Margarita and her husband Daniel came to Cd. Juarez from Oaxaca in 1999. They left Margarita’s two small sons in Oaxaca with
their grandparents. They came to look for a better future for their children. In Oaxaca the teachers would miss school a lot, and
the schools were extremely poor. Margarita knew her children would not have an opportunity to study.

When they arrived they lived with her brother‐in‐law sleeping under a roof with no walls. Their bed was a piece of plywood with a bed sheet for a blanket. Margarita looked for a job with no luck because she had no personal documents. Eventually she found work washing and ironing people’s clothes. Her husband got a job at a maquiladora (factory). With the first paycheck they bought a used mattress and blanket. With the next they bought a used gas grill to cook. After about a year they brought their sons to Anapra, too.

After a time her husband found her a job cleaning houses downtown. They were able to buy a few more things. But one day, when they came home from work, they found that everything was gone. Someone had taken all of their belongings. Margarita stopped working to be able to watch over all they could purchase. Without her extra pay, the only food they could afford was eggs and tortillas. They had no one to help them.
In 2001 Margarita found a job at a factory, which allowed them to rent a tiny room. This gave them more security to buy things.

She would work the night shift and her husband would work the morning shift. Her third child was born, and then two more. It was a lot of suffering for her because she didn’t know anyone. In 2007 she bought a piece of land. The organization Casas por Cristo built her a small house. That year she started to bring her kids to the VBS that Manos Amigas puts on every summer. After two years of helping with the VBS she was offered an opportunity for scholarships for her children. This filled Margarita with joy and happiness just to know that her children would
have the opportunity of support for an education. “God blessed me with this support,” she said.

Right after this the opportunity for beans and rice came, this was a big blessing. In the past when she didn’t have food for her children she would ask her neighbor for a cup of beans to cook. She would take her kids and a bottle of water to find wood to cook the beans. They would also look for aluminum to sell in order to have money to buy tortillas. On days when they sold a lot of aluminum they would also buy eggs. This is one of the first families that Lakeland supported with beans and rice. As she
explains it, “Beans and rice gives us the trust of a daily meal for our kids. My children are no longer hungry; it’s like a plate of meat! I just buy tortillas, add some onion and chili to the beans and what a banquet! I am so grateful for this support that came when I most needed it.” She concludes, “All I have gone through has been worth it, and I would not go back to Oaxaca.”

Her husband now works at an auto dealer doing maintenance. She works at a co‐op at the junior high. Her son Enrique graduated from high school. Her son Antonio just started college. Her son Daniel just finished junior high. Her two youngest, Alexis and Alondra are in 4th and 3rd grade.

Finally Margarita adds, “I appreciate Lakeland for the support we receive. God bless each one of you.”