Farmworkers spend all day in South Florida’s fields. Their humble Christmas wish: beds
For Marina Carrillo, a young indigenous mother in her mid-20s, life in rural Guatemala was difficult. Her immediate family had no home of their own, little food and no money to send the two small boys to school.
After weighing out their options, Carrillo and her husband Esau made the risky decision to leave Guatemala and escape their life of extreme poverty.
The Carrillos embarked on an arduous two-week journey in search of a better future for their two sons, Edwin and Edgar, who were just 6 and 4 years old at the time. When the Carrillo family arrived in Miami, they faced new kinds of economic challenges.
“I came here to take care of the kids and give them an opportunity. In Guatemala, there was nothing,” Carrillo said in Spanish during an interview with the Miami Herald.
Now, four years later, Carrillo and Esau are farmworkers in Southwest Miami-Dade County. They pick the fruits and vegetables that keep Floridians fed and fill the shelves of familiar supermarkets. Yet, the family, which recently grew to six with the arrival of a new baby, barely has enough money to afford its own meals.
“They are very needy,” said Martha Camargo, a family support worker with Redlands Christian Migrant Association, an organization that helps migrant farmworkers and low-income families in Florida and nominated the Carrillos for help from Wish Book. “They need furniture, items for the children… You see, they don’t have anything. No beds, no mattress.”
The Carrillos live with their four children in a small one-bedroom apartment in Homestead. Although they are thankful for the opportunity to work, the family, like many people in Miami, struggles to afford the skyrocketing rent prices.
Their apartment in rural Homestead — less than 600 square feet — has barely any furniture. There are just two beds — one in the bedroom and one in the living room about the size of her kitchen table — to accommodate two adults, three small children and an infant. Sheets hang over the windows in place of curtains. The bathroom has no towels, barely any soap. Their rent is over $1,000 per month.
Carrillo keeps her home as clean as possible, but there are obvious structural issues with the aging property, which was built in the 1960s, affecting its livability — cracks in the walls and foundation, molding tiles and very little natural sunlight.
After paying rent and basic bills, Carrillo and her husband have little money leftover to buy furniture, let alone gifts for her children. Edwin and Edgar, who are now 10 and 8, love to play soccer and games outside at the nearby park, but they won’t be receiving anything this Christmas.
“There is nothing, no gifts, nothing,” Carrillo said.
Her family is requesting items that most people take for granted every day: beds, dressers, mattresses, clothes and items for their new baby.
Still, their situation is an upgrade from what the family endured in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, an area with a large indigenous population that relies heavily on farm and agricultural work. Extreme climate events such as droughts and flooding have had devastating impacts on farmers’ livelihoods, according to the Migration Policy Institute, leading to extreme poverty and high migration rates. Nearly half of people in Guatemala live in poverty, but that rate rises to nearly 80 percent for indigenous people — like Carrillo and her family who are Mam (indigenous Mayan people).
In addition, Spanish is not Carrillo’s first language, adding another layer of difficulty to her ability to assimilate in the U.S. The language barrier has caused stress when Carrillo had to communicate with doctors and others, and leaves her in vulnerable situations. One of her goals is to learn more Spanish.
“The family came to this country because they didn’t have a house to live and they didn’t have money to send their children to go to school,” said Camargo, who works with Carrillo’s family. “They came for more opportunities for their kids.”
Every work day, rain or shine, Carrillo and Esau work in the fields for about $80 each per day. The conditions are not for the weak. The hot Florida sun can be brutal and the work is strenuous.
“I’m here to make a little money,” Carrillo said. “We work in the sun, we pick vegetables, sometimes when it’s raining.”
After living in a place where her children did not have access to school, one of Marina’s biggest hopes is for her sons to receive an education and to learn English. She hopes one day they can become doctors or lawyers, whatever they choose.
With the help of the migrant association, Carrillo is able to get free childcare for Riqui, her 1-year-old son. Edwin and Edgar are now attending public school nearby and are in need of a laptop to use for schoolwork.
“[They] are now learning how to read and write,” she said.
Though she has little, Carrillo offers bottled water to her guests and explains, in Spanish, a more recent hardship. Her 2-month-old baby, Anthony, needed an expensive surgery on his head when he was born. He is okay now, but the medical bills have just added to the financial stress on the family.
Normally, Carrillo works alongside her husband harvesting fruits and vegetables — tomatoes, peppers of all varieties — but lately, she has been staying home to care for Anthony, who is asleep in the next room. This means less income for the family while she stays home.
When Anthony wakes, Carrillo rocks him at her kitchen table where she neatly stores food items — bananas, a pineapple and containers of baby formula.
The only other item in her Carrillo’s living room aside from a bed covered in sheets, is a small drum set. Carrillo said her husband loves to play Christian music for her family, who attends church at Iglesia de Dios every Sunday.
Religion is important to her family. It’s a place, she said, where she can pray and teach her boys how to live, according to God.
HOW TO HELP
To help this Wish Book nominee and more than 100 others who are in need this year:
▪ To donate, use the coupon found in the newspaper or pay securely online through www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook
▪ For more information, call 305-376-2906 or email Wishbook@MiamiHerald.com
▪ The most requested items are often laptops and tablets for school, furniture, and accessible vans
▪ Read all Wish Book stories on www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook
This story was originally published December 25, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
