The Children
Oliver, 16, was in the 10th grade in 2011. His student number is 1878. He studies
mechanics in Sololá all day. 
Luis Angel, 14, was born January 7, 1997. His student number is 1192 and he was in the 9th grade in 2011.
Einar, 10, will be in the 5th grade in 2012. His student number is 1191.
Their Family
Luis and Oliver’s father died of leukemia 14 years ago when
Luis was only two months old. Their mother remarried and had a child, Einar, with her new husband, Jorge. The mother then became sick with lung problems
and she died in September 2009. Jorge lived with the three boys in the mother’s house until he became sick
and had to move back with his parents so they could care for him. He visited with the boys a lot because, as
Yolanda says, ‘he loves the boys very much.’
He had surgery in May 2011 and was just returning to work as the supervisor
of a store. Two days before the
interview (in June 2011) he moved back into the room beside Oliver and Luis'. |
| Grandmother, Luis, Einar and Yolanda |
Oliver and Luis’s grandmother lives in the same housing unit. The grandmother is old and the boys help take care of her. She had surgery four years ago and when she returned home her retina detached and the doctor took out her eye. She doesn’t work. Their Aunt Yolanda has taken responsibility for the boys and cooks all their meals for them. Yolanda lives around the corner with her husband and their five children, ages 22 to 14. Her husband is a day laborer and she sells food. Her 20 year old son Edy works at Mayan Families and between the three of them, they support the orphans. Jorge gives Yolanda $10 (75Q) a week to help pay for the boys. Since he isn’t Oliver and Luis’s father, Yolanda doesn’t feel right to ask him for more money. She feels like the boys are her responsibility now. The children’s sponsors and the Mayan Families general food fund help them with food from time to time but it isn’t enough.
Their House
Yolanda said it was as if her sister knew she was going to
die. She borrowed money to fix up the
house and bought the children a large bookshelf full of books. As soon as
everything was in order and the house debt was repaid, she became sick and quickly
died. The house is in good
condition. When the kitchen roof started
leaking, the boys bought the supplies and repaired it themselves. Oliver and Luis have two beds with mattresses
and blankets and two wardrobes in their room.
Jorge and Einar live in the room next door when they are
here.
The boys don’t have running water but they can get water from their grandmother’s house next door. They have a three year old water filter that needs replacing. They still use it but it takes all day to produce a jar of water. They have an Onil stove that is at the grandmother’s house.
