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Build Dates: May 22-23, 2015
Family Information:
Mother- Leonarda
- Age 32
- Profession: Field Worker
- Weekly Salary: $58
Children-
- Kevin, age 10 months
- Valentina, age 27 (cousin)
Property Information:
Colonia- El Paraiso
Time with property- 1 month
Electricity- No
Running Water- No
Family Story:
Leonarda is an indigenous Mixteco. She speaks Spanish, but her native tongue is Mixteco. Leonarda is a single mother; she was living with the father of her son, but then found out he was already married to another woman when he left her to go back to his wife. Leonarda was left alone and pregnant and the man didn't care and wasn't going to be responsible for the child. This changed Leonarda's life completely; she is an orphan with no siblings and at the time, had no family living in Ensenada. Because she was pregnant, she lost her job and had nothing.
A cousin found out about all that Leonarda was going through and came to Ensenada to help her. They live together and Valentina is helping her out. Leonarda and Valentina work in the fields. Leonarda is allowed to bring her son with her, which has kept her from needing to find and pay a nanny to care for him every day. Leonarda and her cousin were living in a rental house very close to where Leonarda had a piece of land.
Last October they decided to move to the land instead of paying rent and land payments, in hopes of saving the rent money. But in December/January when the rainy season started, the house wasn't in conditions to withstand the weather and leaked a lot. The house was made of only wood beams covered in plastic and tarps. They had to go back to renting the same house as before, until the rainy season passed. They have now moved back to their land and have been there for at least a month. Leonarda and Valentina have the land payments to make, personal expenses, diapers and milk for the baby, etc. And with the little salary they make working in the fields, it is not enough for them to be able to build a proper house.