Meet Alejandra!
New Hope House Resident
Meet Alejandra!
Alejandra is the fourth child within a family of seven siblings. Her mother had her first child at only fourteen years of age. When Alejandra was born, her mother was twenty years old and engaged in prostitution. That is why at only eleven months old, Alejandra was taken to a government shelter center for children at risk.
It was not until she was six years old that she was able to meet her mother again. Every two weeks she was allowed to go out with her and spend the short periods of holidays and Christmas at her side. During those visits she was severely mistreated and returned with signs of beatings on her body. Due to the constant mistreatment she received, by the age of nine, they did not let her visit with her mother anymore. She was constantly changed from institution to institution, which did not allow her to develop a sense of belonging or to enjoy an environment that emulates a family.
At the age of fourteen, Alejandra was once again delivered to her mother. This time to live permanently with her. She was in seventh grade and had already been with her mother for a year in an environment of extreme abuse when she accidentally broke her foot in school. Her mother took her to the hospital where she was put in a cast.Due to her mother’s anger, she had to walk to the bus to return home. The next day, her mother broke off the cast and forced her to go to school on her broken foot. Her mother used to subject her to constant beatings. “My mom told me that I was not wanted and that she beat me because I looked like my dad.” Through her grandmother, she realized what her mother planned to do with her when she turned 18: “She wanted to offer me to all the men that came and she would live from the money I made.” That was what she had done with her sisters.
Given this reality, at the age of fifteen, Alejandra decided to return to the government children’s home. There, she continued to study, trying to move forward with her life. Her mother used to visit her every so often. A week before turning 18, Alejandra heard her mother say that she intended to use Alejandra to make money in exchange for sleeping with men.
It was at this time that people from Christian organization called, Sus Hijos, (Your Children) came to the institution with the intention of helping 18-year-old young people that aged out of the home by offering them a place in a two-year transition home.
After a selection process, Alejandra was accepted to be part of a group of girls who would live in their transition house. “I think the moment that most marked my life was when I left home (the government home), because the people of the home were my ‘family’, who supported me and gave me everything and I had to leave without knowing anything about the world or how to do anything or how to operate in it myself or make decisions. I was not ready and I felt like I was going to be alone.” She was terrified.
But there, at Sus Hijos transitional house, Alejandra learned to work and study; she also learned to socialize with other people. “I learned to cook. Also, to fend for myself, ride the bus and manage my money. I have matured, I grew up, learning from my mistakes; I knew what it was to have a family. I gave my life to Christ and began visiting orphanages with Sus Hijos. I told the children, ‘I know exactly how you feel. Listen to my story.’ And they would listen, they always opened up. I can tell them that God has never left me alone at any time in my life, and that He won’t leave them either.”
Her dream is to study nursing to help people who are poor. “I must strive to fulfill my dreams and make a difference in my family. I also want to make a house where homeless people can come to eat and get dressed and sleep at night.”
When we met Alejandra, she made a very marked impression on us. Her demeanor and attitude are positive and open. One can see she has a spark inside her, she is a fighter. We want to fight for her and with her. Alejandra has GREAT potential to bring change not only to her own family, but, to her country, El Salvador.
Will you help us give her what she needs to move forward with her dreams? When we were in the states last month, we had the opportunity to meet with several groups, families and churches. Many expressed a desire to be a part of Alejandra’s support team. So, believing that God is going to touch hearts and move mountains, we have accepted Ale into our women’s home and are moving forward. She is now registered with a local university here in the capital called, IEPROES, which is a university that specializes in nursing. She is very excited and ready to jump in with both feet!
She will live in Hope House in community with seven other women (two who are moms with little ones) be discipled and mentored in her walk with God, as well as learn many important life skills such as, cooking, cleaning, hygiene, budgeting, building healthy relationships, and so on.
We are blessed to be a part of Ale’s story!
Here is what we need for Ale’s support team:
Room and board: $300.00 per month (includes rent, food, personal items, water, electricity)
Educational costs: $125.00 per month (includes university tuition, bus fare, books, labs and uniforms.)
Total cost of: $425.00 per month
In addition to this, we are asking those who support our gals financially if they would also be directly involved with them by writing (and receiving) letters and photos and by praying for them.
We are in the process of making changes to our website that would enable you to indicate whose support team you want to be a part of, but, until that change is made: Go to the donate page and donate the amount that you’d like to give monthly, then, go onto the contact us page and send us a personal note indicating who or what you’d like to support. We hope to have the website updated within a month to facilitate better communication.