Ana Gladys and Santos Flores
The Flores family was the first selected to build a home with The Fuller Center in San Luis Talpa. That’s because they live in truly miserable conditions. They’ve cobbled together a shack made of plastic bags held up with rotting bamboo, and they actually had to borrow the rusty tin sheets to make their roof because materials to build makeshift shelters are so scarce in their neighborhood. To pay the bills, Santos has to work far away in San Salvador at the only job he can find, so the family unit is broken apart except for a few days each month. After reading about Ana Gladys, click the link to take a 360-degree, panoramic tour of her house and her neighborhood. Then you will truly know what poverty housing looks like.
Ana Gladys met Santos when she was 28. They fell in love and got married, and although they were very poor, longed to start a family. Little did they know the hardships they would endure in the years ahead. At age 38, Ana now has four children: Manuel (9), Pablo (5), Florcita (2) and newborn Santos.
Like many poor Salvadorans with little education, Santos has worked at various low-paying jobs in construction and in the cane fields. The best job he’s had is his current one, as a security guard in the capital of San Salvador, which pays minimum wage ($175 per month). The trip to San Salvador is a long one, so he bunks there with other workers and returns home only two days every other weekend to see Ana and the kids. He sends every cent possible to his family, but he suffered a huge setback recently when he broke something at work and must now pay back the money for the damages.
Even though she cares for four children, Ana Gladys brings in extra income with small jobs like washing clothes and selling tamales to neighbors. She had to stop working for a few months after giving birth this year because her C-section wound did not heal properly.
The family lives in the village of Santa Clara on a friend’s property. They have built a shack from plastic bags, rotten bamboo and rusty metallic sheets. Every rainy season the house floods and they get wet during the night.
The awful conditions in the house have been making baby Santos sick since he was born. All of the children suffer from frequent colds, coughs and fevers. Their house has a dirt floor, but Ana Gladys keeps things very clean and tidy. Still, five people in one room, which floods and leaks, means respiratory problems are a constant concern.
Ana Gladys began doing sweat equity for the family’s Fuller Center house in June of this year, and she works three days a week. She is a hard worker and a beloved member of the homeowner team.
The family is extremely excited to move into their new home, which will be more healthy, spacious and clean than their current place. They will no longer have to worry about soggy beds and clothes, dirty air, and cramped conditions. Their new home will be near the children’s school, and they pray that the next step in their new life will be a job for Santos, closer to San Luis Talpa, so they can all be together.
Step inside Ana Gladys’ current house here.
