Raising Hope for Healing Survivors

Leticia is a 20-year-old lady, her life changed from the moment she was the victim of a kidnapping, the mother says that together with her husband they have tried to give their children the best, the family is very poor, the father works selling ceviches and the income he has is not very good, the mother works as a house maid but does not have regular income.

 After the young lady was kidnapped she suffered psychological problems and had a low self-esteem, for a long time she did not want to leave her room; It was thus that the ITEMP program began to support the young lady, the first thing she needed was psychological support which was provided to her, when the young lady entered the program, she was given medical exams, she was given clothes and she was supported with housing and education expenses.

 She was not studying because at school she was expelled because she missed a lot of school, but this year 2018 the young lady decided to return school, currently she is studying the seventh grade at an Institute in Masagua, Escuintla, she manages to redo his life with his partner, from this relationship a child was born and now he is four years old, her partner has an income of Q.800.00 being a Sports Teacher. She continues being part of the Asociación Nuestros Ahijados program by receiving vegetables, clothing and psychology help.

 She is very happy to continue receiving the benefits of Asociación Nuestros Ahijados and she wants to graduate from school and to give a better life to her son.

The lady is from Jutiapa and had been living in Antigua for ten years; she came to work because in her land there were no opportunities for her.  Her husband died in a criminal act and leaving four girls and the widow lady. After these unfortunate events, the mother found a job, doing domestic chores, but the money she was earning was only to cover the expenses required in the family, especially because they were constantly getting sick.

In 2015, she met a man with whom she started to live, he seemed to have good intentions with the family and even lived with them for a year. However, after that time, everything changed.  One day he decided that was going to take the old girl for a walk, but what he really wanted to do is to sell her as a sexual object to his friends and make money with that.  In addition to that, he threatened the girl that he was going to kill her and her family if she said something of what he was doing.

The mother was not aware of this, but that sudden change of attitude in her daughter convinced her that something was happening so she looked for psychological help at Nuestros Ahijados, which, after some therapies, the girl expressed the situation that she went through, and how during the weekends the stepfather took advantage of her to abuse and to collect money with his friends. Faced with this situation, the legal area decided to support the woman and the family, denouncing to the authorities and immediately assisting the girls, who were also vulnerable to the man.

The man was arrested and prosecuted by the authorities; in addition he was accused for being sexually exploiting other people and for belonging to the criminal group that is dedicated to the trafficking of people operating in the area. Nuestros Ahijados is constantly helping the family with physiological therapies and the mother is attending the “Mother’s Club” to receive all kind of help, such a workshops, food, health, orientation, clothing and any other kind of help they may need.

Although the damage caused by the stepfather was very big and almost irreparable, Nuestros Ahijados, is always trying to redo the mental well-being of all of them, and providing all possible support and opportunities to grow as people and professionals, so that in the future, especially girls, they can be independent women and that they can overcome this fact that they have lived.