Imagine the wind whistling through your house as it lifts up the tin roof and drops it with a bang. Suddenly the rain begins--first a couple drops that leak through the tin and wake you up, but soon the rain is pouring through the roof. You jump out of bed to protect your children from the rain and cover the dry clothes, but after all your efforts, you see that nothing has helped. The rain keeps falling and everyone is soaked.
This is a typical night d
Olga's previous home uring the rainy season for families living in rural areas with inadequatehousing. But now, in one of the poorest and most remote areas of eastern El Salvador, the local church and the community of Sirigual are changing the story by providing safe homes for families in need. Many of those in need are single-mom households who struggle daily to provide for their children.
Michelle Zuniga, ENLACE volunteer, shares her experience of meeting the women who are benefitting from new homes in Sirigual. She shares how having a dignified house is not only changing their material lives, but also giving them hope in a better future for the next generation.
“Whenever I go out to the communities, it’s rare I don’t walk away without an impacting quote from one of the residents we visit. They seem to always proclaim thanks and mention the things we take for granted in a memorable way. Yesterday however, there was no quote, just an overwhelming feeling of sincere joy flowing from each individual we encountered. We went to Sirigual to interview three housing recipients. To see the joy and amazement from these three mothers and all of their children led me to experience one of my most memorable community visits. They were amazed that this initiative actually came true. They said that many times development agencies come and say they will do this and that, but it never comes true.
Olga and her children happy to have their new home."Now they wait in expectation to move into their brand new homes. Going and seeing their prior homes, it is evident why they were chosen to receive new ones. They were in great need--very old, wasted away adobe, garbage bags, and tin roofs that could not longer restrain the water from falling into their home like a river. These women pick coffee and only have work for two months out of the year. After the harvest, there is no reliable work. They have no husband, or father figure for their children, to help with expenses or child-rearing. It’s very sad to see households with many children and no father, yet very encouraging to see strong women such as Miriam, Olga, and Josefa putting their children first when it comes to education, food, and shelter. All of these mothers, when asked to share with us, mentioned the joy that comes from seeing their children living in their new homes.”
Click here to see a picture gallery of the new houses in Sirigual!
