I’ve never been good at asking for help, at anything, from long ago in school, on through to my work career. I was raised to be “self-sufficient”, and finding myself in the position of not being so, is, simply, painful.

This year, like many, we’ve been out of work. Casa SaltShaker has always been reliant on tourism, which, in Argentina is gone for the foreseeable future. Our borders have been closed since mid-March, and likely will remain closed to international tourism for months to come. Restaurants are hurting, and everyone’s turned to the delivery and take-out model. At our size and setup, we can’t compete.

Simultaneously, we had a couple of massive and necessary structural home repairs. The first contractor we hired ripped us off and disappeared leaving the situation worse. A handyman who was having a rough time in the pandemic came in to do some odd jobs ended up robbing us – not just what we normally would have had, but everything to pay the new contractor. The new contractors still needed to be paid, and between them and living expenses, the last months have been on credit cards.

The reality is, we’re starting over from zero. I’m asking for donations, not loans, from anyone who can afford to help, with nothing to offer back but my deepest thanks for not just your contribution but for being part of our community, part of our extended family. I know many people can’t afford anything at this time, even if they wanted to. But, “they say” it can’t hurt to ask.

Quick and simple, a PayPal donation page (that accepts cards too), though if you prefer not to use them, contact me for an alternative.

Edit: We received so much support from this, and all truly appreciated, that within a week we were able to recuperate what we lost in the two robberies! Thank you to all who helped us out!