Josefa Quechi - Sponsored

Feb 2011

Josefa receiving some of her donations

December 8, 2010 - Josefa Quechi is 83 years old and lives with her 56-year-old daughter and primary caretaker, Juacina. Josefa and her husband bought the house that she still lives in 35 years ago—5 years before her husband passed away. Since then Josefa and Juacina, who was never married, have been living together.

Josefa receiving diaper donations

Josefa broke her leg in Dec 2009 and has since then been confined to her bed and a bedside chair because she can no longer walk. Josefa has 6 children (3 sons and 3 daughters) and 13 grandchildren—She had 14 grandchildren but one passed away. All but one son live in the same town, Panajachel, but because Josefa’s children are struggling with their own families' needs, Josefa relies on her sponsorship, the lunches we bring her, and Juacina's care. Except for the occasional sale of homemade popsicles, Juacina hasn’t been working for 8 years because her mother eventually needed fulltime support and because good work is very hard to come by. Juacina and Josefa’s diets mainly consist of beans, onions, and tortillas (now in addition to Josefa’s daily Mayan Families lunch). Fortunately they do not have to pay rent, so Juacina’s main expenses are the electricity and food. Josefa has been using diapers since she became bedridden, and she takes two types of pain and anti-inflammatory medicines to help deal with her slow recovery.

Josefa and her daughter, Juacina, in the
bedroom that they share

Josefa is deeply religious, and one of her sons is a pastor. She was very enthusiastic when we had a pastor from Indiana visit our elderly clients (in November 2010). They prayed and cried together for a long time. Josefa tends to well up when she talks about faith and her condition, but she normally greets us with a wonderful smile and lots of energy, as well as hugs and kisses!

Thanks to wonderful support from donors, Josefa has enough support to cover the cost of her diapers and pain medicines. Whatever is leftover from the monthly donation Josefa receives (after the cost of Josefa's medical needs is deducted) is used to buy food for the family. This is a tremendous help for the family, and one that Josefa would suffer without. Josefa and Mayan Families send deepest thanks to her sponsors.
If you are coming to Guatemala and would like to bring something for Josefa, we know that she would love Spanish-language Christian gifts. Thank you so much!