Their House

Franklin Daniel Matias

Where do I start with Franklin Daniel Matias, he is life changing for me.  I have been in many homes in all my years, but Franklin’s home was the only one that brought me to tears.  It is in the worst condition of all the homes I have ever visited.  Franklin suffers from Asthma because of these conditions.

Franklin is 9 yrs old, and was born November 19^th, 2001.  He has just started 1^st grade this year.  His grandmother Doris Matias came to Ilda the director of the school and told her how worried she was about her grandson.  He wasn’t learning anything at all as he hadn’t been to school yet.  Franklin has not been declared.  His 16 yr old mother gave birth, and didn’t apply for his birth certificate before she left him with his grandmother.  So he has not been able to attend school.  Ilda made an exception and he started school this year, not even knowing how to hold a pencil.

Franklin goes to school in the afternoons for 3 hours, and is flourishing.  He really enjoys learning in school, and is a great student.  He is described by his grandmother as a calm boy, and shy. He has lots of friends, and his nickname is Mysterio (Mysterious).  Ironically Franklin wants to be a teacher when he grows up.

Franklin lives with his grandmother Doris, and his little brother Angel Luis, who is 4 yrs old.  Doris is 43 yrs old, and works cleaning the house of a wealthy Dominican family.  She works from 8am to 8pm, and makes $107.00 a month.  $24.00 of that she spends on transport to get to and from her workplace.  She pays $6.00 for electricity a month, and $8.00 for Franklins school monthly.  She is left with $69.00 a month for food and other necessities.

Franklin’s house is surrounded by sewage.  The roof over his bed has holes the size of baseballs.  Most of the floor is a dirt floor.  Everything is wet, damp or moldy, including his bed.  Directly oustide his back door is swamp from stale rainwater.  His house is unfinished block.

We based our awareness interview for Dominicana on Doris and her home, as she is the worst off of all the families in that area. Doris and Franklin worked with us all day to complete 3 hours of video.  Franklin was paid for his work with a baseball glove!