“We had nothing left”

“I didn’t know where to go to live because the house where I lived is no longer a house,” said Keily Josselin Cruz Sánchez. “The hurricanes only left the floor. We had nothing left.”

When hurricanes Eta and Iota hit Honduras in November 2020, Keily lost everything.

Life before the hurricanes was already hard for the mother of two young daughters. For one thing, the children’s father regularly beat her.  

“Every time I got home, he hit me,” she said. “I had to put up with him because I didn't have a place to go with my children.”

When he beat her so badly one day she had to go to the hospital, Keily left and went to live with her mother.

Even after she escaped the violence, she said her life was not easy. The only way she could earn any income was by collecting plastic and metal and selling it for recycling, selling corn or doing laundry for others.

After the storm destroyed their home, she moved with her children and mother to a temporary shelter. While out doing laundry one day, she met staff from World Vision, who were distributing humanitarian aid in her community, supported by the Humanitarian Coalition and the Government of Canada.

Keily asked them for help. Based on her level of vulnerability, she was given a voucher redeemable at the local supermarket. It enabled her to buy food for herself, her children and her mother. She was also provided with a personal hygiene kit, which helped to cover some basic needs.

“The help was very supportive because I was going through a difficult time – we had nothing to eat that week,” she said. “Thank you for the help you have given us, and God bless you.”