Elderly Info

The food crisis in Guatemala is having a devastating effect on the elderly. Without enough to eat, many older people are becoming weak and malnourished, leaving them more vulnerable to illnesses that they cannot afford medical care for. They are unable to provide for even their most basic needs. In many cases, family members are unable to help as they struggle to feed themselves and their own children, leaving the elderly without any form of support and often living in heartbreaking conditions.

Please help us bring them the life-sustaining food and medical care that they so desperately need. General donations are used to ensure that we always have an adequate supply of food, medicine, and funds for meals, necessary medical treatment, and transportation. Monthly sponsorship would help feed one person, once a day for five days a week. Via blog and web album, we'll show you exactly where your aid is going and help you get to know the men and women whose lives you are changing.

If you would like to sponsor an elderly person for $35 a month, please click here and write "monthly sponsorship'' in the Other box. To make a one-time donation for medicine, rent, or other costs, please click here and enter "Elderly Care Program" in the Other box. Any questions can be directed to Amy at amy@mayanfamilies.org


Media on Mayan Families Elderly

Book:
Ancianos : Megan Gette + photos by Rob Bain, Nisa East, Rhett Hammerton and Hiroko Tanaka

Videos:
Mayan Families- Ancianos Stories : Nisa East

Mayan Families Elderly Feeding Care Program : Rhett Hammerton

Facing Hunger: Elderly in Rural Guatemala



Nov 15, 2012

A prison of the body and the bed

To be old in this place is to have lost your last means of independence: the body which is able to work.

There are many whose bodies have aged past a limit barely withstood by the young and able in a country whose conditions do not allow any but the fittest to survive.

They often cannot even walk the short distance to the comedor, the dining room where we host lunch. Neighbor kids bring them the food. The majority, made silent by the walls by which they're kept, moan similar complaints when we visit: of their aching bones, of their aching body, of the eyes that do not see and the feet which do not walk. 

It seems they lie forgotten on their beds, which often host petates, straw mats, in place of mattresses. Their children try their best, but often they must choose between providing for their parents or their kids, since they themselves are poor.

The next three stories will feature some of the bedridden, who are much in need of basic provisions: food, mattresses, shoes, a water filter, a window-- and most urgently, sponsorship to eat each day. Read the stories; if you would like to make a donation of any of the items, please go to www.mayanfamilies.org/donatenow, and write the A- # and the item you would like to donate in the Other box. Prices for item donations can be found on this page.

If you would like to sponsor an elderly person to eat each day in our Feeding program, which provides a basic and nutritious lunch to those unable to do much, even cook, for themselves-- you can write the A- # of someone you know you would like to sponsor (biographies on the right side of the page). We will happily introduce you to more of our unsponsored program participants in the upcoming weeks. 

Thank you for your support! Further questions can be directed to familyaid@mayanfamilies.org. 


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