Julia lives with her two sons and their families in Peru. One of her sons has schizophrenia, which makes life very difficult for them, but she still finds the time to raise animals and sell snacks to earn an income.
After a very heavy rainfall, the drainage channel built near their house flooded and created a massive mudslide, known as the huayco.
Everyone in the village ran for their lives as the mud knocked down walls and buried houses.
Julia and her family lived on the street under plastic sheets for a week and were very scared to come home. When they returned, they found their house completely destroyed.
“We tried to dig down into the mud but we couldn’t retrieve anything. The river just took everything. The clothes we are wearing were donated, everything was taken.”
The local community recognized that Julia needed additional help and she was selected to receive a ShelterKit to help her rebuild her home.
Julia utilized the tools she was given to plant lentils, bean sprouts, and onions. She is still taking care of the one chicken that survived the huayco.
“I use everything. It is an enormous happiness for us that someone is thinking of us and doing something to help – it makes us very happy.”
The family now feels more secure, and has begun to recover what they can in order to rebuild their lives.