DAYCARE CENTERS GARDEN PROJECT AND
HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE
SUPPORTING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND
EMPOWERMENT THROUGH PARTNERSHIP
Bajo Lempa, El Salvador
2012-2013
P A R T N E R S H I P P R O F I L EGlobeMed at Penn State and ACUDESBAL
B a j o L e m p a , E l S a l v a d o r • P e n n S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y • G l o b e M e d . o r g / i m p a c t / p s u
Table of Contents
Who ii
GlobeMed at Penn State ii
ACUDESBAL - Intercommunal Organization of Communities United for the Social and Economic Development of Bajo Lempa (Intercommunal Association of Communities for the Social and Eco-nomic Development of Bajo Lempa, Jiquilisco, Usulután) iii
Three Daycare Centers in Bajo Lempa: The communities of Amando Lopez, Octavio Ortiz, & El Pre-sidio iv
Why v
Why Partnership? v
Why health? v
Why Students? v
Why a movement? v
When vi
What vi
The Garden Project and Healthy Environment Initiative vi
Project Components vii
Where viii
Wrap-Up: Data, Measurements, Resources xi
Data & Measurements xi
More about GlobeMed at Penn State xi
G l o b e M e d a t P e n n S t a t e P a r t n e r s h i p P r o f i l e
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Resources xii
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Project Overview
Who
GlobeMed at Penn State
GlobeMed at Penn State is one of over 50 university chapters of GlobeMed, a student run nonprofit
organization that seeks to decrease global health inequities through partnership and empowerment
with grassroots organizations around the world.
Mission
GlobeMed aims to strengthen the movement for global health equity by empowering
students and communities to work together to improve the health of people living in
poverty around the world.
Vision
We envision a world in which health - the ability to not only survive but thrive - is possible
for all people, regardless of where they call home.
Approach
We pair each university-based GlobeMed chapter with a unique organization already
improving the health of its community. Year after year, these students and grassroots
eaders collaborate on projects that deepen and expand the organization's impact.
The Result: organizations with a greater capacity to serve their community and a
generation of young people equipped to transform the world.
GlobeMed partnerships are rooted in the belief that local aspirations are a centripetal force behind community change
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ACUDESBAL - Intercommunal Organization of Communities United for the Social and Economic Devel-
opment of Bajo Lempa (Intercommunal Association of Communities for the Social and Economic Develop-
ment of Bajo Lempa, Jiquilisco, Usulután)
Acudesbal is a nongovernmental organization (NGO), and aims to facilitate solutions for develop-
ment, focusing on sustainable development for food sovereignty, process strengthening, environ-
mental education, advocacy, and institutional strengthening, in the 29 communities of the Bajo
Lempa region of El Salvador.
Mission Statement
ACUDESBAL seeks to promote organizational processes and communication between the
communities of Bajo Lempa and local, national and international government, and
promotes equitable development through gender development, youth empowerment, and
environmental protection projects.
Vision Statement
! As an Intercommunal Association, ACUDESBAL envisions equitable development
throughout Bajo Lempa, as it supports organizational, communicational, economic,
political, social, and cultural rights action.
Approach
Three pillars of development guide our overarching approach: Promote the empowerment
of women and gender equity; manage natural disaster protection; and safeguard natural
resources. Under these pillars, we focus on five strategic areas: Institutional strengthening;
Food sovereignty; Infrastructure and legalization of land; Health and environment; and
Recreation and culture. Together, the united communities of Bajo Lempa prioritize the
management of natural disaster protection, the rehabilitation of drainage systems and
streets, and the empowerment for all inhabitants of Bajo Lempa.
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Three Daycare Centers in Bajo Lempa: The communities of Amando Lopez, Octavio Ortiz,
& El Presidio
The Bajo Lempa region is comprised of 29 communities. Three daycare centers, based in the
communities of Amando Lopez, Octavio Ortiz, and El Presidio, provide care for 160 children.The
daycare centers struggle with receiving government funding, which inhibits them from providing
meals that meet El Salvador national nutritional guidelines. Each center provides free breakfast and
lunch to attendees, and many times care for more children than they are funded for, as they know
the children are in need of a stable place to spend time during the days, as well as nutritional meals.
