Day 7: Women of Power and Spirit

Fourteenth Family: Doña Clementina

Written by: Franco

Tucked away in one of the coldest regions in Sibinal, Doña Clementina lives with her eight children in a village called Chocabj where the sun shines an average of an hour per day. Their oldest daughter, Heidy, is expecting a baby girl in the next month or so.

Chocabj’s geographical location makes it not only one of the coldest regions in Sibinal, it is also one of the most rainy and humid. Since most people live in homes with leaky aluminum roofs and damp dirt floors, this is often the cause of upper and lower respiratory infection in children and adults.

Such is the case with Doña Clementina’s youngest son Angel who is only eight months old. He developed an upper respiratory infection that eventually progressed to pneumonia. We could hear the baby wheezing and struggling to breathe as we conducted this interview.

Baby Angel’s illness became life threatening and Doña Clementina had to immigrate temporarily to a warmer and dryer region in Mexico for the sake of her baby. She had to make the difficult choice to save her baby and leave all her children alone, or watch her baby eventually and stay with her children. Since her oldest daughter is 16 years old, she chose to save her baby and immigrated to Mexico. 

During the time of Doña Clementina’s absence, the oldest daughter Heidy became pregnant. Additionally, her neighbors reported her to the local authorities saying she had abandoned her seven children. The neighbors began taking care of the children by bringing food items and checking on them.

When Doña Clementina returned from Mexico with baby Angel in much better health, she recalls feelings of guilt and shame for leaving her children behind. “What else could I have done (translated)?” she rhetorically asked our team. "I don't have anyone else to help me." 

Soon after, she was summoned to court by her village local authorities for child abandonment. She represented herself in front of the judge and fought to keep her children by providing proof of baby Angel's illness. Women are often treated as second class citizens in this region. Needless to say, Doña Clementina's determination won the case.

This coming December 2018, Doña Clementina and her children will receive a stove, cement floor, and all-purpose wash station. If you were touched by her story and would like to donate, please visit our official website at ProjectHello.Club

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Fifteenth Family: Doña Catalina y Don Gregorio

Written by: Floridalma

Days Past

Doña Catalina recalls her youth as “dias llenos de felicidad” or “days full of happiness.” As a young girl growing up in the 1950’s, her family did not allow her to receive a formal education as women were and still are culturally viewed as homemakers. Her father would lock her inside a shed to prevent her from going to school. Although she never attended school, she would secretly study the alphabet and learned to read and write on her own.   

Doña Catalina came from a family with scarce economic resources. Nonetheless, she remembers being the happiest tending to her sheep and walking them to pastures along the side of different mountains. This made her life feel worth living even though she would go days with very little to eat.

Eventually, she became pregnant by a young man who cheated on her and did not take care of their baby. She was forced to take care of their child alone. Her family ultimately made her marry the father of her child and over time, she learned to care for her husband. Then came the day when she received the most difficult news in her life. Her husband had been killed.  

Later, she remarried Don Gregorio, who is currently her husband. She says that beside him she has been happy. Even though they have lived under conditions of extreme poverty, they have worked hard to raise their three children and give them the best life possible.

Unlike his wife, Don Gregorio did not know his parents. When he was a young boy, his parents died in an accident. His uncle took him in as his own son; nevertheless, he felt a deep sadness from the loss of his parents.

Similar to his wife, he found happiness being a shepherd and working the land with his uncle. When he came of age, he immigrated far away to harvest coffee for a wealthy family. His employer took a special liking to Don Gregorio and taught him how to read and write on his days off. He feels happy because despite everything that has happened, he shared the little he has learned with his family and friends.

Your donations will help this hard working elderly couple receive a new aluminum roof. To donate, please visit ProjectHello.Club