Pastora Moreno – Drew Estate Charities
Pastora lives with her mother Natalia, her daughter Juana and her grandson Carlitos. Her daughter works at a tobacco factory and Pastora sometimes gets a job as a security guard on weekends, she explains she used to be a police officer but got retired due to a vesicle surgery. Now, she is at home taking care of her mother and grandson.
She has always lived in Oscar Gámez #2 and what she loves about this neighborhood is the people; regardless of living in an extreme poverty area, she says that the majority of neighbors are very kind with one another; they help each other in anything they can. She says she loves how the neighborhood had change in these last couple of years: “these houses had benefited a lot of families and even the government had been paving the main street. It has been a positive change” Pastora says.
She was the beneficiary of a house and shared her story with us:
“A neighbor of mine Doña Dorita, had her house built two years ago, she is also a dear friend, so she discussed my situation with TECHO and they came here. I met Luciana, Ingrid and Michelle; they were all very friendly so I invited them to my house. They saw my situation here so they started working with me.
My old house was in bad conditions, it was made of rotten wood and the roof was old, it had holes in all of it. We used to walk in mud in raining seasons and can you imagine being in recovery from a surgery in those times? It was very difficult.
After TECHO came the first TECHO came the first time, I had an interview with Michelle and she told me she would let me know in a couple of weeks. She called then to let me know I was the beneficiary, when she came back she explained about the amount of money we needed to pay. We didn’t have any issues getting the money because thanks to God I work a little and my other son and daughter helped us to collect the money.
We participated in the workshops and we talked about when and how we were going to build the house, which of the family members could volunteer in the building and also taught us ways to save money. We learned a lot in those workshops.
The day of the construction was very exciting, when the volunteers came to start the house in the morning, I had the land prepared with my son who also helped in the construction and we had already cleaned the ground so they could start without any problem. I got my house on the same week we celebrate Mothers day! This was my gift and blessing!
It’s been one year already and we have been very happy with our house, now we are not worried about getting wet or getting sick from the water. I have also been saving to do improvements, like the roof we built in front of the house; this new house has been a blessing for my family. Now we don’t have any leaking water and we can be in peace this raining season.
I will never forget all the volunteers who built my house. The other day I called Michelle to say hello and ask how she was doing in Managua. I would like to send greetings and thanks to the people that make these projects possible in Oscar Gámez #2, many families had been benefited with it. Also to the volunteers who built it, I remember all of them because they came and helped us when we most needed it. I hope they keep doing this great work with other people in need.
I also send a greeting to their mothers because those guys are a blessing for the people in Nicaragua. I want to tell them to take care of their mothers also and tell them that without God we couldn’t do this, God helped us all to be able to have this.”
Please consider donating if you have the means. Even the smallest donation is appreciated. Thank you from all of us at Drew Estate.
