Yenni’s Family
The ability to express compassion towards others is one of the greatest human virtues. Yenni Lopez is an exceptional woman who personifies this love.
Yenni and her family live in Paraíso, a community in Honduras. She is the mother of three girls and one boy. In addition to their own children, Yenni and her husband Ramiro have informally adopted their two nieces, since her sister could not take care of them. Nowadays they are a big but very happy family.
Yenni’s life has not been easy; she became a mother at a very young age, although this is very common in rural Honduran families. The only income their family has is her husband’s salary. Ramiro works as a mason and earns approximately 7,000 lempiras a month ($291 USD), which isn’t enough to meet all the needs of an 8-person family.
Caleb, Yenni’s son, was diagnosed with autism a little over a year ago. She does her best to make sure that all her children’s needs are met, but it’s always a challenge. She now has to manage the cost of buying medications for Caleb, attending therapy sessions, and the invisible cost of remaining calm in the face of hurtful comments made by people who don’t understand her son’s condition.
Yenni tells us that sometimes she feels like she’s working magic to make the money go far enough for everyone. All the children are of school age, and it takes a great deal of effort to make sure that everyone has school supplies and is keeping up with their studies. But for Yenni, the most important things in life are her children. She never hesitates to sacrifice her wellbeing to see her children smile.
When Feed the Children began working in Paraíso in 2014, it changed the entire course of Yenni’s family. They have benefited from all of Feed the Children’s programs, including deworming and vitamin A supplementation, school feeding, delivery of TOMS shoes, prenatal vitamin supplementation, and school supplies and backpacks. Yenni is a dedicated volunteer, and she coordinates the health committee that manages vitamin supplementation for children under 5 years.
Yenni has a special message for Feed the Children supporters. She says:
“My family and I feel very calm and happy from all the support Feed the Children gives us and the community. We know many families that, thanks to the support that the organization gives them, can send their children to school. In my particular case, thanks to the school supplies, my husband and I can continue making the effort so that my 5 children can continue studying. All the things you do for the community is something that for me is a blessing from God, and I always ask in my prayers to bless you and all the people who support you.
Before, I was shy about participating in many things, but as I continue supporting activities such as meetings, talks and trainings that we had as the board of the Feeding Center, I realized that I have the ability to achieve my dreams. My two greatest dreams are to be able to finish building my home and to be able to see all my children as professionals. I am currently starting my business selling cosmetic and health products and I have the faith that with God’s effort and blessing I will become a successful woman to help my whole family as I really want to do.
If I had the opportunity to thank all those people who support Feed the Children I would say: ‘Thank you infinitely for all the support, you are a great help to my family and community’.”