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Why
Why Partnership?
The members of our partner communities around the world best understand their communities’
needs and potential. Students are most effective as changemakers when their actions respond to
these voices. By building one-to-one relationships between students and community-based or-
ganizations, GlobeMed fosters the dialogue, collaboration, and mutual learning we need to tackle
today’s complex global health challenges.
Why health?
Health is a basic human right. Yet people living in poverty continue to die of preventable and treat-
able diseases. Health determines how we live and why we die. By focusing on the foundations of
health, like clean water, nutritious food, and medical care, we can save and empower thousands of
lives. Imagine a world in which everyone had the chance not only to survive but thrive. We have
the power to make this vision a reality. It all starts with health, one life, family, and one community
at a time.
Why Students?
Now, more than ever, students have the ability and responsibility to build a better world. Their
voice, vision and talent can change the status quo. By working in partnership with communities,
students learn to view global challenges through a human lens. Through their involvement today,
students develop the skills and commitment to become tomorrow’s leaders for global health equity
and social justice.
Why a movement?
The approach is simple, but the problem is not. To give everyone a chance to live a healthy life, we
must transform the social, political and economic systems that allow poverty and illness to persist.
To create systems-level change, we need people from every field, generation and corner of the
world to join forces. Taking inspiration from the great movements of the past, we are working to
unite all those who believe that health is a human right.
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When
GlobeMed believes that longterm partnerships strengthen the impact of grassroots projects. This
partnership began in the Fall of 2011 with The Daycare Centers Garden Project. After the Grassroots
Onsite Work Internship during Summer 2012, a new Memorandum of Understanding was estab-
lished with new partnership goals for the coming year. Now called The Daycare Centers Garden
Project and Healthy Environment Initiative, the project will enter its second year, during 2012-201
What
The Garden Project and Healthy Environment Initiative
The partnership with GlobeMed at Penn State and ACUDESBAL, along with the three daycare cen-
ters, began in Fall 2011. It is a long-term partnership, entering its second year of operation this year,
2012-2013. This summer GlobeMed at Penn State and ACUDESBAL developed new goals and
strategies for the upcoming partnership year.
Throughout the year, GlobeMed at Penn State engages in partner relations, including regular com-
munication with ACUDESBAL to discuss project details, on-campus educational and advocacy
campaigns, and project fundraising. Each summer, a small group of about 5 GlobeMed at Penn
State interns head to Bajo Lempa for a Grassroots Onsite Work (GROW) Internship in order to build
relationships with ACUDESBAL and the community members of Bajo Lempa. Interns reflect on the
past year, discuss possible improvements, and then plan the next year’s project to continue build-
ing and growing the movement for global health equity.
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Project Components
! Food Security
Food security is ensured through sustainable gardens and tilapia fisheries at each
daycare center. The gardens and fisheries help to improve the nutritional quality of
meals and also relieve the daycare centers of their dependence on inadequate
governmental funding. So, the food security component ensures improved
nutrition as well as improved allocation of funding, allowing the daycare centers to
budget better and spend money on more nutritious options, such as wheat bread
instead of white
Nutrition Education
An El Salvadoran nutritionist visits each of the three daycare center three time
throughout the year, making nine total yearly visits. During these visits, the
nutritionist teaches the children about healthy choices, and meets with the kitchen
staff and guardians to educate them about healthy food preparation techniques.
Education is a critical component of this project, as it empowers individuals to take
charge of their health, and instills the importance of healthy nutrition in the daycare
center students.
Sanitation and Safety
Sanitation is a critical component of food safety. The project improves sanitation
and safety of the latrines, funding the construction of two new latrines at each day
care. It also funds the construction of fences that protect the gardens from dogs and
chickens, which currently roam the daycare center grounds. Lastly, kitchen safety
and sanitation improvements are funded, ensuring the meals are prepared in a
proper environment
Oral Health Component
Dental health and development is important for young children. The provision of
toothpaste and toothbrushes, as well as three visits from a dentist each year to each
of the three daycares, is funded for by the project. The children gain access to the
tools and knowledge they need to protect their oral health.
