What do I say to the little boy who comes up to me everyday with tummy ache?
Kids have tummy ache all the time in the Western world. If they aren’t worried about anything it is normally caused by the food they have eaten, irritable bowl syndrome or gas. But what if they haven’t eaten anything? In our Western diets we get many different styles of food to try each and every day and some may upset us. But what if from the day you were born you have eaten corn tortillas, beans and coffee?
So what would you say to the little boy who has tummy ache when it is simply because he is starving?
He is a child so you would naturally want to protect him, to make him feel better, and at GVI we give them Atole and fruit everyday to compliment their diet. But what if there isn’t a diet to compliment? A cuddle can’t prevent the effects of global warming.
In Guatemala there used to be a rainy season and a dry season. Six months of each. In the rainy season you would grow crops and in the dry season you would sell them. This wasn’t a sure-fire plan, you still had starving people, but it was a plan. Now, the climate is changing, something we can easily deny in the comfortable Western world. Now, the farmers can’t rely on the rainy season and can’t rely on the dry season. This year there was hardly any rain in the rainy season and too much in the dry season. In the rainy season the crops died and in the dry season the unexpected rain killed those that survived. Guatemala was suffering and now it is suffering more.
According to UNICEF 49% of children in Guatemala are malnourished and in Mayan communities it is up to 80%. Guatemala has the forth highest rate of malnutrition in the world and more than one child dies per day. And this year it is going to get worse as we are relying on only 40% of the usual number of crops.
But if you don’t believe the statistics then believe me. I am watching children deteriorate everyday.
So next time you leave a light on, flick on the air conditioning, leave the internet on overnight when you are all sleeping or get into your gas guzzling car remember these kids. Because it is effecting them.
And whilst you’re there please tell leave a comment telling me what I should say tomorrow when the little boy asks me ‘Why does my tummy hurt?’
