Meeting the Families!

Introductions - a few of the families

What a fantastic day of meeting the families that we will be building homes for this week!  All the planning and organizing of the months previous are in anticipation of this moment.  What a privilege to meet them, see their smiling faces and give them hugs in person.  And we met sooo many people!  Thirty-six families represents a lot of people!  So many families impacted and lives put on a new path!

For the first time, we received the names of the families a few weeks before we arrived along with a picture of the family and some information about their circumstances.  It was so great to see pictures of the families in advance and made it real that these are the people waiting for us to come.

Here is some of what we learned about their conditions:

Anna & Jorge -  “The house in which we are living was “built” 8 and half years ago, but it is already deteriorated.  The room where the children sleep gets wet when it rains at night.  The sheet metal roof has holes in it, and the wood gets very wet.  The rest of the house is made of sticks and mud.”  Ana & Jorge have been together for 8 strong years.  Together they are trying to get ahead with their three children, ages 12,5 and 1.

Felicita -  “A wall that was a quarter of the house, has recently fallen.  When there are earthquakes, I am afraid that the walls will fall, and the house is on a hill that goes down into a ravine.”   Felicita is a single mother who, since her son was born 4 years ago, has had her mother to help her financially.  She is also a seamstress for schools.  The father emigrated to the US in January but he never took responsibility for his son.

Roxana & Santos -  They have been together for 5 years, living with Roxana’s mother, where 7 people live in one room.  He is a farmer and at other times a construction assistant.  This family survives by fishing.  They have two children ages 4 and 1.

All of these families live in desperate circumstances and are in unsafe and unhealthy conditions.  It’s difficult to wrap my head around the disparity in our lives, and yet how similar we are despite these differences.  Parents wanting what’s best for their kids, wanting to provide for their families.  These are amazing and resilient people who will work hard and do whatever they can to provide and sustain their families, and yet the opportunity to get ahead just is not available to them.

It is humbling to hear their stories and know that we get to be part of bringing something better into their lives.  To bring a home that brings safety, protection from the elements, a place to raise their children; these are the most basic of needs that every family should have.

Our team was truly impacted today by the gratefulness of the families, the community leaders and the Shelter Team here in El Salvador.  We felt so warmly welcomed and heard of the anticipation they had of us coming.  Again, it’s pretty humbling.

I’m excited for this week – to get to know these families and to hear more stories. Now we’ve met and it’s time to get to work together.