11/21/07 - Grandparents Care for Siblings Orphaned by Violence

Oscar Mayorga and his wife, Maria, are raising their two grandchildren, Joshua, 7, and Ashley, 9.

QUOTE:

“People probably think I can't do what I can do, but I can do any level of work.”

STORY:

At an age when most people are thinking of retirement, Oscar Mayorga is concerned about how to find more work....

... to tears as she sits in the kitchen of the family's three-bedroom apartment, which is part of an old house in Port Chester, N.Y. The children share one bedroom, and the third is occupied by the Mayorgas' daughter Patricia, 43, who is mentally ...

...Mr. Mayorga now works six days a week in a restaurant, but the money often does not stretch far enough. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, one of the organizations that receive support from The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, has helped the Mayorgas with money toward the rent and sometimes for food.

Mrs. Mayorga worries that as her husband ages, he will find it harder to work. Social Security would not be enough to provide for everyone.

Mr. Mayorga insists that he is able to work, provided he can find employment. He said his greatest hope was for his grandchildren’s education.

“I don’t want them to work like I did. I want them to be professionals so someday they will be sitting at a desk in an office,” Mr. Mayorga said. “I hope that I am going to have enough time left in my life to see that.”

via New York Times

Full story: New York Times