Constanza – 17 years old El Salvador Jennifer 2 years old – received into Instituto Madre Asunta – Tijuana Mexico – 2023
My brother lives in the U.S.A., he ran away because he didn’t want to join a local gang. My aunt, my father’s sister, a small, strong woman with red hair like me, raised us. I stayed in El Salvador with her to study. One morning coming back from school I found some men waiting for me, looking for my brother, but he was not there and neither was my aunt. I couldn’t get away. I gave birth to Jennifer at the age of 15. Together with her I decided to cross the border and join my brother in the US. I had already been travelling for weeks when in Tijuana I asked for help at the Madre Asunta Institute, as my parish priest in the village had told me. They welcomed me without question, they understood immediately that I was tired and alone, Jennifer was cleaned and given new clothes, a bed and food for me. I received medical help and was also able to talk to a lawyer, I realised that crossing the border now is too dangerous. They helped me find a place to stay. I am working, when I can I study, because I want to become a social worker. My path started when I crossed theirs.
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