2023 January  to March

Finding happiness in hard times

Let happiness be part of your day. This is a lesson that Rosalina's life experience teaches us. She believes that “joy may not come to your door as often as you’d like, but you can act to procure some for yourself.” Even while living in poverty, she finds herself in the presence of simple moments of true happiness while tending her yard where she grows flowers, vegetables and fruits. 

Rosalina is a 60 year-old grandma, widowed 32 years ago, living together with one of her sons and her three grandchildren. Since her early life, she has taken responsibility of raising them with help of welfare services and government donations. She pays special attention to their studies because she knows it is one of the best ways to thrive, although she didn’t have this chance for herself.

“You can change the way you live, not in spite of difficulties, but because of them,” she says. Her eldest grandson has received care for years from a non-profit organization which helps people with multiple disabilities. Thanks to that, he is now in 9th grade at the age of 17. She is proud of her grandsons’ achievements and the commitment of Renata, her 8-year-old granddaughter, as student. 

Rosalina has always walked the respectable path and never stepped off it. Her poor health and housing conditions have not prevented her from moving forward. Now, she works informally in clothing repairs and values any kind of support she receives. However, she is still completely powerless in dealing with her daughter who suffers from drug addiction. 

We have assisted Rosalina’s family for years, albeit the resources have been scarcer due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Back when the risk of contagious infection was high, the Center’s programs were limited on the delivery of essential food baskets and lunchboxes. The total uptake of the programs was periodically assessed and this year activities are gradually returning to normality. 

When our doors were closed, we tried different things to make our organization more effective. We adopted a new method for keeping our family registry and a new tool to manage and determine the usage of donated supplies in irregular periods of the year, allocated throughout extended and shorter periods of time as seen needed. 

We have the structure to serve about 150 families per month, but the resources have been insufficient. Last trimester, 344 people, most children, were assisted by 44 volunteers. The baskets were enriched with 85 fruit and vegetable bags, 65 boxes of chocolate bars and 39 personal hygiene kits. According to Rosalina, “To see that people care about your situation is very encouraging.” We count on you as well because, big or small, your support means the world to us.