Camila is a 20 year old mother who lives in the city of Quito. Her family consists of two girls, Shirley Chango, 5 years old, and Scarleth Picuasi, 1 year old. She told us that being a teenage mother has caused her many difficulties in society, however, she does not regret these great gifts that God gave her, as they are her motivation to continue fighting.
Maybe it was not having enough information or maybe it was the love she thought she felt, no matter how things turned out, now she faces her situation with a smile on her face when she told us, she recently got a job as a helper in a “pinchos” stand, thus, she has started to receive a minimal but important amount to cover the basic needs of her family; Although it is not what she would have wanted, abandoning her studies after completing only elementary school greatly reduced her chances of working in a stable position. Camila regrets having believed the words of her ex-partner “studying is a waste of time”, who left her 11 months ago, avoiding any responsibility for her daughter; similarly, the father of her oldest daughter left home after she decided to stop the constant physical and psychological abuse, and since then she does not know his whereabouts.
Camila lives in a rented room where there is a lack of natural ventilation and danger, as there is a risk of a second fire. In tears she told us that the loose wires that are found throughout the house caused a first fire where she lost most of her belongings and she fears this will happen again. In addition, the damp and cold space makes her daughters constantly sick.
One Sunday, while on her way to church, she was surprised to see a large number of people outside our house and decided to ask what it was all about. This is how she knew about de Pan de Vida and the support it provides to families who are vulnerable. The social work team, after the initial approach, proceeds to put together an intervention proposal where we follow up on three significant and emerging issues, food, health and education; regarding food, food kits are delivered with the purpose of consuming the necessary amounts of nutrients, especially for girls who are growing; Regarding health, medical appointments are provided to promote the physical and mental wellbeing of the family; in relation to education, Shirley is included in the school supplies kit program, as it is necessary to support the economic expense of going to school.
