María Rafaela Salazar
Lori Connell
Maria Rafaela Espinal lives in the village of Los Pinos. Maria is happily married with 3 daughters. Her husband works hard but has an illness that has kept him from consistent work over the years. Maria is a member of the local church and we first met Maria through the work of Torch Missions when Maria and her family were living with Maria's mother. They had a piece of land but were having trouble saving money to build their own home. Mark Connell's Torch group was able to build them a concrete block house. Maria began training at the Mi Espernaza house as part of our sewing class. Maria wanted to gain a skill she would be able to use to help her family with consistant income. Maria quickly rose to the top of the class as one of our best students. She was eager to learn and was always in class. Maria graduated with her class and because of her skill and ability was asked to stay on and take a second level of training. Maria is very grateful for the opportunities Mi Esperanza has given her and many women of "low levels of opportunity". She is particularly grateful for what these opportunities will mean to her girls.
María at a glance
- Age: 39
- Marital Status: Married
- Children: 3
- Community: Los Pinos
- Mi Esperanza Course: Sewing level 1 and 2, Personal Skills
Updates
October 2013
The most recent photo of Maria was taken when she participated in a uniform project Mi Esperanza was hired to do. Maria and her family are doing well. Maria continues to support her family, her husband is disabled. Her daughters are continuing their education and with that, the walls of poverty continue to break down.