SI DIOS ME AYUDA  :  CANCA, SANTIAGO                                                                OCTOBER 2008 
(IF GOD HELPS ME)                                                                                               

Living on the periphery of the Dominican Republic’s second city Santiago de los Caballeros, Ana and her husband share their small family home with three grandchildren.

Ana is frail and unable to work but her husband makes a little money as a barber and selling charcoal which he makes beside the river next to their home.

Ana and her husband continue to mourn the death of their eldest son who died of a chronic stomach disorder in 2007.  In an attempt to raise money for their son’s treatment she and her husband sold all their furniture and most prized possessions, but their efforts were too late. For those living in extreme poverty the cost of specialist medical treatment can be overwhelming.

Their home, comprised of two small wooden dwellings each 8ft x 16ft, with an adjacent timber framed tin clad kitchen and small latrine next to a river is overcrowded and vulnerable to flash flooding and adverse weather conditions.

They seek help from Caritas (NGO) and the church to receive a grant to build a new concrete block dwelling which Ana and one of her grandchildren will share. The construction brings renewed hope for a family living in one of the city’s most vulnerable communities.