Bety

When the friars first met Bety Saraí last year, she was almost a year old, severely malnourished, developmentally delayed and only minimally responsive and interactive with others. She is from a small mountain village not far from Comayagua. Her mother suffers from mental illness, for which she has been hospitalized. That factor apparently impeded normal mother-infant bonding, and produced a life-threatening set of circumstances for Betty.

Dr. Wilmer Perez, Director of the St. Benedict Joseph Medical Center, examined Betty and came up with a vitamin and protein rich diet using food that could be stored without refrigeration in the family’s simple home. Every two weeks for the past 10 months, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal have provided Betty with the foods prescribed by Dr. Wilmer. We are overjoyed to report that Betty is now a plump, responsive toddler nearing her proper weight.