Meet Maria Cristina. She is the middle child of 10 siblings in her family, and with many mouths to feed she was not able to finish her education. Instead, even as a young girl she took any job she could find. Even as a teenager, she commuted to other cities working as a nanny, seamstress, and factory worker. Days were long, but she felt pride in caring for her family.
She married at the age of 20 and soon began having children of her own which changed her priorities. Her husband was able to put just enough food on the table so she slowed down to be present for her family. Unfortunately, he lost his job when the company he worked for closed which left Maria Cristina unsure how they would provide. They were afraid of not having enough, so made the hard decision to move the family back to their hometown.
Enter Dignity.
Maria’s parents were coconut farmers selling to Dignity, and when a supervisor saw her harvesting coconuts he offered her a job. She was honored and went to report right away. This lasted for some time before the pandemic hit and she had to stop working to care for her children and make sure they finished their education. She felt trapped and filled once again with loneliness and fear about the future. After about a year had passed, she was able to return to work and regain her sense of peace and control.
Maria Cristina has faced challenges no one should have to go through, but she has kept hopeful through it all. Her work at Dignity has been a rock for her family in stressful times and taken away her worries about providing. Her whole family continues to be transformed by Maria’s dedication and love.
