Lucia with her niece, Maria Isidora, in front of their old house.After a lifetime of hard work and service to others, last month Maria Lucia received a blessing that she had never dreamed she would have: a place to call home. Before, Maria was one of the 35 percent of Salvadorans who live in extreme poverty and do not have a safe home. She spent years moving from house to house, struggling to pay rent for herself and other dependents. Now, she and her family represent one of the 25 families in El Ranchador who are benefitting from a housing initiative led by the New Jerusalem Church in Comecayo.
Maria Lucia has two children of her own and cares for her niece, Maria Isidora, who was abandoned by her parents after discovering that childhood polio had caused permanent paralysis in her legs. Maria and her family are originally from the area of La Libertad, but after her husband was killed and there was a series of threats to her then 17-year-old son many years ago, she moved her family to Comecayo for a new beginning. In Comecayo, they eventually had to settle in the community of El Ranchador, a place sadly notorious for high rates of poverty and delinquency. After a few years, Maria remarried and her children now live independently, but the family’s salary of $5 per day from farming and selling tamales still was not enough to afford adequate housing and provide sufficient care for Maria Isidora.
Needless to say, Maria Lucia was ecstatic when she was chosen by the community’s housing committee to receive a home.
Maria Lucia in her place called “Home”.Despite economic hardships, Maria has remained an active member of the New Jerusalem Church for 21 years and has served other members of her community along with her life-time commitment to her niece. At a recent event at the church, Maria, through tears of joy, expressed her gratitude to God, the New Jerusalem Church, and to ENLACE for her new house, which is now in its final stages of construction. Maria is looking forward to having a home which will provide a place of refuge for her family and a better quality of life for her niece.
Thanks to the housing initiative in El Ranchador, Maria Lucia and 25 other families have finally found a place to call home. There are countless hardworking families like Maria who are still waiting patiently, serving selflessly, and praying for a home, for clean water, or for change in their community. You can support ongoing community initiatives like this one and become an answer to the prayers of people just like Maria Lucia. Join the Friend of ENLACE program and donate monthly $25, $50 or $100.