Libras de Amor is an integral health and nutritional program developed by our in-country sister organization, FUSAL, contributing to the eradication of extreme poverty and malnutrition in El Salvador. Its focus is to significantly reduce the rate of malnutrition in children under the age of 5, as well as in expectant and lactating mothers, living in El Salvador’s rural areas.

Since 2008 Libras de Amor has been operational in six different rural areas of El Salvador (Ataco, Tonacatepeque, Guaymango, Santa Ana, San Julian, and Apaneca) with coverage of 65,000 beneficiaries.

Libras de Amor provides beneficiaries the opportunity to have a healthy family. This is achieved through 4 basic components:

1. Integral Health Services

• General medical consultations
• Periodic follow ups for healthy children
• Prenatal and postnatal services for expecting mothers
• Vaccinations
• Reproductive and sexual health awareness

2. Nutritional Consultations

Children with some degree of malnutrition are treated periodically by a nutritionist who:

• Monitors their weight and height
• Measures levels of hemoglobin to detect the presence of anemia
• Gives them vitamin supplements according to their needs

3. Food Staples

Families receive a package of food every 30 days.

This package contains nutritious and staple foods that complement their diet. Nutritionists train families on food preparation to maximize its use. Additionally, families are encouraged to breed farm animals and to cultivate nutritious foods.

The food package contains:

4. Health Promotion

Through different educational activities, beneficiaries learn to adopt healthier ways of life.

Such topics being tought include environmental awareness, hygiene, purification of water for proper human consumption and waste management are discussed.

All health and nutritional services are provided by a Technical Health Team to meet the needs of each specific geographic area. A typical team consists of:

1 doctor, 1 nutritionist, 1 nurse, 4 health promoters, and 20 voluntary nutritional counselors.

Each team has the capacity to assist 1,200 families. The Technical Health Team resides in the community they serve and visit the different families they support every two weeks to monitor their progress.

INCOME GENERATION COMPONENT

In addition to the integral nutritional services that “Libras de Amor” provides, the program also has a second component that allows members of the participating families to generate income as a parallel strategy to diminish child malnutrition and encourages the reduction of poverty in El Salvador.

Thanks to a grant from the Interamerican Development Bank, and the Gloria Kriete Foundation, FUSAL hired the Superior School of Economy and Business (ESSEN) to develop a diagnosis of the township of Apaneca. This is the area where the “Libras de Amor” program was first launched. The findings determined that tourism is a key factor to explore. The areas of work with beneficiaries:

• Social and orderly development which implies urban planning and beautification of each township.
• Skill development by training community members on how to make local artistries as well as chats on themes related to tourism, and hospitality.
• Promotion of entrepreneurship by encouraging and creating businesses that promote economic growth of the community.
  
• Participating members will be trained in basic accounting, marketing, client services, basic knowledge of the English language and self-esteem.