Baby Gerald was in grave danger.
“The muscles in his chest were working so hard to keep him breathing…”
He was only one year old, and his mother, Geraldine, feared for his life.
Geraldine was losing hope.
Her baby had been sick for three days. When she saw he was having trouble breathing, she knew her son needed help urgently.
Despite being pregnant, Geraldine carried her baby for about two hours to the community clinic, walking on muddy roads and up and down hills. She knew that even on a Sunday, José Goméz, the Health Promoter in her remote community of El Bambú, would be able to help them.
When Geraldine brought her baby to José, he immediately felt a sinking feeling in his gut.
“It was just like what had happened to my niece. The symptoms were the same: cough, fever, rapid and shallow breathing… But this time, I was going to make sure the story ended differently,” José declared with conviction.
Seven years ago, before El Bambú had any AMOS Health Promoter, José’s niece died in his arms from pneumonia. She was only a couple of months older than Gerald.
“That day, I decided we couldn’t let that happen again. No other child was going to die from a preventable or treatable disease in our community,” José explained.
Thanks to you, El Bambú has José, a trained Health Promoter who can prevent, identify, and treat the most common diseases. Thanks to your generosity, José is saving lives like baby Gerald’s.
Following the guidelines he learned in trainings with AMOS, José provided an initial dose of antibiotics, acetaminophen, and oral rehydration drink, gave Geraldine more medications for free, and referred the baby boy to the nearest health center.
Now, Geraldine had hope again.
She took the medicines José provided home with her and listened to his counseling on how to help her baby get better.
José kept in close touch with Geraldine by phone and then examined baby Gerald two days later to make sure he was getting better. Soon after that, Gerald was smiling and laughing again. He had recovered.
But José knew this story could have ended differently… very differently.
Thanks to you, every baby, mother, and person in need in El Bambú has access to basic, life-saving health care. But there are thousands of children like Gerald and mothers like Geraldine who need your help. You can make hope happen for them.
Now through December 31st, a group of long-time AMOS supporters have offered to match your gift to double its impact, but if you start a monthly gift… your gift will be TRIPLED every month for an entire year to provide 3 times the help you give to those in need in Nicaragua!
Your generous gift today can make hope happen by:
- Helping families in rural areas drink clean water and prevent disease
- Caring for the sick who otherwise would not have access to health care
- Counseling pregnant moms to have healthy pregnancies and give birth safely
- Providing nutritious food to children at risk of malnutrition
- Accompanying youth to help them make positive health choices and achieve their life goals
- Training community leaders who bring hope to thousands of vulnerable people in times of great need
This giving season, you can make hope happen for over 74,000 vulnerable people in 6 regions of Nicaragua. And every dollar you give through this special match can go up to 3 times as far!
Thank you for helping passionate and committed local leaders like José offer much-needed health care in their communities. Your love, compassion, and generosity are saving lives and helping some of the most vulnerable people in Nicaragua hold on to hope.