Rubidia, Katerine and Michael Lopez
Single mothers have it tough in all countries. For Rubidia Lopez, being a single mom with little education and few job skills has meant that her children are not getting the education they need to lift themselves out of the cycle of poverty: her teenage daughter has already left school to help support the family, and her young son cannot afford medical treatment needed to attend school safely. But hard work and a hand up from The Fuller Center are about to change things for the Lopez family as they become owners of a simple, decent home they can afford at the Millard and Linda Fuller Blitz Build in El Salvador.
Rubidia Lopez, age 33, was married when she was only 18. She was an inexperienced young woman, trying to escape a broken home. She and her husband lived in the capital of San Salvador and had three children before divorcing a few years ago. Their older son, age 14, stayed with his father—who has since remarried—in the city, while Rubidia took Katerine, age 13, and Michael, age 7, to live in the town of Santa Clara, near the Fuller Center project.
Rubidia makes tortillas for a living and sells them to the neighbors for six cents each.
The Lopez family rents a small brick house on a friend’s property for $10.00 a month plus electricity. With the price of corn rapidly increasing, Rubidia’s profits are shrinking, and she struggles to buy food for the family. Often she falls behind on rent, but her landlord has been patient up to now. Her ex-husband does not help the family at all, although he does take care of their first son.
Only Rubidia’s son in San Salvador is in school. Katerine quit school to help her mom and also works another job to support the family. Michael has a malformation in his throat that makes it very difficult for him to breathe when he exercises or even plays with his friends. The family cannot afford to consult a medical specialist about Michael’s condition, so Rubidia keeps him home because she’s worried he might have a severe breathing problem when he’s alone.
Rubidia works in the mornings at home making tortillas, then she volunteers in the afternoon doing her sweat equity for The Fuller Center. The FCH staff calls Rubidia hardworking and dependable. “I have seen her have next to no money for food, yet she always finds a way to feed her kids, even if it means working 24 hours straight, “ says Project Assistant Carmen Gallardo.
Rubidia is very grateful for her new home and believes the quality of life of the whole family will improve immensely. She also dreams of having more space and getting her older son back. Where their new home is located, there will be a school very close by, and she hopes soon to afford for Katerine to get back into school and to treat Michael’s medical condition so that he, too, can get an education.
The family is very grateful for the many volunteers who have come to work with them. . Katerine and Michael are very popular among the volunteers, and meeting new friends from around the world has been an education itself. The Fuller Center volunteers are also a demonstration of the kindness and love in this world, say Rubidia.
