Jeronima Flores is now 68 years old and resides in El Paraíso. She is the mother of eight children.
Jeronima spent most of her life on the El Paraíso farm; she lived in a small shelter that belonged to the owner of the farm and she worked the majority of the day, picking coffee and gathering produce.
To attempt to make ends meet, Jeronima got another job as a cook on the farm so that she could contribute to her family's income even more. Her husband had an accident earlier in life that left him confined to a wheelchair.
Her eldest children also joined in to help the family's economic situation, obtaining jobs at young ages.
Rainbow Network was established in her community in 2002, and Jeronima was chosen to be a committee leader due to her work ethic and ability to communicate with others. She was also very passionate, and still is, about her community and the better future her community could have.
With this newfound support, Jeronima requested to be a beneficiary for the housing project, since she and her family lived in extremely overcrowded and unsanitary conditions on the farm.
For the first time in her entire life, Jeronima finally had a home she could call her own. Feeling motivated by this achievement, Jeronima decided to open a small store that she could operate from the comfort of her home.
She uses these profits to care for her home and her family.
Jeronima's favorite part about her house is her garden, which she has nurtured and tended to since she moved into the home. Since personal gardens were prohibited at the farm, she never thought she would have a garden of her own; now she is free to enjoy the flowers, herbs, and produce that the garden has.
Her children were able to attend school and pursue a higher education thanks to Jeronima's hardwork and their family's partnership with Rainbow Network. A few of her children were even Rainbow Network scholarship recipients, and one of her grandchildren, Danay, is a current Rainbow Network scholarship student.