Cynthia is a single mom, living in the Mariano Matamoros area of Tijuana, down a narrow street in very poor conditions. She has a 13 year old daughter, Donna Esmerelda and 14 month old Jose Carlos. Sadly and as happens so often, there is no father involved with her or the children. Jose Carlos was born a normal little boy, but at the age of only 8 months had his lower intestine twist and rupture, causing the need for surgery with only a 30% survival rate. But he did survive (thank you Jesus!) and now has a colostomy bag, due to the surgery of needing to cut out part of his colon.

Needless to say, it’s been a hard life for the whole family!  No daycare center or family member will assist Cynthia so she can work, as his colostomy bag has to be changed 2x a day. Jose suffers daily from pain around the area where the bag is. He’s had infections and more. His mom can’t afford pediatric colostomy bags in TJ so she has to re-use them to make them last. Without any income, the family lives in a very poor little “house” that has one room and a bathroom that most of us would not enjoy using. They depend on others for food, diapers, medicine and other needs. 

Hugh Margesson, our director of COC’s Hope Beyond Borders found out about Jose Carlos and instantly wanted to see how we could help. He told me about the family, and I said Circle of Concern is “all in.” So recently, a few of us went to TJ, met the whole family, and heard firsthand their story and struggle. Cynthia loves her children and hopes for a better life. She is beyond grateful for our involvement.

There is great hope for Jose. His colon has grown enough so that it can be surgically re-attached allowing for a normal life! This is where we come in… as Cynthia has no way to afford a surgery. Having this surgery in Tijuana will cost about 7 - 10,000 US dollars. We are in process of finding the right doctor and hospital for Jose to receive treatment.

Just imagine Jose’s life after surgery. He will be able to live a normal life, without having to manage his colostomy bag, which will also allow mom to earn an income for the family. This will make ALL the difference and provide them HOPE for the future.

But we can do even more to change their lives. The owner of the house they are living in rent free, is planning on demolishing the house, and they will need to find somewhere else to live soon. Next door to them lives Grandma and she wants to help too. She owns the tiny house she lives in. Though very poor, it’s live-able and she has an area on the back of the house that we can build a bedroom with a bathroom, and small kitchenette.  It needs a roof, inside walls, plumbing, electricity, plus furnishings. The floor and outer walls are there.

We’ve had bids in to do the work, part of it will be volunteers, part of it hiring locals, plus buying all the lumber, supplies, etc. We are estimating the cost will be around $10-12,000. The contractor will be donating his time.

So for about $25,000 we can completely change the lives of this family to give them a future and a hope.

One life at a time, this is how we impact the world for Christ.  And doing it together is the way to do it best.

Can you help?  And if you can’t financially give, your prayers for this family is a huge blessing as we want to not only meet their physical needs, but also find them Christian support going forward.

Thank you ahead for your generosity,

Carol DeGraff

PS Let me know if you are interested in volunteering construction help to the project.