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!

Josefa Queche

(A-18) Status: Sponsored for meals, diapers, home necessities
Previous stories about Josefa can be found here.

Josefa is another of our sponsored ancianas, lucky and grateful to have benefited from generous sponsorship the past couple of years. Josefa's sponsor is also largely responsible for giving an education to her grandson, who works in the Family Aid department at Mayan Families. He works full-time and goes to University on the weekends, studying Business Administration. Part of his salary goes to help his family.

Josefa has also been blessed to receive help from her children: three of her six children who have families of their own take turns making her food each day, and care for her as she is unable to walk or bathe herself.

Due to an injury suffered from falling in the middle of the night two years ago, Josefa has been bedridden. She has a wheelchair that her daughter or grandson uses to take her out.

Josefa has her own room now, as her grandson built his own small room apart from the rest of the house so she could have more space.

Like most of our sponsored ancianos, Josefa is lucky to be receiving this help, as she has no recourse to help herself. The stories of those who are benefiting from meal, medical or home expense sponsorship are those of lives that have been changed for the better.

Thank you to all those currently donating to the program or sponsoring this demographic, which desperately needs it!

If you would like to sponsor an elderly person's meals at $35 a month, please visit here. Write "A-## [sponsorship, needs etc.]" in the Other box.

If you would like to make a one-time donation to medical expenses, home needs, or the Feeding Program itself, please visit here. Thank you!

Medical Help needed for our Elderly!

Besides providing a nutritious meal each day for our Elderly in Panajachel and San Jorge, we want to support them with Health Care as well. Many of them suffer from constant pain and need milk and diapers to have a little more comfort in this stage of their lives.

To sponsor an Elderly with medical care means so much for them an their families. It is a way to reduce the suffering and pain of these people who have already suffered a lot.

Mrs Florencia A-05

Mrs. Lucia A16

At the moment we have 6 Elderly in our Panajachel program that are in great need of a sponsor:

Mrs. Florencia Bocel (A-05) is 92 years old and she needs medicine and diapers. It would cost $100 per month to provide her with that.

Mrs. Lucia (A-16) is 86 years old and she needs pain killers, diapers, and a fortified milk beverage every day. It costs $100 to sponsor her for a month.

Mrs. Isabel (A-27) is 80 years old and she is extremely thin and weak. She needs fortified milk and a protein powder called Incaparina in order to feel a little bit stronger. It would cost $117 to provide her with that for 1 month.

Mrs. Isabel A27

Mrs. Josefa A-18

Mrs. Josefa (A-18) she needs on-going treatment and diapers. It costs $100 per month to sponsor her.

Mr. Santiago A-75

Mr. Santiago (A-75) is extremely weak and the daily meal he gets is not enough to keep his body functioning well. He needs fortified milk, Incaparina, and diapers. It costs $100 to sponsor him.

Mrs. Maximiliana A-26

Ms. Maximiliana (A-26) suffers from diabetes and she needs to have her medicine on a constant basis. It costs $50 per month to provide her with her medicine.


We understand that many of our Elderly need donations and it is difficult to choose who to help, but any amount that you can give will be of great help for these sweet members of our community. It is hard to get to an advanced age and not have enough to eat or to be forced to live with an aching body constantly. Many of our Elderly have lived long, difficult lives, and we want to make their lives as comfortable as possible now, and we need your help!

If you would like to help one of the Elderly in our program, please go to Donate Now, and enter your donation in the "Other" box.  In the "Details" box, write the number of the Elderly you want to help (A - XX).

Or you can donate monthly to ensure that one gets their monthly needs. Go to Donate Monthly and enter your donation in the "Other Program" box. Under "Description" write "A and the number of the elderly you want to help" and write how much you'd like to donate per month.


If you have questions, feel free to send an email to familyaid@mayanfamilies.org


Thank you!!!

Thank you for helping Josefa!

Thanks to your generous donations for fabric and thread, Doña Josefa was able to continue with her embroidery.  Your support has helped her earn money for herself and her family!

Thank you!

Good news!

Celestina A-53 gets her door repaired!

Pedro A-6 is now sponsored for meals, medicine AND rent for his home!

Alberta A-49 receives blankets and sheets for her bed.









Miguel A-24 receives a pad to make his bedridden life more comfortable, and much needed medicines.

Socrorro A-94, Petrona A-88, Felipa A-38 and Miguel A-25 receive medical attention.

 Josefa A-18 receives diapers, Ramos A-8 receives new clothes, and Tereso A-2 receives Ensure.



Thank you so much!