Low-income field laborers often live in shacks like this one in Las Margaritas, Mexico.

Field Labor Hardly Pay the Bills for Mexican Family

Rosa Gonzalez Catalan of Xoxocotl, Mexico, says she is happy to have a Habitat house because it is comforting to know that her daughters no longer must endure the rain, heat and scorpions that pervaded their former home.

Although the family's living conditions have improved since building their Habitat house, their possessions are minimal. Save for a small table, six plastic chairs represent the only furniture, and with no beds in the house, the family sleeps on mats across the floor. They have a small television, no refrigerator and only two lightbulbs. Unlike many in Mexico, Rosa and her family do have access to drinkable water.

Juan works as a field laborer, and to supplement the family income of 2,400 pesos (US $236) per month, Rosa washes other people's clothes when she can, earning 70 pesos (US $7) per day. During some weeks, 22-year-old Felipe also is able to make a contribution of 200 pesos (US $20) working in the fields. Even with these supplements, the Gonzalez family--who share a single shampoo bottle per month and spend no money on leisure activities--struggle to cover necessary expenses.

--Reported byYolanda Hernandez and Félix Lozáno