Panama Service Project: Nutre Hogar

Throughout Panama, there are seven nutrition centers, called Nutre Hogar ('Nourishment Home' in Spanish), where help is given to rejuvenate the health and nutrition of malnourished children. At each Nutre Hogar center, about twenty young malnourished children are privileged to receive a second chance at life. This select number of children is chosen out of thousands to have the opportunity to be nursed back to health. Unfortunately, there are many who never make it to Nutre Hogar because of the severity of malnutrition in Panama and the extreme poverty. Parents who agree to give the health of their babies over to the hands of loving and dedicated volunteers sometimes never see their children again-either because they are not able to keep providing for them, or because they simply do not want them anymore. This unfortunate and devastating reality leaves many wonderful children abandoned. Today, doctors, nutritionists, physical therapists, and volunteers in Panama continue to raise awareness about this issue to others. In addition, they try to educate the people in the most impoverished regions of Panama in the hope to improve and develop their standard of living. In this way, the problem of malnutrition and poverty is being solved as the numerous people help to live out Nutre Hogar's mission of "Cada día mejor" ("Each day Better").