Alberta Quijeu needs a bed

Alberta perched happily on her new bed

Update April 19
Thanks again to generous donors, Alberta now has a thick warm blanket to go with her new bed. These donations make such a vast improvement to the lives of people here. Thank you so much


Update April 7th
We are very happy to announce that thanks to generous donations from Mayan Families supporters, Alberta now has a bed with a wonderful mattress, a gift that will improve her quality of life considerably. Sleeping on the floor especially during rainy season often brings a lot of health problems to the many people who face this dilemma in Guatemala. Furthermore this generous sponsorship of Alberta included a donation for comfortable shoes (we are yet to have Alberta come to Panajachel to choose herself a new pair!), a supply of medication for the month of April 2011 and a fortified milk based drink to tide Alberta over between Mayan Families lunches.
Thank you!


Original Post
Alberta Quijeu is 70 years old.  She lives with her grown son, who is an alcoholic.  The one-room house they share has very little besides a bed, a few chairs, and a water filter.  Unfortunately for Alberta, she is forced by her son to sleep on the ground with nothing but a reed mat for padding, while he sleeps in the bed.  When her son is sober enough to work, he might bring home a bit food for the two of them.  When he isn't--which is frequently--the lunch provided by Mayan Families is Alberta's only source of nourishment. 

Walking is also a problem for Alberta because her feet are always sore.  A nurse volunteering with Mayan Families gave her some acetaminophen, which she says helped significantly, but she does not have the money to keep buying the pills, so she must rely only on what is donated to Mayan Families. 

The chairs, which she brought out for us,
cover the cement floor where she sleeps.

With your help Mayan Families would like to provide Alberta with a bed and mattress of her own, and a steady supply of painkillers for what is most likely arthritis in her feet.  A single bed and mattress cost $75, and a month's supply of acetaminophen costs just $8.  To help Alberta with either of these basic comforts, or to give her the gift of you can go to Donate Now (for one time donations) or Donate Monthly (to set up an automatic monthly payment), and enter A49 as the "Family Name".  It will cost around $29 to provide her with a nutritious hot lunch everyday with Mayan Families. Thank you!