I first met little Lupita, a young lady with Down syndrome about a year ago.
She was a little shy at first but has been more outgoing the more we visit. We were told about this family by word of mouth. When we first met them they lived in a little shack with no electric and running water.
The door was only a curtain. Upon talking with some people in Agua Prieta we found out that Lupita, who has two older brothers and an older sister had been abandoned by dad. We also learned that the one brother had Hemophlia. . Because of little Lupita and Juan, mom (Bertha Alicia) was working just to pay medical bills as she would have to travel by bus (5 hours) to a hospital from Agua Prieta to Hermosillo, Mexico to get the proper care for the brother and Lupita. What left over money she had went to feed her kids and pay rent on the house (if you want to call it that) they lived in. Because she worked so much one of the kids had to stay home from school to watch Lupita. Yari, being the oldest has to drop out of school to help her mom. She didn’t want to not go to school but family was more important.
One day we had stopped by and found the gates locked and no one was around. The neighbors told us that they had been evicted but did not know where they moved to. We thought maybe she has saved enough money to move the family to Hermosillo to be closer to the hospital there. We found out later they had not. We found them living with a distant relative in a one room shack.
By chance, we had another family move out of one of the trailers we have on property paid for by a member of the Charity. This left this mobile home vacant. It was perfect for Bertha Alicia to move in and have space and some land for little Lupita to move in. We began making sure the water and electric were all connected and just recently completed building a fence around the property so Lupita cannot wander off. We had help from some of the people we help. They assisted us in getting this fence built.
I am happy to report that they are now moved in. We do not charge rent per se but require them to help the city clean up around certain areas of the town. We have a person who will watch Lupita while mom works and Yari will return to school in the fall. With a little help or donation we all can make a difference. Little Lupita now has a new home!!
