Date Build: Saturday 30th, November - Sunday 01th, December 2024
FAMILY INFORMATION
FATHER: Maria
Age: 37 years old
Job: house cleaner
Salary weekly: $130 US
CHILDREN:
Corina - 17 years old
Martin - 6 years old
LETTER FROM THE FAMILY:
Hello, my name is Maria Guadalupe Carrillo Chavez, and I am from Guerrero, a state in southern Mexico. I would like to share part of my story. My family and I came to Tijuana searching for new job opportunities. We had two main reasons for moving here: the first was that my father lost his life in the line of duty, and the second was that a hurricane destroyed everything we had. At that time, there wasn’t much support available, as there is today under a different government. Work dried up, and we couldn’t recover. We tried to get assistance so my mother could receive a pension, but due to corruption, we were unsuccessful. I have two children and, until three years ago, I lived with my husband. He left us to start a new family. The beliefs and traditions where I’m from taught me that marriage is for life and that a woman must endure everything. I was married young, at 16, and endured abuse from my ex-husband and his family. I hoped that moving to a new city would improve things, but it didn’t. When we lived together, we could both afford rent, but once he left, I felt overwhelmed, unable to cover both the children’s expenses and rent on my own. I became depressed, feeling abandoned and guilty for his leaving. After 20 years with him, I felt my life had no purpose, and I feared being alone and failing to support my children. His family blamed me, saying I hadn’t taken care of him and deserved what was happening. For over a year, I tormented myself with guilt, and my depression started to affect my children. I moved in with my sister to share rent and I received support from a neighbor who invited me to her church, where we prayed together. I asked God to stay close to me, and that gave me strength to start over. I even decided to buy a piece of land on a payment plan and I have been paying it off for two years now. Unfortunately, I lack the resources to buy materials to build a house. Between rent and food, my entire income is used up. Currently, I live with my sister, her husband, my mother, my two children and I—six of us in one house. My brother-in-law drinks heavily, and I worry about the example he sets for my children. His loud music keeps us up at night, adding to the difficulty of living together. It pains me not to be able to provide my children with a decent home of our own, as we live in crowded conditions and don’t feel comfortable voicing our concerns since it’s not our home. A neighbor offered me some wood he no longer needs, and I’m figuring out how to transport it to my piece of land to build a small room. I just want my children to be warm and safe, as my younger son has respiratory issues. I also have hypertension, though thankfully, it’s under control, allowing me to keep working. Thank you for reading my letter, and I hope to be considered for your program. May God bless you.