I Grew up Poor
We were very poor when I was a little girl. There were ten of us living in the house. You should have seen what dirty little kids we were. My mother and father had nothing. When my poor mother wanted to feed us, she sat us down on the floor. We ate on the floor because we didn't have any chairs or beds. My father made us small beds out of reeds so we could sleep. At four in the morning, my mother dragged us to the mountain. At seven, we came home to go to school. When my mother returned from the mountain, she cooked for us if she had any money. If not, we would pick coconuts to eat so we could make it through the day.

We fought alongside our parents to make ends meet. I finished sixth grade. We all struggled to finish sixth grade. My four brothers left to work in the fields. My other sister also worked and sent home a few pennies for the week. I fried fish, made coconut bread, and went to the fields in search of work. We were all looking for strength to get a little because we didn't have a shot to get anything big.

My Struggles as a Mother
I had a son and then had another. There were two. One went to La Ceiba with his father when he was eleven years old. My other son left when he was ten years old. When I fetched them in La Ceiba, they gave me ten, twenty pesos. Well, this made me happy. With twenty pesos, I looked for work. I bought fish to cook and carry to the fields to sell. The kids grew up. Now, the eldest enlisted as a sailor in La Ceiba, and the other is studying at the Universidad de La Ceiba. My son, the sailor, sent me money to start my business.

When my mother grew older, she couldn't take care of herself. So, I had to do everything for her. I bathed her, made her food, and did all of the things that she wanted. I was everyone's mother in the house - my father's, my brothers', and my childrens'. I had twelve people here in this house, in my life. But God helped me everyday. He gave them food and clothing. Now, I only have four people here in my house. The others left to search for work. If they leave me a few pennies, I will be happy.

My Dream to Build a Business
I've been working in this business for seven years now. When I began to run this business, I only had a small stand with a concrete floor. I began working with three crates of beer and two crates of soft drinks. But I didn't know that I could make more money here on the beach. Then, a friend of mine came for Holy Week and sat me down for a chat. He told me that he would help me work on the beach. "How am I going to do that?- I asked him. "Look here, have a stand made on the beach. I will help you," he told me. He hauled a refrigerator to store the soft drinks and beer. "Uh-huh, and what about the kitchen?"- I asked him.

"Make a kitchen under the coconut tree," he told me. So, I put the stove under the small coconut tree and began cooking with fish because there wasn't any chicken at that time. That guy helped me a lot, and I thanked him for guiding me. He told me, "If you want to pursue your dream, then go for it."

I went ahead with three crates of beer. When I had money, I bought five crates. When I didn't, I bought three. I recently told my partner, "Let's get rid of this little stand and have a concrete one made." I ordered a stand made out of coconut before. It only lasted three days. People stole it from me. I told my partner, "Let them take it away again. We are going to have this made." I bought some blocks to make the stand.

Last year, my two sons came home. I said to them, "We need to have a stand made and bring people together so they can dance." They told me, "Yes, that's a good idea, mother." So, they made a stand to host dances. We are now doing something for ourselves. Later, I want to do some more because we are suffering now. If God lets me live next year, I want to enlarge the kitchen a little bit- to pack in more things and have a bigger business. God will help me. I want to do all of this and more.