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Where
ACUDESBAL operates in Bajo Lempa, which is in the municipality of Jiquilisco, in the department
of Usulutan, El Salvador. Bajo Lempa is a made of 29 smaller communities, which all branch off of
either side of a single main road. Bajo Lempa means “Lower Lempa,” and because it is located at the
bottom of the Lempa River, which empties into the Pacific Ocean. The close proximity to the river
has increased risk for yearly floods, which devastate development throughout the region. Bajo
Lempa is a young, resilient community, developed just after the end of El Salvador’s civil war in
1990. As such, the members of ACUDESBAL along with general inhabitants of the area, are filled
with tenacity to face natural disasters with great hope for the future.
The daycare centers are located in three communities in Bajo Lempa, which are Amando Lopez,
Octavio Ortiz, and El Presidio. They provide care for children from their own communities and sur-
rounding communities. GlobeMed at Penn State has especially close ties with the community of
Amando Lopez, as five members lived with host families in this community for one month this past
summer during their Grassroots Onsite Work Internship.
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The capital, San Salvador,(highlight by the red box) is about 3 hours from the Bajo Lempa communities. The region in which ACUDESBAL operates, Bajo Lempa, is highlighted by the blue box. Bajo Lempa is
Spanish for “Lower Lempa” because these communities are at the mouth of the Lempa River.
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The black box above marks La Canoa, which is one of the 29 communities in Bajo Lempa. La Canoa is where the Octavio Ortiz
daycare center is located. The other two are located several minutes down the main road, which spans from La Canoa to
Zamorán, as indicated on the map. Zacatecoluca, located in the upper left corder (underlined in red) and Usulutan (underlined in
blue) are each approximately one hour from Bajo Lempa. They are small cities. Usulutan is the capital of the municipality of
Jiquilisco and department of Usulutan.
Wrap-Up: Data, Measurements, Resources
Data & Measurements
Assessment of project efficiency and effectiveness is essential to ensure that we are creating a
meaningful impact. We do so qualitatively through constant communication and discussion from
all sides of the partnership. We take the qualitative feedback and combine it with quantitative,
measurable data so we can objectively see the progression of the project and the impact it makes.
We can see what does and doesn’t work, and make changes accordingly so that we are producing
the best results possible.
In order to assess that the project is progressing within a set timeframe and that the goals of self-
sustainability, improved nutritional value and child health, sanitation and safety, improved oral
health, and reduced costs and reallocation of the budget are met, GlobeMed at Penn State collected
data and developed measurement strategies to use throughout the project.
During the 2012 Summer GROW Internship, interns collected data for costs of the project including
crop costs, growing seasons, and crop yield, current health measurements of daycare center stu-
dents (height, weight, body mass index), and current costs and nutritional makeup of the meals
provided at the daycare centers. These data serve as a baseline for the Daycare Centers Garden Pro-
ject and Healthy Environment Initiative data tracking.
More about GlobeMed at Penn State
For more on GlobeMed at Penn State, check out these links.
Razoo Donation Page
Blog
GlobeMed at Penn State - GlobeMed National Website
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Resources
The World Health Organization discusses food security under the overarching topics of trade, for-
eign policy, diplomacy, and heath. The Daycare Centers Garden Project and Healthy Environment
Initiative is a grassroots project focused on making three daycare centers food secure.
Food Security
The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”. Commonly, the concept of food security is defined as including both physical and economic access to food that meets people's dietary needs as well as their food preferences. In many countries, health problems related to dietary excess are an ever increasing threat, In fact, malnutrion and food borne diarrhea are become double burden.
Food security is built on three pillars:• Food availability: sufficient quantities of food available on a consistent basis.• Food access: having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.• Food use: appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation.
