Help Miguel finish rescuing his mother's home
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The purpose of this fundraiser is to help Miguel Rojas retire a relatively small monthly mortgage of CAD $631 for 24 remaining payments. The mortgage is held in the name of both Miguel and his mother, Ericka. The property is a humble but much-cared-for property of some 90 square meters in Palmares, Alajuela, Costa Rica.
Until this year, Miguel has covered the greater share of the mortgage with supplementary funds from his mother, Ericka, and Jorge, 27, Miguel’s younger brother. Ericka and Jorge, since late 2020, have been able to put only basic food on the table and cover utilities — Ericka suffered a serious leg injury keeping her home-bound and Jorge, a bilingual waiter, can get work for only 3 days per week at best. Any sickness by Jorge leads him into quarantine in the times of Covid-19. They can no longer help Miguel with the mortgage. The 2019 death of Ericka’s husband and father to Jorge and Miguel further cut family income.
Meanwhile, in Chilliwack, British Columbia, meet Miguel Rojas. He’s 29. A Costa Rican national on track for permanent residency status in British Columbia, Canada. He is awaiting final notification, and Canada is significantly backlogged in processing such paperwork and approvals. His current work permit only authorizes employment as a continuing and much-loved School District 33 high school Spanish and Mathematics Teacher, now in his third year.
Most people understand that young teachers have to find summer work and supplementary assignments to make ends meet. But Miguel is not allowed to make extra money until his permanent residency status has cleared. To do so would put his residency in jeopardy. And so Miguel, as a de facto essential BC worker, as the one highly successful family member (BEd., BA, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, currently at work on his Masters of Educational Technology from the University of British Columbia, all paid for by scholarships and outside educational funding), finds himself in that impossible situation where the commitment to protecting his family will now only undermine his own stability in Canada. Only Miguel is left to fund the full mortgage payment.
So close to the end of the mortgage, a loss of the property to a bank would be catastrophic. Please consider helping Miguel secure his family’s housing and being a worthy resident in the Canada he loves.
To better understand the predicament where Miguel, among many others, find themselves awaiting Canadian permanent residency and citizenship documentation, see:
Organizer
Miguel Rojas
Organizer
Chilliwack, BC