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Healthy Start
WHAT WE’RE ADDRESSING
In the Ixil region of Guatemala, 75% of the children are chronically malnourished. Three of every four children go hungry every day.
After decades of civil war wreaking havoc on the area, its remote and mountainous region has been kept from basic needs like nutritious food and access to essential services like health care.
This area faces the serious issue of childhood hunger, which affects the health, growth, and brain development of most of the children in the region, detrimental to their future potential.
“My kids had low weight, so Agros helped me get a goat. People asked, ‘what are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’m giving my kids goat milk!’ They were surprised because there are so many kids with low weight, but mine was suddenly gaining weight!”
– Caterina, Agros partner, El Paraíso, Guatemala
overcome
reduce
improve
prevent
In the Ixil region of Guatemala, 3 out of 4 children go hungry every day.
OUR PROCESS
Healthy Start is a multi-layer, proven solution working with families in remote, high-needs villages in the Ixil region of Guatemala. The program tackles the causes of chronic malnutrition and food insecurity, stopping the sources of illness and infection by focusing on nutrition, health care & education, and entrepreneurial opportunities for women.
Healthy Start targets families living in extreme poverty by focusing on women and children from pregnancy to five years of age. The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are the most critical to their development. We also know that supporting women invests not only in families, but in the communities where they live.
Inspired by the teachings of Jesus, Agros International breaks the cycle of poverty and creates paths to prosperity for farming families in rural Latin America.

Healthy Start – Program Overview
HOW SUCCESS IS DEFINED
Reduce the incidence of chronic child malnutrition by improving the ability of the families to increase the quantity and the quality of their nutritional intake.
• Provide essential nutritional packages to families with children suffering from severe malnutrition.
• Create sustainable food sources through backyard gardens, chicken coops, and goat milk production
facilities to nourish children & families.
Prevent the incidence of chronic child malnutrition by increasing the access to prenatal & early childhood care with emphasis on the newborn’s first 1000 days of life.
• Train and equip a local network of volunteer community health promoters.
• Educate pregnant women and mothers about essential pre- and post-natal care.
• Build a community health center to create access to health professionals & essential health care. • Establish an early childhood stimulation center to provide a healthy environment for progress.
Improve household living conditions.
• Develop infrastructure in homes, stopping sources of illness & infection.
• Institute best practices for grain storage and food safety.
Overcome malnutrition with long-lasting solutions.
• Diversify household income through small business investment.
• Launch women-led Village Savings & Loans Associations to provide financial empowerment.
WHY YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS
After launching the first layer of Healthy Start, there have been many wins, including being recognized by the Guatemalan government as a sustainable solution. But there is still more work to do.
This work is very time-consuming and takes a great deal of investment over an extended period. There are many more children and families going hungry in the surrounding areas. We strive to reach a broader geographic area to serve these families.
Agros continues to work with the families from the
To invest in children’s health, we must
inaugural program launch who received the first
begin by investing in women.
layer of services, while identifying opportunities to provide support to new families. All the families in the program receive support and build resiliency as we walk alongside them on the path to prosperity. As is
at the core of our mission, families must build a firm foundation to break the cycle of poverty.
We cannot achieve these goals without your support! Please join us in helping to break the cycle of poverty for families in Guatemala!
Agros International breaks the cycle of poverty and creates paths to prosperity for farming families in rural Latin America. agros.org

Healthy Start
Phase One Results – Prevent & Reduce Childhood Malnutrition Goal 1: Increase access to pre-natal & infant care
443 22 94% 0% 2
program beneficiaries
Community Health volunteers (brigadistas) engaged of babies born with healthy weight
Infant Mortality & 100% of Births in a Medical Facility
New buildings constructed: Health & Learning Centers
Goal 2: Support families’ nutritional intake
206 22% 610 136 53%
families involved in the program
reduction in chronic childhood malnutrition
emergency nutritional packages distributed backyard nutritional gardens diversified nutriotion of families implemented a balanced nutritional diet
Phase Two Goals – Improve Infrastructure & Overcome Malnutrition
Goal 3: Improve sustainable living conditions 100% of households with access to clean water
4 villages with community-led agribusiness models
50 macro-tunnels built to grow snow peas & other vegetables
100% of homes with improved floors, stoves, and structures
Goal 4: Implement long-lasting solutions
150 women involved in village savings & loan groups
100% of families to build wealth capacity
100 women starting their own businesses
5 community-led productive agriculture projects launched
agros.org/healthystart