Elderly Info

The food crisis in Guatemala is having a devastating effect on the elderly. Without enough to eat, many older people are becoming weak and malnourished, leaving them more vulnerable to illnesses that they cannot afford medical care for. They are unable to provide for even their most basic needs. In many cases, family members are unable to help as they struggle to feed themselves and their own children, leaving the elderly without any form of support and often living in heartbreaking conditions.

Please help us bring them the life-sustaining food and medical care that they so desperately need. General donations are used to ensure that we always have an adequate supply of food, medicine, and funds for meals, necessary medical treatment, and transportation. Monthly sponsorship would help feed one person, once a day for five days a week. Via blog and web album, we'll show you exactly where your aid is going and help you get to know the men and women whose lives you are changing.

If you would like to sponsor an elderly person for $35 a month, please click here and write "monthly sponsorship'' in the Other box. To make a one-time donation for medicine, rent, or other costs, please click here and enter "Elderly Care Program" in the Other box. Any questions can be directed to Amy at amy@mayanfamilies.org


Media on Mayan Families Elderly

Book:
Ancianos : Megan Gette + photos by Rob Bain, Nisa East, Rhett Hammerton and Hiroko Tanaka

Videos:
Mayan Families- Ancianos Stories : Nisa East

Mayan Families Elderly Feeding Care Program : Rhett Hammerton

Facing Hunger: Elderly in Rural Guatemala



Jun 20, 2013

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


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