Success StoriesJesus is a 19 year old Guatemalan who came to the US 2 years ago to work on a farm in northeastern Dutchess County, when he received a severe head injury on the job. The damage was such that he could no longer do manual labor, and as a consequence he became depressed and despondent, feeling his life worthless.
Being undocumented, his boss avoided getting involved, and there was no safety net of disability or a way to pay his exorbitant medical bills. He was discovered through the network of Somos Salud and found to be an intelligent, motivated young man very inspired to help his community.
He is now one of our most dedicated community health promoters, bringing people to the clinic every week, checking blood sugars and blood pressures of his neighbors in Dover Plains and feeling his life has been restored with meaning and hope.
Through Somos La Llave coordination, we are helping him navigate the legal system concerning his injury and a microfinance project that the promoters have created is poised to help him with a loan for building a future career.
Humberto arrived from Ecuador last winter and works on a farm in Millbrook. In the spring, he developed severe fatigue and achiness and through the network of Somos Salud health promoters was told he probably had Lyme disease and was taken to the local clinic. Humberto was grateful for the guidance that led to his recovery.
Carmelo is a 33-year-old Mexican who lives and works at a dairy farm in Millerton. He notes that our program has helped him because as a single man he never knew about the risks of acquiring an STD or of getting a woman pregnant unintentionally. "Now I am always going to get condoms to prevent an accident."
Vileta is a 22 year old Guatemalan woman who lives in Monticello, NY and recently had a baby. She said to us, "Somos La Llave is really important to me and my husband because the health promoters help us plan our family so that we can care better for the child we already have, keeping in mind our condition as immigrants living in a time of economic crisis."