Finding Home in a Tornado

Anytime a child decides to leave their home and make the often treacherous journey to begin a safer life in the United States, they showcase bravery far beyond their age. What many of us don’t realize, however, is that their courage does not end there. We were reminded of this when we met Ana and Marta who recently braved something they never thought they would face: a tornado.

Six months ago, Ana, who is 16 years old, decided to leave her home in Guatemala to be reunited with her cousin and sponsor Marta in Texas. She dreamt of a place with greater opportunities where she could go to school and build a stable and happy life for herself. The journey to the U.S. was not easy as Ana had to cross Mexico by bus and by foot relying on herself alone to make it to the U.S. The challenges, however, were worth it. Ana arrived in Texas where she now lives with Marta, Marta’s husband and their baby. She is starting school this fall, which is an exciting next step in her new life.

This past May, Ana was at home while Marta went to pick up her husband from work; a routine that was usual for the family. This seemingly normal day soon took a turn when Marta received an alert on her phone telling her that there was a tornado nearby and to seek shelter immediately. This type of disaster was new to the family and they were unsure of what to do but did as they were advised and pulled over at a friend’s house. Marta then called Ana, who had begun to notice the loud winds and rain, and told her to hide in the bedroom until they returned.

When the storm passed, Marta and her husband hurried home to find an entirely different scene than the one she had left earlier. “Everything was flooded and we couldn’t get inside,” Marta recalled. “There were fallen cables everywhere and lots of trees had fallen.” As soon as they got inside, they found Ana, who, although scared by the whole experience, was safe.

The family’s house had thankfully suffered minimal damage but the dangers from the storm had only just begun. Like many others, the family completely lost power, which created new difficulties. “We had no air conditioning, and the temperatures didn’t drop at all after the rain so our house got very hot and we each started to get sick,” Marta explained. She added that her baby would sweat throughout the night and, on average, they were getting three hours of sleep which made them very concerned for their health and safety. To find some relief, the family resorted to sleeping in their car until they received some positive news from their CWS Case Manager, Andreina, who provides Post Release Services to children like Ana who came to the U.S. unaccompanied and recently reunited with a family member.

As soon as Andreina heard about the struggles the family was experiencing, she took action and reached out to her colleagues in the Housing Team and Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery Team who, thanks to a generous grant provided by Airbnb.org, were able to get a hotel room for the family. The change from their hot home and car to the fresh and clean hotel was drastic. “We were so happy. My baby even started to play when we got there but we were so tired that as soon as the sun went down, we all went to sleep since we had gone many nights already without sleeping.”

The family stayed at the hotel for about four days and returned to their home as soon as the power returned. “Honestly, thank you so much,” Marta said. “There were so many people who died because of the heat and because they stayed in their cars, and while it took some time for us adults to get better, my baby is now better so it was a great help.”

In every experience they have faced, Marta and Ana have shown that they are strong and resilient. Together and with the support of their community, they can overcome anything that comes their way.

CWS is thankful for the generosity of Airbnb.org whose support has allowed hundreds of our newest neighbors to receive temporary housing as they establish their new and permanent homes. Click the following links to learn more about our work in housing, disaster response and unaccompanied children. You can also support CWS’s response to domestic emergencies like the one faced by Ana and Marta by donating to our Emergency Response Fund.

*Note: pseudonyms and stock images have been used to protect the identity of the individuals in this story