070518 Caritas Venezuela 01141
Josdarlin Hernandez, 17, with her son Dennis Marchan, 15 months, at the San José de Obrero Church in Frailes de Catia, in Caracas, Venezuela. Josdarlin receives nutritional supplements for her son after he was found to be undernourished in a nutrition monitoring session conducted by her local Caritas chapter. She is currently three months pregnant and worries about the economic crisis.
"I'm trying to take my multivitamins, sometimes my friends give me what they have left over, sometimes Fr. Cristobal gives me some."
Expectant mothers are vulnerable to complications because of a breakdown of the medical system, access to basic supplies, and loss of spending power which forces families to choose between food and care. Many mothers go into labor without having received pre-natal care or taken exams to help assure the health and safety of their babies.
"His love is everything," she says of her son. "I'm studying administration so I can work for a business, I want to give him a good future so he grow up to be someone. One has to keep fighting to give them a good life. I want God to keep helping those who work to help those in need. That they continue to give us assistance and advice to help our babies grow well."
Hyper inflation has hit the Venezuelan people hard. Medical supplies and basic food staples are often beyond the means of the average Venezuelan. Currently 92 percent of the population now falls below the poverty line. The current minimum monthly salary averages to about $1.50 and covers only 2 percent of the minimum nutritional basket. As of March 2018, it would require 73 monthly salaries solely to cover the cost of feeding a family. Families cope by selling off goods, cutting back on meals and the quantity of food served at each meal. Routine growth monitoring sessions conducted by Caritas has shown that 70 percent of children under 5 show signs of some form of nutrition with 8 percent from severe malnutrition.
070518 Caritas Venezuela 01141
Josdarlin Hernandez, 17, with her son Dennis Marchan, 15 months, at the San José de Obrero Church in Frailes de Catia, in Caracas, Venezuela. Josdarlin receives nutritional supplements for her son after he was found to be undernourished in a nutrition monitoring session conducted by her local Caritas chapter. She is currently three months pregnant and worries about the economic crisis.
"I'm trying to take my multivitamins, sometimes my friends give me what they have left over, sometimes Fr. Cristobal gives me some."
Expectant mothers are vulnerable to complications because of a breakdown of the medical system, access to basic supplies, and loss of spending power which forces families to choose between food and care. Many mothers go into labor without having received pre-natal care or taken exams to help assure the health and safety of their babies.
"His love is everything," she says of her son. "I'm studying administration so I can work for a business, I want to give him a good future so he grow up to be someone. One has to keep fighting to give them a good life. I want God to keep helping those who work to help those in need. That they continue to give us assistance and advice to help our babies grow well."
Hyper inflation has hit the Venezuelan people hard. Medical supplies and basic food staples are often beyond the means of the average Venezuelan. Currently 92 percent of the population now falls below the poverty line. The current minimum monthly salary averages to about $1.50 and covers only 2 percent of the minimum nutritional basket. As of March 2018, it would require 73 monthly salaries solely to cover the cost of feeding a family. Families cope by selling off goods, cutting back on meals and the quantity of food served at each meal. Routine growth monitoring sessions conducted by Caritas has shown that 70 percent of children under 5 show signs of some form of nutrition with 8 percent from severe malnutrition.