Food security is a complex sustainable development issue, linked to health through malnutrition, but also to sustainable economic development, environment, and trade. There is a great deal of debate around food security with some arguing that:
• There is enough food in the world to feed everyone adequately; the problem is distribution.• Future food needs can - or cannot - be met by current levels of production.• National food security is paramount - or no longer necessary because of global trade.• Globalization may - or may not - lead to the persistence of food insecurity and poverty in rural commu-
nities.
Issues such as whether households get enough food, how it is distributed within the household and whether that food fulfils the nutrition needs of all members of the household show that food security is clearly linked to health.
Agriculture remains the largest employment sector in most developing countries and interna-tional agriculture agreements are crucial to a country's food security. Some critics argue that trade liberalization may reduce a country's food security by reducing agricultural employment levels. Concern about this has led a group of World Trade Organization (WTO) member states to recommend that current negotiations on agricultural agreements allow developing countries to re-evaluate and raise tariffs on key products to protect national food security and employ-ment. They argue that WTO agreements, by pushing for the liberalization of crucial markets, are threatening the food security of whole communities. Related issues include:
• What is the net impact of the further liberalization of food and agricultural trade, considering the widely differing situations in developing countries?
• To what extent can domestic economic and social policies - and food, agricultural and rural develop-ment policies - offset the diverse (and possibly negative) impacts of international policies, such as those relating to international trade?
• How can the overall economic gains from trade benefit those who are most likely to be suffering from food insecurity?
• Do gains “trickle down” to enhance economic access to food for the poor?• How can food and agricultural production and trade be restrained from the over-exploitation of natural
resources that may jeopardize domestic food security in the long term?• How to ensure that imported food products are of acceptable quality and safe to eat?
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Organic Garden Maintenance and Crop Cultivation ($1,000 for each center, $3,000 total)Sanitation and Latrine Component ($1,600)Oral Hygiene and Dental Visits ($1,000)Nutrition Education ($500)Safety and Fencing Component ($1,500)
$1500.00
$500.00
$1000.00
$1600.00
$3000.00
The Daycare Centers Garden Project and Healthy Environment Initiative
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The project is moving into it’s second year. The first year, GlobeMed at Penn State funded the construction of tilapia fisheries and gardens at three daycare centers. After the GROW Internship, a Memorandum of Understanding was created between GlobeMed at Penn State and ACUDESBAL to outline the goals for the 2012-2013 partnership.
The maintenance and cultivation of the gardens and tilapia fisheries will cost $3,000. The sanitation and latrine component funds the construction of one new latrine at each daycare (3 new latrines total), and will cost $1,600. The oral hygiene and dental visits will cost $1,000. The nutrition education component, which funds three visits per year, to each center (9 total visits), by a nutri-tionist from San Salvador, will cost $500. The safety and fencing component, which will protect the gardens and children from stray dogs and chickens, will cost $1,500.
ACUDESBAL and daycare centers workers presented the GROW Interns with these issues and ideas for the project, and together, they outlined the Memorandum of Understanding to best attain these goals.
Crop Number Planted
Crop Season Crop Yield
Pepino 100 Reaches maturity in: 2 months
Cultivation period: 7-8 weeks
100 harvested/week
Pipiano 50 Planted and harvested: 3 times/year
Cultivation period: 4 weeks
100 harvested/week
Approx. 50 plants yield 5
pounds/day
Tomato 50 Reaches maturity in: 3 months
Planted and harvested 2 times/year
N/A
Green Pepper 100 Planted every: 2 months
Cultivation period: 8 weeks
250/week
Raddish 2000 Planted every: 2 months
Green Bean 100 Reaches maturity in: 2 months 10 pounds/week
Malanga 100 Reaches maturity in: 7 months
Cultivation period: Once/year
75 pounds/week
Zagu 50 Reaches maturity in: 7 months
Cultivation period: Once/year
50 roots (50 pounds)
Platano 10 Reaches maturity in: 11 months 25-30 platanos/tree dur-
ing first year;
75-90 platanos/tree after
2 years until 10 years
Banana 10 Reaches maturity in: 11 months 25-30 bananas/tree dur-
ing first year;
75-90 bananas/tree after
2 years until 10 years
Tilapia 350 N/A 350 tilapia/4 months
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