The Roquel Chocho family need a house!

 

Eight of the eleven members of the family

The Roquel Chocho used to live on a big coffee plantation. There they lived and worked alongside other campesino families. Two years ago the owner of the plantation told the family there was no more work. As well as losing the whole family's source of income, they also lost their home. They found an old and crumbling house to rent that was owned by a family who lived in Guatemala City. The house was in a very poor condition but they were happy to have a roof over their heads.

The Roquel Chocho family's current bathroom

They lived there until a couple of weeks ago when the landlord decided he wanted to move with his family to this land. He needs the Roquel Chocho family to move out so he can demolish the house and build a nicer one for him and his family. The landlord however, realises the extreme poverty of this family and that he was leaving them homeless, so he agreed to lend them a small part of his land where they can live if they build their own house. This was very generous of the landlord and they are very grateful to be able to use a small piece of land to call home. Unfortunately the family has no money whatsoever to buy materials to build their own house. They came to the Mayan Families office to ask for assistance with building materials. 

The father, Jesus, takes whatever work he can, but there often is no work available. His wife is unable to work because she suffers from quite severe stomach ulcers. She is almost always in pain and quite weak because she hardly eats at all. Instead she drinks a drink made from corn when she can. They tried to seek medical care for her but that has just landed them in debt of almost $300, with ongoing interest fees, and she furthermore did not receive the help she needed. Two of their sons, aged 22 and 14 also work when they can and bring in whatever wage they can, but they face the same lack of employment opportunities as their father. Amilcar, another of the children has brain damage and has suffered from various problems throughout his life but they have never had the money to seek specialist care for him, not even to diagnose what he actually suffers from.

The family's current kitchen

We estimate that to build the family of eleven a house with two small rooms and a small kitchen, with a dirt floor, will cost $2560. If you can assist in any way, any donation large or small will go a long way in keeping this struggling family off the street. Please click on donate now and scroll down to the other box and enter FA 96. 

If you would like to organize a team to come to Guatemala and build a house for the family, please email laura@mayanfamilies.org