Maggie Gina is a sixty-six-year-old grandmother of eight. Before the earthquake in 2010, Maggie was a vendor and found great joy in her work. When her home collapsed from the earthquake’s impact, she lost her whole supply of goods and had to spend the her remaining money on recovering from the disaster. Like many others in Haiti, Maggie would love to be a vendor again but cannot afford it. She considers this the hardest part of her life. The earthquake also had a large impact on Maggie’s life emotionally. When asked about her favorite memories, she does not have any from before the earthquake. She suffers from short-term memory loss and finds herself having a hard time being able to remember simple things.
One thing Maggie did not forget is her ability to sew. Self-taught, she occasionally likes to rent a sewing machine and make dresses for her family as gifts. Each dress only takes her two or three hours to make and she said she loves doing it. When we asked Maggie if we could take her photo with one of her dresses on, she told us that she had recently lost a large amount of weight and does not fit in any of her old clothes.
Before leaving her home, Maggie graciously asked us if we would like to take some mangoes. While we only expected to receive a few, she ended up filling an entire bag for us. Thanks to Maggie, all of the advocates at YourStory International were able to enjoy a fresh mango with our lunch that day.