We're Fighting the Horrors of Malnourishment

The children of El Salvador suffer from severe malnourishment. Nutrient-enhanced diets or daily multi-vitamins can easily cure many of the diseases that these children suffer from. For example, many children suffer from a lack of iron in their systems. The general health of these children would be greatly increased by supplemental iron in their diets. Roughly 20% of the Salvadoran children suffer from moderate to severe stunting - a severe indicator of malnutrition. Sadly, if malnutrition sets in before a child turns two years old, the consequences are usually permanent. In El Salvador, the malnutrition prevalence for children under 5 years old has been as high as 19% percent in recent years. Deficiency of vitamin A is another key example of the lack of drug supplementation in El Salvador. In 2007, only 20% of children (ages 0-5) received one or more doses of vitamin A supplementation and only 13% received full coverage. Therefore, most children of El Salvador are not necessarily starving; rather, they have limited diets that result in malnourishment. The Economist recently published an article backing this argument up, check it out here. SalvaVita plans to change this.

SalvaVita is a health and nutrition nonprofit based in the Cleveland area. SalvaVita successfully delivered over 1 million doses of children's vitamins to the Community Oscar Arnulfo Romero (COAR) in Zaragoza, El Salvador, in 2010 and 2011. COAR is a school for 800 impoverished children, grades K-12, that also supplies foster care for 90 abandoned children. COAR also has a medical and dental clinic as well as a pharmacy that provides the community of Zaragoza with basic pharmaceuticals. Besides COAR, SalvaVita has also donated to the Parish of Santo Domingo in Chiltuipán and the Parish of Inmaculada Concepción in La Libertad.

SalvaVita will continue to collect monetary and vitamin donations that will be sent to COAR and other children's clinics throughout El Salvador. COAR Peace Mission, the primary recipient of the donations, is a 501c3 charitable corporation which raises funds for COAR in El Salvador. All donations are tax-deductible. Any monetary donations received will be used to purchase vitamins from Salvadoran pharmaceutical distributors or to transport donated vitamins from the United States to El Salvador. To donate, please click here or Contact Us!

SalvaVita President Keven Lenahan and Dr. William of Santo Domingo Parish.