The woman, with her left elbow broken in three, says she does not regret being a mother
Upon entering your home you do not feel the more than 30 years of struggle and effort. The room speaks of a woman orderly, disciplined and who likes to do things well. In addition, there is an atmosphere of peace. Everything in her place, as she can, keeping her life achievements: her children that she has raised without any help from the parent.
For Elsa María Pérez, 56, economic precariousness was not an obstacle to working as a mother who his two sons, Charles Emile and Elijah Volquez, define her as an exemplary warrior. She now has her own house that she raised working almost with one arm. But at first not so easy.
And it is that the woman who defines motherhood as something “wonderful”, while working in a family home caring for a child almost 30 years ago, suffered a fall when stepping on a toy car that caused a three-part fracture in his left elbow that had to be operated on twice and it disabled her for several months of her normal working life. At that time her first child was three years old.
«I have had both roles, that of mother and that of father. It has not been easy. Being a mother is even stopping eating so that the children eat. Responsibility is not anything. Many times you don’t sleep, you stay up late thinking about your children’s problems»tells Elsa with a patience of steel.
After several months disabled, Elsa narrates that, although physically she could not do anything, she kept her spirit awake and with the same desire to move forward. She received help for her treatment and therapy from her employers and others.
With the passage of time, he reactivated his work. The pain of the fracture did not prevent her from cleaning the house where she returned to work. The suaper, he says, squeezed him leaning on one of his knees, and that was how, as the months went by, he acquired skill with his arm right until he had a significant improvement in the failed elbow.
Although he no longer works with the same strength as 30 years ago, he has supported himself by selling arepas, sweet beans, ice cream, handbags, shoes, perfumes, creams and clothing to support his family. family.
When to elsa When asked what has been the most extreme thing he has done for his children, he said that, among the most bizarre things, which now make them laugh, although at that time it was not so pleasant, was finding himself in the need to give her children the same food three times a day and, on other occasions, keeping the meat from the meal that corresponded to her in the family home where she worked to take it to her offspring.
«I had an occasion that I did arepa and gave him arepas for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And a friend arrived, her name is Juana, and one day she asked me to go help her, I was unemployed and Elías (her youngest son) was a year old. And she told me to go cook for her, to help her because her husband had a network of grocery stores and she had to take one of the grocery stores because she found herself without employees for that grocery store. I left and we had to cook for 11:30 and I went with my sons for them to eat There I cooked. It was just for cooking but I felt so grateful that I cooked for him, cleaned him, washed him up and kept his house spotless. She fed my children and I ate », says Elsa.
“On another occasion, I was so afraid that Emil (the eldest son) would melt his brain because I couldn’t give him meat; there was nothing to buy him with. But from work I brought mine, mine in the bag; he would wrap it in a piece of aluminum foil, put it in his bag, and at night he would share it with her. At night when I arrived,” said the woman who has also been a pastor for almost 10 years in front of the Monte de los Olivos church, in Villa Esperanza de Lost Savannah, North Santo Domingo.
However, she adds, she feels grateful to God because his hands have been “the company and the engine to move forward” with his kids.
Although Elsa has spent most of her life fighting for her children to excel in all spheres of life, she assures that the experience of being a mother has not weighed her down.
“I do not regret. I feel satisfied to be able to exercise my role as a mother with great height. If I had to be a mother again, I would too. Even though everything I’ve been through, it’s beautiful for me to be a mother. And it is beautiful to know how to face and play the role of mother well; because the children, the Bible says that they are inheritance of Jehovah, given to the care of the parents we administer them. So, it’s not just giving birth, anyone has a child. But not everyone faces taking that child to be someone in life, “said the parent.
Today, Elsa proudly displays how far her children have come. Emil, the oldest, is the result of intense efforts so that he not only grew and developed as a healthy human being and with the quality of life that his resources allowed him, but also to see him be a professional.
Emil, 27, currently resides in Mexico, where he studied International Business and won a scholarship to travel to New York for the Dominican Model of the United Nations.
Emil, described by his mother as a child who has always been worthy, started a business in Mexico and is the CEO of EIBOL, a platform that offers a “great curation” of educational opportunities and tools for university students. Now he is looking to open up a field and go to the United States to continue undertaking in that sector.
Elsa says that Emil spent “hours and hours reading by candlelight”, because at that time they did not have the resources for an inverter or a power plant.
The young man defines himself: «I am a business professional focused on the development and creation of new business opportunities in the commercial area: Sales, Customer Service and Marketing. I am focused on results and always try to go the extra mile. I am passionate about everything I do and I always try to find solutions to the problems I encounter«.
Now, Elsa and her children live divorced from the state they were in 30 years ago. Based on effort and sacrifice, the lady also built two apartments above her house, which she rented to be able to help herself when she no longer has enough energy.
«My mom is an example of self-sacrifice for me, a person with a huge heart who is always looking to help others without expecting anything in return. The most fighter woman I know and above all with a great vision. From her I learned to pursue what I want and not give up no matter how hard the road is»says Emil about his mother.
Elsa took advantage of the occasion to make a call to single mothers, like her, who have nowhere to hold on financially; that they do not depend on a partner who can help them.
«Go ahead. It is strong, but along the way God gives you strength; God greatly rewards effort. Do not abandon your children, do not be intimidated. If God put that responsibility on us, it is because we can; fight for your children. It can be done”, the pastor encouraged the mothers of today who went through the same situation she went through.
Contributions of single mothers stand out
Several months ago, the Ministry of women reiterated that from said institution they continue to apply “comprehensive and inclusive” public policies to guarantee the rights of women in the different sectors, which include the economic, political and social.
He highlighted the contribution, dedication and sacrifice of the “heads of households” to Dominican society. He also recalled the need to promote responsible parenthood “as a shared duty and obligation.”
“In the same way, the Ministry of Women highlights the importance of a national care system, as part of the country’s social protection floor to ensure that family care does not continue to be the exclusive responsibility of women,” said the entity in charge to ensure the rights of women in the country.
