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

Maria Jacinta





























(A-91) Status: Not Sponsored
Needs: meal sponsorship, fuel-efficient stove, diabetes and other medical care, bed and mattress
To help, click here. To sponsor Maria for $35 a month, click here.
For more stories and photos of the ancianos in the Feeding Program, please consider purchasing a book compiled of our participants. All profits go to the Elderly. You can preview the book here

"8 of us share three beds without mattresses. The house is made of wood and tin." Maria's daughter describes the house she shares with her mother, sister, and their children. Maria's husband, the grandfather of the house, "sleeps on the floor, usually passed out drunk and dirty."

Following Maria's stroke three years ago, the sisters take turns giving their mother full-time care. Maria does not talk well, walk, nor use her left arm, despite many therapies. "They charged for each visit, and after a while we just couldn't pay." Her wheelchair, from being pushed around outside in the grass and dirt, does not push well.

The sisters try to make it by washing clothes or making tortillas for a little income. However, because their mother is also diabetic and their small children are in school, they often do not have enough money to pay the $67 in rent and electricity per month, or have food in the house besides what Maria gets from Mayan Families at lunch.

If you would like to help Maria and her family make ends meet, please visit the links at the top of the page, which will direct you to Mayan Families website. Please specify "rent, medicines, food etc." in the Other box. Thank you!

No comments:

Post a Comment