In communities across Paraguay, many families live in conditions that severely limit their access to adequate, balanced nutrition. At our CMAVIL site, this has had a particularly negative impact on children’s health, including their physical and emotional development and academic performance.
Denis, an eight-year-old boy was one such child. This soft-spoken Grade 2 student would go to the community outreach centre (Open Center) after school, a place where at-risk and vulnerable children experiencing a lack of appropriate nutrition at home — mainly due to extreme poverty — can get the nutritional food they need while educating parents about healthy eating habits.
The Sisters at the centre would often remark how shy, quiet, and respectful Denis was — one of those children who doesn’t cause any trouble and often goes unnoticed because he mainly keeps to himself.
Over time, Denis started to interact with the other children and even started to make friends. With daily nutritious meals, he became healthier and began putting on weight and growing, marking a significant turning point in his personal and social development.
At one point, Denis stopped attending the Open Center regularly because he felt intimidated by some of the older children. He began losing weight and the Sisters running the centre feared he would soon be back to where he started. They refused to give up on Denis and offered him the personal support he needed to rebuild his confidence and feel more secure, and Denis was able to overcome that fear and began attending regularly again.
His mother, Cinthia, also encouraged Denis daily and accompanied him to the centre to help ease his fears. As a result of this joint effort, Denis passed the school year with excellent grades. Today, Denis is a healthy, cheerful child. He is more approachable, confident, and committed to creating a better future for himself, even achieving perfect attendance at the Open Center.
Thanks to you, our amazing Lunch Buddies, Denis (and many other children) have an opportunity to become healthier and happier, knowing there are kind, loving, and caring people willing to extend a helping hand to assure they have a brighter future.