Two year old Gabriela and her family were due to have a new home built on April 4. Now all that has changed.
April 4 is Gabriela’s mother’s birthday. When Maria was told she would be getting a new home on her birthday, she was overwhelmed with joy. Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary have paid for the house but because of COVID-19, we cannot put any of our friends from either side of the border at risk and cannot cross the border either.
Maria is worried all the time because of their family, economic and health problems. Her parents live with them and both have serious health issues. Maria, husband Edwin and daughters Susana, 4 and Gabriela, together with the grandparents, all dream of a solid house to shelter them from the cold and rain. They dream of a solid house where they don’t have to worry that the strong winds of both winter and summer will tear off the roof and where the aged parents don’t have to live on a dirt floor.
Maria says “Sometimes we do not have enough to eat and have to go to places where they dispense donated food. We do not earn enough to build a bathroom, so we have to ask our neighbors to use theirs. Knowing that you support families in need inspires us to help others and gives us strength to continue on.”
It is heartbreaking that the Guzman Cordero family now have to wait until this global crisis has passed.
There are many other families in the same situation. Project Mercy Baja will continue our work to house impoverished families as soon as we are able.
