November 10, 2025

In Guatemala, chronic malnutrition affects countless children. But in the small community of Chuaferro, hope is beginning to take root—one mother, one child, and one lesson at a time.

Maria Rufina Mantanic Ajqui is a 25-year-old wife and mother of three children who lives in Chuaferro. Like many mothers in her community, Maria has faced the challenges of raising children with limited access to health education and resources. But everything began to change when World Renew introduced maternal and child health training in Chuaferro.

Concerned about the well-being of her children, Maria was eager to learn about the program being promoted in her community. “I heard that ladies with children under two years old were receiving training to help the health of their children,” Maria shares. “My baby gets sick a lot, and every time he gets sick, he loses a lot of weight. So I went, and I was very interested.”

Maria began to attend and actively participate in each of the meetings. Through the training, she learned about nutrition, early cognitive stimulation, and exclusive breastfeeding. “We have learned many new things about how to take care of our children. They teach us how with certain activities—we develop motor skills in our children, and we talk about nutrition issues, hygiene issues, and many other topics,” Maria says. “I hope to continue learning more because I have realized that there is a lot of information that I didn’t have and that I could improve my children’s healthcare in that way.”

The young mother says that before the program, she also did not know about the importance of prenatal care. “In none of my three pregnancies I was as careful as I should have been, and now I know the consequences this has on my children’s health,” Maria admits. “Now I have to take better care of them, and thanks to the workshops, now I know what kind of food is a priority for my children so that they grow up healthy. I also pay more attention to food preparation and hygiene. My baby was very underweight, but at the last check-up, I could see how he has been improving.”

Maria gives thanks to God for this new knowledge. “I pray a lot for the people involved in this project, for the pregnant women, and for the children in my community,” Maria says. “I know that God is the one who has opened this space so that we can teach future generations.”

Thanks to support like yours, mothers like Maria are choosing to learn, grow, and pave a healthier way for their children’s futures. Click below to read more about our maternal and child health (MCH) programs.