such trust between the church and the community, as parents were seeing for themselves the tangible impact the network can make. One mother said to me “I
cannot even say how thankful I am! These people do more than just talk – this food is the difference between life and death for my children.”
But great though it is, Project Maná is actually trying hard to put itself out of business! Its real goal is to help get these children to a point where they don’t need the feeding centres. Why do children come to the feeding centres? Because they are hungry. So what can we do to prevent that hunger at the source? Project Maná offers a simple solution: as the children frequent the feeding centres it soon becomes clear who is really struggling, and a staff member can then walk them home, learning more about their background and meeting their parents. As they get to know the family the staff can then connect them to other network members who can offer help with housing, medical care, debt counselling, or micro-finance opportunities.
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