The Ojochal community, also known as the gourmet capital of the Southern Pacific, united to assist families in need, with the commitment that no child will go to bed hungry.
Rita Lucas, a neighbor and enthusiastic member of the Food Bank Committee, told us about doña Cheti, a brave woman who is raising her kids on her own.
Cheti is an excellent seamstress and excels at tailoring the costumes for the annual September 15th celebrations. Although she works very hard, quite often there is not enough money for basic needs. We visited Cheti, her 5-year-old twins and two older kids at her little house near the river. Their smiles were open and welcoming. “We came to Ojochal when I was four years old,” she told us. “Our only neighbor up in the mountains was don Jérico, don Lalo’s father.”
Occasionally she went to work on the coffee plantations in San Isidro. Later on, she married and had her children in Ojochal. When her husband left her, over two years ago, her survival strategy was using the sewing skills she learned from her mother at a very early age.
When things became tight because of the lack of money, she acquired all the courage she could muster and got in touch with the Food Bank. In a couple of days, she received what she needed: adequate beds for her kids and some utensils for her kitchen. She is very thankful for this support and the love she receives from her community.
By Dagmar Reinhard