Be Inspired By Xiomara's Decision...
In 2020, during the pandemic, Xiomara's (Zee-oh-mar-ah) family lost their home to two back-to-back hurricanes. The roof and walls that once provided them shelter were washed away, except for two walls. Over time, they have worked to get pieces of metal to enclose their home into a one-room house.
Recently, Xiomara's oldest daughter, a single mom to three kids, suddenly passed away, leaving her three children orphaned.
Xiomara was heartbroken after her daughter passed away and had to decide to take in her grandkids or allow them to go to an orphanage.
She shared with us that an orphanage wasn't an option for her, but she was committed to finding a way to take care of them, even though it means 10 people living in her one-room home.
The problem, however, is that for her to attain custody of her grandkids, the welfare office has to check to ensure that she has the conditions to care for her grandkids.
After the child welfare office staff went to check Xiomara's home, they called us. They asked if we could go and meet Xiomara and support them because even though she had the desire and love to care for her grandkids, her one-room home, lack of steady income, and overall because of the extreme poverty they lived in, it would be legally irresponsible for them to allow the kids to stay with their grandma. But, because they believe in family (and they know we do, too), they've asked us to intervene so that they don't have to remove Xiomara's grandkids from her.
We are hoping to support Xiomara and their family of now 10 people with:
Education scholarships so that school-aged kids can begin studying for the first time since 2020.
The construction of a permanent home with enough space to allow for their family to have an appropriate amount of rooms for sleeping arrangements.
Furniture to furnish their home with basic supplies such as beds, dressers, a refrigerator, etc.
A small business start-up and trainings to provide a steady income for their day-to-day needs.
Ongoing trainings and therapy for their family members, specific to their emotional needs.
Because of the size of the family and the vast amount of needs that they have, this is a much larger investment in a family for Embraced, but after meeting this family and seeing the love they have for each other, we can't imagine them going through another loss and having to live in an orphanage, which would be the only option until they turn 18, because Xiomara is their only living biological family. So, although it is a high investment, we see it as the most obvious choice.
We will be investing over $15,000 in this family, and if you feel like this is a family that you would like to join us in investing in, donate below!
Thanks to your support them, we'll be able to tell the welfare office that they don't need to intervene and remove these kids from the care of their grandma because they have a team stepping up to support them.