Before I had an ugly house, now I have a princess house. -Sofía Aguirre, age 7
Sofía and her family were living in a dark and dreary home. There was a single cable with a light bulb strung across the room. The kitchen walls were about to collapse because of deteriorated wood and zinc. The home had no drinking water, so they had to walk to a nearby stream to collect water daily. Sofía's mother, María Rosibel, a single mother, makes tortillas and sells them to provide for her family. Because she does not have a safe and healthy kitchen, she has to go to someone else's home each morning at 5:30 am to begin making the tortillas and share her profits of $28.35 per week with the house's owner.
Family Life Missions met the Aguirre family through their local church, one of our partners providing child protection and family preservation training and resources through our FLM team. Families apply to be accepted into each church's FLM Family Preservation Program, Building Dreams, and our FLM comprehensive care team follows up and monitors each family's progress throughout the process.
This summer, a mission team from Riverchase Church of Christ from Birmingham, Alabama, met and served the Aguirre family, including María Rosibel's mother and two brothers who live next to them. The team improved the home's health by sealing the walls, installing a safe and functional electrical system, putting a new roof on the house, and constructing a safe kitchen area.
As part of our Family Preservation program, we will follow up with the family and help María Rosibel establish a small business through our entrepreneurship program, where she will receive start-up money and learn how to make a business plan. As the family continues in the program, we will be able to help them have a healthier home, both physically and spiritually.
The joy on Sofía's face said it all when she told the Riverchase team that she now has a "princess house" where she can live and play in a more beautiful space.
