July 8, 2025, 1:22pm MDT
In a Christ-centered effort to improve the most vulnerable, the Latter-day Saints’ Church of Jesus Christ is working with Mexico’s leading humanitarian organization, the United Nations Kiro de Ajudas, to improve the lives of children and families in deeply marginalized communities across the country.
Translated into “1 kilo help,” Un Kilo de Ayuda gives more than a kilo.
Through substantial donations from the church, I live in poverty in seven Mexican states, including children under the age of five and pregnant women facing malnutrition, a lack of neurocognitive stimulation and poor parenting practices. The initiative will operate in Mexico’s state of Chapas, Oaxaca, Mexico, Sinaloa, Nuevo Leon, Guerrero and Yucatan.
The initiative is provided through 10 early childhood development centres run by Un Kilo de Ayuda, a nonprofit with nearly 40 years of experience, and benefits over 500,000 children and 450,000 caregivers nationwide. These centers serve as hubs of important services, from nutrition to educational to emotional support.
President Jared Purido, president of Oaxaca-Mexico Monte Alban’s stocks, said: “We share Kiro de Ayuda’s vision of helping all children achieve their overall development. Therefore, in addition to providing nutritional packages, we monitor children’s progress and train parents and caregivers.”
Development in childhood
The first 1,000 days of life are important in shaping a child’s physical, cognitive and emotional potential. Without timely intervention, challenges such as malnutrition, anemia, and lack of stimulation can lead to lifelong regression.
This project addresses the following risks:
Hunger. Iron supplementation to combat 3,600 high protein nutrition packages is a supplement to combat childhood anemia. Evaluation of developments to monitor milestones. Training caregivers in positive parenting practices.
These services reach the community through regular visits (every three weeks) by professionals and volunteers connected to early childhood development centres.
Shared missions
This collaboration is not the first between the Church and the United Nations Kilodea Judah. The two organizations have previously worked together in Chiapas, Oaxaca and Mexico, including joint responses to natural disasters such as Hurricane Otis and the Church’s Global Light the World Service Initiative.
Daniela Landaverde, deputy director of institutional relations at Un kilo de ayuda, said, “A union with the Latter-day Saints’ Church of Jesus Christ represents more than collaboration: a common commitment to transforming children’s lives from the first thousand days.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwzxjeiah0
The Gospel of Service
At the heart of this collaboration is the belief that every child is a God’s child worthy of nourishment, love and opportunity. As disciples of Jesus Christ, members of the Church strive to follow his example.
In rural villages and urban areas, this project will help mothers learn how to respond to their child’s physical and emotional needs. It brings food and hope to the family without any means. It can accumulate community, one child, one mother at a time.
Landaverde said: “Thanks to this joint effort, we have trained thousands of caregivers and evaluated the development of over 7,000 children. We will renew our commitment to continuing to measure, improve and build the future in 2025.”
