The Solly Ochoch

The Solly Ochoch

A MOTHERS CENTER IN SEPALU, GUATEMALA

Founded + funded with your support
A hen house <br>for egg production
OUR CURRENT PROJECT:

A hen house
for egg production

: $6,881

Our Ochoch Team has hatched a plan to bring better nutrition and additional income opportunities to villagers. Eggs offer a hefty dose of protein and other essential nutrients, and they are quick to cook, so they don’t require much firewood. For a sick child, they’re also easy to digest.

So, what’s the plan? Families will be provided with starter chicks, as well as training on how to raise and care for them. They will also be taught how to make homemade feed for the chicks from readily available resources and how to protect their hens from disease.

The more chicks we can hatch at Solly Ochoch, the more families we will be able to support!

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US MEET OUR GOAL! $12,919 by December 22, 2022
DETAILS ON OUR NEXT PROJECT COMING SOON
TOTAL DOLLARS RAISED FOR THE SOLLY OCHOCH SINCE 2019:
$108,070
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I have always believed that it would be mothers who would play a lead role in alleviating the suffering of mothers and babies around the world. I know that this is only one mothers center and Sepalau is a small village and that there is so much more work to do, but just as we do the small things for our babies every day and trust that those small things will help them become great people, I trust that the seemingly small things that this beautiful community does will culminate into great things.

ELLE ROWLEY, FOUNDER OF SOLLY BABY
Stability. Unity. <br>A path toward <br>self-sufficiency.
A BEACON OF HOPE

Stability. Unity.
A path toward
self-sufficiency.

We first learned of “The Valley of the Forgotten” in 2019. It’s in these highlands of Guatemala that some of the most marginalized and impoverished people of Guatemala live. Malnourishment among children abounds, maternal and infant mortality rates are among the highest in the country, and access to basic resources (think medical support, education, etc.) are scarce at best.

Isolation, loss of their coffee industry, government corruption, and more are to blame. But the families in the 20-some villages of the valley are not to be forgotten.

After visiting the people of Sepalu in early November that same year and being touched by their warmth and inspired by their strength, we knew we needed to be a part of the work our friends at The Humble Village were doing there. So we pledged to support their grassroots efforts to educate and empower the communities.

20 acres of land. 20+ surrounding villages.
6,000 indigenous villagers.
SEE YOUR DOLLARS AT WORK

Life-saving services. Life-changing resources.

A gathering place

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.

An on-site nurse

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 community garden

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.

A shoulder to lean on

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.

There is more work to be done.
WE NEED YOUR HELP

There is more work to be done.

For the critical services of the Solly Ochoch to continue, we need you. From annual operating costs to an increase in the number of villagers we serve to new and repaired infrastructure to additional funding for sleeping accommodations for the workers (up to four of them sleep on the floor—even in the bitter cold), and more, there continues to be tremendous need.

100% of funds donated by Solly Baby go directly to these projects and local Guatemalan staff who are on the ground working day to day. The Humble Village takes no overhead or administrative costs, thanks to a generous team who volunteers their time and resources to ensure the donations make the greatest impact possible.

Thank you for your continued donations, thoughts, prayers, and care for this project.

EVERY DOLLAR MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Difference
46 malnourished children have graduated from our nutritional recuperation program.
Difference
755 villagers have visited the Ochoch for training.
Difference
772 health trainings have been completed in families’ homes.
Difference
86 families have established kitchen gardens.
Difference
127 midwife delivery kits have been donated.