Help Get Benito Walking Again

In October of 2021, I started working with Benito, a Mexican immigrant and amazing chef, in a little taco shop in my hometown. His broken English and my working Spanish made communicating difficult at the beginning, but with someone like Beni, it's hard not to like him.

 

Five months later, I can confidently say that I have not met a single person filled with more love and kindness than Beni. His laughter filled the kitchen, and his clumsy dancing and passionate signing brought smiles to the faces of everyone in the restaurant. A cheeky grin never left his face, and his joyous demeanour uplifted everyone on even the darkest of days.

 

Beni has a passion for giving; whether he brought bread and pastries each morning to make sure all of us had eaten, made us snacks on the job so we wouldn't go hungry, or sent us home with food for our families, Beni always made sure that everyone was taken care of before attending to his own needs.

 

But now, it's Beni who needs our help.

 

On the night of Thursday, March 11th, while walking home from the train, Beni was assaulted and robbed by a masked man outside his apartment in the Bronx. Currently, Beni's eye is swollen shut, he is battered and bruised, and has been in the hospital for four days (as of Monday, March 14) recovering.

 

But worst of all, his assailant continuously kicked and stomped at his legs and feet, resulting in a complex fracture in one of his feet, leaving him unable to walk. Early this morning, he had surgery to place metal in his foot in hopes that his foot heals correctly and he can leave the hospital within the next few weeks.

 

Unfortunately, Beni's situation is dire. Hospital bills for a broken foot requiring surgery can be very expensive, and Beni is the main provider for his family of five. Beni will likely be unable to work for weeks, meaning that his family will have little money for necessities like food and rent. Any money raised would go towards covering Beni's medical costs and supporting his family until he can start working again.