Over the past few years, social and economic factors like the downturn of the economy and food and medicine shortages have created barriers for mothers and children to lead healthy lives. Many families have faced new challenges brought on by this difficult context, and others are simply unfamiliar with practices that can best facilitate physical, mental, and emotional development for their young children.
AMOS’s response to this critical need was our Parenting With Love Project, which we piloted in the urban community of Nejapa and in 5 rural communities in the Southern Caribbean Coast Region of Nicaragua. Together with our partners, we trained Volunteer Mothers to educate their neighbors about healthy pregnancies and best practices in early childhood development.
Despite the challenges we’ve faced over the past few years, your generosity has helped us:
• Train 51 Volunteer Mothers to provide early childhood development education
• Educate nearly 300 caregivers and pregnant moms in 6 communities
• Impact the lives of more than 1,000 parents and their young children!
This is some of what local leaders, parents, and caregivers are saying about the project so far:
After having her baby, Reyna experienced a period of postpartum depression. This experience motivated Reyna to become a Volunteer Mother, so she could make sure that other moms in her community had the support they needed to thrive and help their children grow healthy:
“When I had my baby girl, I had no one who could help me out. Both of my parents had passed away, my mother-in-law worked, and my sister was focused on her own children. It was only my husband and me, and we had no information about how to take care of a baby.”
“I have learned a lot thanks to the Parenting with Love Project and in our process of learning and sharing with the other mothers. I remember a mom named Paula who thanked me after one of our meetings. That day we had talked about the colostrum, which is the first form of breast milk women produce. Paula told me she always thought that was ‘bad milk,’ and she didn’t give it to her kids. But now, she was grateful to know the colostrum is actually good for babies.”
– Reyna, Volunteer Mother
Thank you for your support to AMOS, which helps vulnerable mothers access critical information about safe pregnancies, newborn care, and early childhood development. You are bringing health and hope to parents and their young children!