COVID-19 has created a “dire” situation for the families that rely on our Feeding Centre in Santiago, Guatemala. Firstly, our Feeding Centre has been closed since the first week of March, as are all schools and businesses except those that sell groceries and medical supplies. The country is under curfew, with no one allowed outside their home after 6:00 p.m. People are not able to travel out of their own town or village. Public transportation, which is the main method our families use to travel to their places of work, is closed. As well, food is in short supply and prices have risen. This has caused widespread fear in Guatemala. 

Most of the 40 mothers/widows of our Feeding Centre work at very low paying jobs. Their ability to put food on the table for their children is a challenge at the best of times; now even this income has been taken away. Guatemala has no social safety net like we do here in North America. The situation is indeed a very desperate one for many families.

Jorge and Maria, our ministry partners, have seen this need. They began on March 21st to distribute food packages twice a week to the families registered at the Feeding Centre. Jorge, as a restaurant owner, has a special permit to travel and is able to go to Guatemala City to buy the supplies in bulk. He and Maria, as well as his children and other volunteers, then make up food packages which contain a 2-week supply of staple items like rice, beans, corn flour, oil, sugar, chicken consume, eggs, and soap.

It is our hope to continue providing food packages for our families every 2 weeks until the pandemic ends and the economy reopens. In order to enable us to sustain this effort, we are asking for your financial support. The minimum necessary to continue our efforts is $1,500 CDN each month. Love Made Real appreciates all your donations and prayer support.