The Solly Ochoch itself serves as a community center. It includes a demonstration kitchen and eating area where villagers learn to cook nutritious meals, a meeting/ training room for health education and community building, and two sleeping cubicles for staff. One room includes a makeshift clinic for pregnant mothers and women undergoing exams.

Nurse Luvia provides both clinic and home visits to assess mothers and babies and provide pre- and postnatal care. She also identifies malnourished children, many of whom are in the most dire physical condition, to enroll in the nutrition program.

A backyard garden might not seem earth-shattering, but when we visited the village in 2019, there was not one home we entered that had anything other than corn and the occasional bag of rice. To have cabbage and potatoes and beets and other nutrient-rich produce available to eat and plants to start their own gardens— in which they can grow crops both for themselves and to sell for income—is truly life-changing.

Even in the best of times, unexpected expenses crop up. And in already dire circumstances, the effects of a global pandemic, natural disasters and food shortages can be devastating. Through your generosity, we’ve replaced the roofs of 100 homes that were damaged in hurricanes. We sourced a new pickup truck for a worker when his was totaled. And we’ve funded a critical tongue-tie operation for a young villager, Gerson, who was literally starving.