Tag Archives: poverty

17 Year Old Leaves Poverty and Reunites Family (Mexico)

My life was about to change. It could be for the best or for the worse but it was a risk I was willing to take. As a child, I lived in a little one-floor house with 2 rooms. Located in the hills of a valley. The valley was located in a small city called Veracruz, Mexico. There were house ... Read More »

Worked in a pear orchard (Mexico)

I interviewed my step-grandfather, Juan Herrera. He came into my family’s life in the mid-90s by marrying my biological grandmother on my mother’s side; however, his journey before joining my family is quite inspiring. He came to the United States in the 1980s as an undocumented immigrant to create a better life for himself and escape the poverty he was ... Read More »

From Poverty to Dreamland

1. Compare and contrast your life in Mexico to your life here. What’s the same? What has changed? “There is too much that is different, but I guess I could start off by saying that my livelihood is the biggest difference. Back in Mexico, I had to work for my most basic necessities, for example, if I wanted water, I ... Read More »

Determined Mother Caretaker (Mexico)

                Rosalinda Cabrera (name changed), my mother who is 34 years old, immigrated from Michoacan, Mexico to Santa Rosa as a child. She later immigrated back to Mexico and immigrated to Los Angeles in 2005 when she was 17 years-old where she later moved to the Bay Area. For over 10 years, she ... Read More »

“Ahora estoy feliz” (Mexico)

    I migrated in 1995 from Michoacán, Mexico when I was only 4 years old. Me and my family wanted to migrate just like every other immigrant would want to migrate for, “the american dream”. I had to stay in Mexico with my grandparents, in a big house with not much furniture inside or beds as well as sofas, ... Read More »

Sacrifices

          …making sacrifices is also important to growing as a person, and becoming the best possible version of yourself. Maria was born in Durango Mexico. She was the youngest of 11 siblings, who all lived in a tiny pueblo on the outskirts of the city of Durango. They had very little money, and living far away ... Read More »

Escape From Oppression as a Daughter

                  When did you first consider emigrating from South Korea?  Since I was 10. It was horrible. My parents were very old school and from the countryside of South Korea. Sons were valued much higher than girls to the point that nobody wanted to have a daughter. My mom had 5 daughters ... Read More »

Poverty Leads to A Huge Transition

              My father, Donato (name changed) emigrated from a small village called Rio Tigre located in Oaxaca Mexico. Rio Tigre is a small village with 286 inhabitants. In the 1900’s the economy in Oaxaca Mexico was terrible. Oaxaca is split into hundreds of local governmental units called municipios (municipalities). Each of these municipios is ... Read More »

The Challenges of Leaving Kids Behind (Philippines)

      Rafael John (name changed) is a forty five year old man, who is both a first generation immigrant from the Philippines and now a citizen of the United States. John is half Filipino and half Caucasian. He is a husband and a father of three children. John said he was working two jobs, but due to the ... Read More »

Story of Mary Kathrin McDermott (Ireland)

Where in Ireland was Mary from? Having been there what did you think of the town? How does it compare to America? Mary was born in 1914 and was from a small town in Ireland called Leitrim. She was the oldest of 10 children in an extremely poor family who made their income by rolling and selling peat bog. Her ... Read More »