Buckner Guatemala teamed up with Fundación Azteca Guatemala and Grupo Salinas to donate food to children and families impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak in Guatemala. The collaboration campaign, dubbed "Chain of Hope," provided 18,750 servings of fortified Manna Packs to 150 families and students from the Esperanza Azteca Symphony Orchestra of Mazatenango and Retalhuleu, as well as families from Río Blanco, Izabal.

Buckner plans to duplicate the Chain of Hope initiative in other Latin American countries it serves, including the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico and Peru.   

Currently, a total of 80 cases of COVID-19 are confirmed in the country, and three people have died. More than 11,000 people live in areas under quarantine. Government authorities decreed a "state of public calamity" and national curfew until April 12.  

Buckner Guatemala Country Director Roberto Tejada said the country is highly vulnerable to the impact of the coronavirus "because millions of workers do not have access to social security and most of the population is dependent on public funds. Experts say it will become an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and families will be more vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition."

Tejada said Buckner made the aid, Manna Pack rice food packs, available to enhance the food security of three departments in the country, “ensuring a mealtime for one month to the families of one of the projects of Fundación Azteca Guatemala and Grupo Salinas that promotes development in vulnerable areas.”

"These actions let us demonstrate that, as an organization, we will continue to bring hope to families," Tejada said. “The objective is to join this cause so that other organizations join the call and help vulnerable families.”

To see more about what Buckner is doing in Guatemala, view the Facebook posts (in Spanish).