This year we have met people around us that have made our transition to Salinas Grandes possible. It’s the people in our lives that inspire us to keep working to build a future of hope around us. Our neighbors next door are a great example of where we get our inspiration. Our friend Luisa lives next door with her children Monica and Josiah and their grandmother Mercedes. She works hard as a single mom to provide for her family. She is always willing to take on extra work, but there are very few jobs where we live. In our surrounding area there are about 2,000 people and only 250 jobs and some of those are seasonal like fishing and salt mining. Luisa taught me how to wash my clothes by hand and is always willing to help me when I leave my clothes on the line too long and a storm comes in. She approaches the days with a hope that I couldn’t muster myself in her situation. Her son Josiah has been sick most of his life off and on. He had meningitis as a small child and continues to struggle with staying healthy. Josiah is always smiling, even when I drop him off at the clinic to wait for the day for blood tests or exams. I have never met a harder working grandma. She caretakes several properties where she cuts the grass with a machete and keeps the property clean. When we came back from our trip to the states in October, they were the first to greet us with smiles, hugs, and stories of all the happened while we were gone.
-Angie
photo by James Galt