Under One Roof

I met this family recently. It wasn't a planned meetup. The parents made a visit to my host because their son lost his part-time job. Details were sorted out, and when they understood what happened, their request was to consider re-hiring the young man. The family needed his income for many reasons, the first being their roof.

My host, the boy's former boss, said he needed time to think about it. He fired several boys recently who were working to pay off debt. It's a long story that I won't share now, but let's just say several young men are learning a hard lesson in responsibility.

But lessons like these also affect whole families. In San Marcos, the delicate balance of money and lives under one roof can be easily tipped. 

Mauricio and Marta Olivia have five boys, two of whom have special needs. Other than Mauricio's jobs managing three properties, there is no fixed work for the family. Sometimes one boy gets an opportunity for one or two days, but it comes with another challenge: those working need extra food. Marta can only stretch the food by one tortilla and a tomato. She manages to feed the family of seven three meals a day for the equivalent of $7. Wow!

Mauricio's three jobs cover their food and basic bills--barely. The younger son with special needs almost died and spent a month in the hospital, so he is treated with extra caution and has to attend a private school. The cost is equivalent to $20 per month. That may not sound like a lot to those from the USA, but when the monthly income is equivalent to $250 per month, $20 is a big commitment! After all is said and done, what is left over (IF something is left over) is less than $2. At that rate, someone in the USA could go to Starbucks once every three months (if someone else drives and spends the money on gas).

Their needs exceed what $2 a month can do--like glasses, clothing, and especially a new roof. They also want to replace more of their adobe brick walls with cement block. During the rainy season (which just started and goes through October), the water comes in from the ceiling and seeps into the house where the walls are weak.

I've experienced a few of the stormy rains and can see how their attempts to keep rain out with plastic tarps and tape over the holes would not be sufficient at all! They do the best they can with what they have, move the beds to the least wet areas, try to sleep, and clean everything up in the morning.

One large concern--especially with a boulder recently dislodged by a landslide that smashed many homes--is the sturdiness of the walls. Over the past three years, the family managed to save up and replace some of the crumbling adobe brick with concrete block--two walls of the main room (kitchen/bathroom/dining room). Imagine--three years to improve one corner of a home!

So an idea was born . . . what if the young man could be given a chance to work again--this time on his own home? There were others who had come to my host with financial needs. He could put them to work on a project like this too. What if we raised the money to do it? Just a roof is only $1000. Add concrete and metal support, and the total is only $2000. Or if we went wild and were able to raise $4000? The rest of the house could be rebuilt with concrete block and jobs could continue for another couple of months. [Read more details on the Raise the Roof in San Marcos page.]

Alex, my host, and I went to visit the family. He has been acquainted with them for a few years and knows that the parents are hard-working, keep a clean home, and care for their children. They didn't ask for this help and were surprised by our idea. Marta's eyes sparkled as she spoke and Alex translated for me: "Even if nothing happens, we are so grateful that you want to help."

Sometimes a family just needs a break, don't you think? I have not raised two special-needs kids. I have not raised five boys. I have not had to move beds out of the rain (unless we were camping and the tent had a leak). I have not saved for three years to replace a portion of crumbling wall. But I have met a family that is doing that right now, and I want to help!

I wish you could have been with me as I sat on a child's stool and received the hospitality of a glass of water. 

I wish you could have seen the workings of a household that has little convenience beyond electricity and water (which has to be filtered, by the way, so people don't get sick with parasites and amoebas).

I wish you could have felt the heat in that room where both sun and roof design packed a sweltering punch. (The roof design, by the way, will be changed to give them better airflow and cooling.)

I wish you could have navigated the chickens in the entryway and the short portion of clothesline against the adobe brick--all under an open portion of roof where rain is only stopped by a raised bar of flooring into the main room.

But you can make a really wonderful thing happen for people who do navigate this life every day. See the many ways you can help on the Ingrid Writes (and Helps) page or just donate via a special PayPal donation link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=NRGEPWZC5MLGJ (all money will be used locally to purchase supplies and pay workers--all other time and expertise is donated).