Juana Cumes

(A-90) Status: Not Sponsored
Needs: $35 meal sponsorship, $25 rent assistance, water filter, bathroom
To provide sponsorship for Juana, click here.
To donate one-time to her needs, click here.

We meet Juana and her daughter outside the small juice stand on the street, where another daughter makes her living. They lead us to a tiny room, hot as an oven, piled with storage boxes and a small bed. A grill that serves as Juana's kitchen is on the floor with a single orange perched over the coals. There is not enough room for three of us to stand, and so Juana sits on the bed while we speak with her daughter outside.

"Two years ago, she was walking around this corner and a motorcycle hit her. Nearly cut her leg in two. She's not been in very good health since then. My father left me, my mother and my two sisters when I was a kid. We never got to go to school. I wash clothes for a living, my sister has her juice. The other was lucky enough to get a husband who is a day-laborer, but even that's not a steady job.

I think the worst part is that my mother doesn't own this little room or the bathroom that's just a sink on the ground. She has to pay the rent. She drinks a little atol (a hot corn drink) in the mornings but other than the lunch at Mayan Families she doesn't get much to eat."

Juana is smiling anyway, and brings a tissue to her nose every few seconds to combat her cold. Her daughter says, "my sister's diabetic, mom has high blood pressure. But where do we get the money to treat these things?"

If you would like to provide Juana with any of her needs, please visit the links at the top of the page. Questions may be directed at familyaid@mayanfamilies.org