*November 28, 2010 Update*
Juliana just got donations for a mattress, a water filter, 8 months of food support, and a tamale basket!!! Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. We´ll be sure to keep you updated and show you photos when she receives all of these gifts--What joy for the holidays!
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| Juliana receiving her new mattress on December 9th |
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Meet Juliana
Juliana is 78 years old and has been living alone since her husband died 11 years ago. They suffered the tragic loss of ten of their eleven sons. Eight of their sons died when they were children, and two died in their adulthood. Juliana lives in Santa Maria, a town near Solola, and comes to Panajachel to work selling clothes and tablecloths. Business has been terrible; normally she sells nothing at all and needs to beg for the busfare to get back home. The only thing that she has to eat is the lunch and occasional bag of grain that we bring her, and edible herbs that she can find on the ground.
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| Juliana with some of the items she tries to sell |
Juliana desperately needs more food. Her only son Mariano, who makes skirts, struggles to feed his own children because he only makes $35 per week on the rare occasions that he finds work. He usually cannot help her. Juliana suffers pain in her joints and fatigue, and she needs dental care. She is a sweet woman and speaks very little Spanish, so we communicate with her in Kaqchiquel. Your sponsorship would lift Juliana from the brink of starvation and would help her get the medical care that she needs. As a one-time gift option, a food basket ($35) for Juliana would also be a great help, as would be a single mattress ($30) or a water filter ($50). To make a one time donation for Juliana, please click here and enter "Elderly Care, Juliana [details]" in the Other section. To sponsor Juliana with a monthly donation (that would go towards food and any other urgent need), please click here and enter "Elderly Care, Juliana" in the Other Program section.
We recently visited Juliana in her remote home in Santa Maria. By car, it took us almost an hour to get there! This is the trip that Juliana makes twice daily by a combination of bus, pickup truck, and boat. For more photos of Juliana's home and family, click here.
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| Juliana's bed. She has no mattress; Juliana sleeps on a broken straw mat. |
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| Juliana in front of her house in Santa Maria |
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| Juliana in her kitchen. She used to sleep here, too, until the rain that came through the broken roof and cracked walls became unbearable. Now Juliana sleeps in a room in her son's home. |
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| Juliana in a garden near her house |
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