“I had always worked in the fields...I'm talking about getting up at 3-4 in the morning, commuting for two hours, working all day, and then another two hours to get home.
Being able to work here is a huge change because for as long as my children can remember, they have been alone. When they were babies, they had a babysitter, usually a cousin or really whoever could take them, but the person was never the same. And then, when they grew a few years older they were alone...They were in great danger being alone, and more than once, they went without food.
I always left them something to eat during the day, but in the fields, you never know what time they are going to let you go, so there were times I came home, and they were starving.
I didn't really know my children, because I didn't see them. Until recently I began to really be with them and get to know them as they are. My oldest child barely spoke and took the longest to get used to me being around. Now he's starting to tell me things...I understand now that I lost a lot of my children's time, and I won't be able to get it back.”
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