The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently donated hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of new equipment to improve the health of newborns in the Dominican Republic. And members of the Church in Latin America are helping those in need through large and small acts of service.
Below are some of those efforts.
More than 100 sandwiches distributed to people in need in Argentina
Members of the America Branch of the Viedma Argentina District gathered recently to prepare and distribute at least 100 sandwiches for people in need in the community.
The service project was part of the 100th birthday commemoration for President Russell M. Nelson, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
President Nelson in June extended an invitation for his birthday. He asked that instead of physical gifts, a spiritual offering that would brighten his life would be for everyone to reach out to someone in their lives who may be feeling lost or alone.
Volunteers in Argentina attached 100 inspirational quotes to the more than 100 sandwiches they donated to local community kitchens and neighborhoods in need.
“Participating in the service activity was a great joy. I was able to personally feel the guidance of the Spirit, and I was able to forget my problems and afflictions,” Ilda Pretti said in a news release from the Church’s Spanish-language Newsroom.
Another member said the smiling faces of people when they received the sandwiches taught her that it is better to give than to receive.
“I understood that the Savior came to give everything. If I want to follow His example, I have to abandon selfishness and give my best,” Bettiana Colin said.
Cribs and incubators for newborns in the Dominican Republic
The Church donated 200 stainless steel cribs and 150 standard incubators in the Dominican Republic. The goal is to reduce infant mortality in the country, according to a news release.
The donation was delivered recently by Elder Orlando A. Castaños, Area Seventy in the Caribbean Area, and Josue Vanderhorst, the Church’s welfare manager for the Caribbean Area.
“Jesus not only taught by precept, but also by example,” Elder Castaños said. “He reached out His hand that others might rise. The divine command to succor the weak, to lift up the hands that hang down and to strengthen the feeble knees remains unchanged.”
The donation this year follows a similar donation in the Dominican Republic in 2022, when Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles delivered 250 neonatal cribs to the country.
Young adults plant more than 2,800 trees to reforest Honduras National Park
Young single adults from the Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela areas of Honduras joined to plant trees in La Tigra National Park. They planted more than 2,800 trees in an effort to reforest the area.
The trees were donated by the National Institute for Forest Conservation, according to a news release from the Church’s Spanish-language Newsroom.
“Being there made us recognize and admire everything that Heavenly Father has created for us and the responsibility we have to take care of everything that He has blessed us with,” Cheyla Sánchez Varela said of the event.
The Church donates child-sized desks and chairs to young students in Guatemala
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated 801 triangular tables with chairs for small children in San Pedro Ayampuc, Guatemala, in July.
The desks were part of a larger donation that included bookcases and blackboards.
The donation will benefit more than 1,500 students, Rosa Monroy, educational supervisor of the Ministry of Education, said in a news release from the Church.
Help for those after Hurricane Beryl in Mexico
Hurricane Beryl left several Latin American countries with flooding, landslides and other challenges.
Members of the Church in Mexico have responded to the need in many ways.
The Cancun Coordinating Council helped more than 30 families with food supplies, according to a news release from the Church’s Spanish-language Newsroom. Two families also received help in the form of sheets for the roofs of their houses damaged by recent storms.