Operation White Flag Hunger Relief Updates • Child Aid

See our campaign page to learn more about Operation White Flag and make a donation to help provide emergency food boxes to hungry families.

July 22, 2020 – Doña Josefa

Doña Josefa Pérez Ramos, a parent from the Xepoclaj school, says she deeply appreciates the support of Child Aid and its donors. She says the emergency food boxes have been a great blessing in her family.

July 15, 2020 – Mocolicxot Alto, Patzún

July 12, 2020 – Milagros Tzanjomel

Children are happy and excited to receive a new food box.

July 8, 2020 – Getting Ready for a Second Round of Food Distribution

A second truckload of food boxes arrived at our office in Patzún today. Staff unloaded and began preparing them for distribution to schools next week. Each “El Amor en Caja” box is designed to feed a family for three weeks. So Child Aid committed to returning to schools 21 days after the first delivery, giving families the assurance that they will have six full weeks of food to rely on.

July 7, 2020 – Guatemalans Say Thank You To Child Aid Supporters

Guatemalan parents say thank you for providing emergency food relief for their families during the COVID-19 crisis.

To date, Child Aid’s Operation White Flag Hunger Relief effort has delivered emergency food boxes to 2,300 families in 40 communities. Thank to all of our generous supporters who have helped us feed over 10,000 children, parents and grandparents. A second round of food relief to these families begins next week.

July 6, 2020 – Helping Families in Need in Patzún

After delivering food relief to 728 families at 16 schools in the Chimaltenango region, our team had 21 boxes remaining. So they invited some of the neediest families from the local community to come to our Patzún office to receive a box. The team especially tried to help families with elderly members who were facing extreme poverty and hunger.

Child Aid team leader Jorge Sanum addresses food relief recipients at the Child Aid regional office in Patzun.

Child Aid National Director Graciela Pichiya Landa helps a woman balance her box for returning home.

July 5, 2020 – Food Delivery in Panabaj

Child Aid Literacy Trainer Juan Roberto Mendoza talks about Child Aid’s emergency food delivery activities at the Panabaj school near Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala and why so many children and families are in need of food relief in this community.

June 25, 2020 – Totonicapan

June 25, 2020 – Pachut

The village of Pachut is one of our most remote communities, more than an hour’s drive from the closest town of Patacia. So the 76 families who received boxes were especially grateful that Child Aid had included them in the food distribution. “Thank you to everyone involved in the logistics and delivery of this food,” said the deputy mayor. “The mothers of this community are very grateful.”

Waiting in line outside the Pachut school.

Kids from the community of Pachut excidedly open their box to see what’s inside.

June 23, 2020 – What’s in the food boxes?

Take a peek inside one of our emergency food boxes with Child Aid Literacy Trainers Brenda and Maria. An “Amor en Caja” box was designed by a nutritionist in #Guatemala in collaboration with United Way. These boxes are being distributed through Child Aid’s Operation White Flag Hunger Relief effort, and it’s meant to sustain a family of 5 to 6 people with shelf-stable food.

June 22, 2020 – Deliveries begin in Chimaltenango

Food arrives in the morning at the Ciénaga school.

Prepping for food distribution day at the Chuchucá Bajo school.

Mothers in Mocolicxot Alto lend a hand to bring the boxes up to the school where they will be handed out.

Women waiting in line at the Pachimulin school.

Waiting in line at the Las Parcelas school

A mother and daughter get ready to return to their home in Mocolicxot Alto.

Retuning home with a heavy load in the community of Chuchucá Bajo.

June 21, 2020 – Food Deliveries Begin in Sololá

Mothers wait their turn outside the Nueva San Jose school in Sololá.

A mother selects books to take home to her children from the school’s library. Many schools are loaning books to families from their collection of Child Aid-donated books, giving children the opportunity to continue reading and learning while schools are closed.

June 19, 2020 – San Cristóbal, Totonicapán

Unloading boxes begins at the Nueva Candelaria school.

Taking temperatures at the Sacolajabaj school while waiting to pick up food boxes.

The grandmother of one of the families from the Sacolojabaj school expresses her gratitude for the food box that will help feed her family during the pandemic.

A mother signs her name to receive her food box at the Nueva Candelaria school in Totonicapán

A mother from the Sacolojabaj school wraps up her box in preparation to return home. Her family recently moved further away from the school — too far to walk with a heavy box — so the principal and parent council helped give her a ride back to her house. She said she was very grateful for the support, especially for her children who do not have sufficient food at home.

June 18, 2020 – Doña Manuela

Child Aid Literacy Trainer Jose Maurico Garcia shared this story from today’s distribution activities:

“Manuela is the grandmother and caretaker of one of the families from the Chi Ramos school who are receiving food relief from Child Aid. She has a son with severe illnesses who has been bedridden all his life. Since she is elderly and it wasn’t safe for her to come to the school, I brought the box directly to her house. I explained the contents of the box to her and presented her with a protective mask.

Doña Manuela says she is very grateful that she now has the resources to feed her son and grandson.”

June 18, 2020 – Food Distribution Continues in Totonicapán

At the Child Aid office in Totonicapán, staffer José Maurico Garcia loads boxes for delivery to schools this morning.

Boxes are unloaded and carried up the hill to the Coxliquel school.

Parents receive boxes at the Chirrenox school in Totonicapán.

We have strong safety protocols in place for the distribution events at the schools. Using health protections like masks, gloves and social distancing, our staff, alongside teachers and school directors (principals), make sure the food boxes get to families in need.

June 17, 2020 – First Distribution Day

Today we distributed our first emergency food boxes in the communities of San Francisco El Alto and Rancho de Teja in Totonicapán. Grateful parents arrived at schools to pick up the boxes full of shelf-stable foods such as beans, rice, oil noodles, milk, salt, and sugar. These boxes will provide children a basic level of nutrition to help them through this crisis and minimize the long term damage to their health.

June 16, 2020 – Let’s Roll!

Trucks delivering our life-saving boxes of food arrive from Guatemala City at our regional office in Totonicapán, Guatemala. Thanks to our local partners United Way Guatemala who helped us purchase and assemble the boxes and Asociación CDRO who provided the transportation.

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