During our medical mission in Comasagua, the Unidad de Salud clinic director/doctor pointed out a young girl to me, and told me that she came from a very poor family: her mother works down in Santa Tecla, the girl takes care of her four younger sisters and brothers (later note: turns out there's a younger sister, older brother, and great-grandmother at home). There's no father around. I asked about her again when I returned to Comasagua for follow-up and learned that her name is Nubia. The doctor had persuaded her mother to send her to school, but she has a lot of catching up to do. She's also been doing odd jobs around town, trying to get a little extra money so she and her family will have something to eat. Nubia is 12 but weighs about what a child of six should weigh, according to the doctor.
Nubia lives in a house of lamina, sheets of tin pushed together to make a shelter, the poorest kind of housing in El Salvador. She wants to learn, and she wants to have a better life.
If you're reading my blog, I invite you to join me in helping Nubia to have a life of possibilities instead of defeats. I'm told that $50/month plus money for school clothes and supplies will relieve the extreme poverty of this family without making them dependent. With your help, I will make this gift on condition that the children go to school, and that Nubia does not work outside the home.
If you'd like to help, a donation will be very welcome and well used. Please make checks payable to "PeaceHealth" and note that it's "for Nubia." Checks can be sent to the PeaceHealth El Salvador Health Mission, attn: Kathy Garcia, P.O. Box 10905, Eugene, OR 97440.
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