Andy Villegas is a Costa Rican ‘Tarotista’ (Tarot card reader) who takes a percentage of her earnings, sometimes half, to buy food and donate it to families who have been in a difficult situation due to the coronavirus.
She charges ten Tarjitos (¢10,000 colones) for the Tarot card reading session and since she decided to help the needy families, her work was increased, up to ten people per day. She believes that this is the ‘divine’ result of the help she gives.
It all started when a client told her the case of a senior living in precarious conditions in Desamparados. Andy decided to help.
Then, through the world’s best publicity, word of mouth, three other families sought out Andy and benefited.
“When you give, you feel good. I love helping,” said Andy.
At that time, after helping four families, Andy decided to go one step further to see how she was doing: put on her social networks that if someone needed help, she was willing to lend a hand as far as her resources allowed, but she also asked for collaboration from anyone who wanted to give it.
Many of Andy’s clients are wealthy to do: doctors, lawyers, and similar profiles, and they started donating groceries.
The first who approached her on social networks was Paola Chavarría, but she did not asking for help, rather asking for a job.
Paola, 33, is in charge of six boys ranging from four to 16 years old. She is the mother of three and aunt to the other three. She also cares for a senior.
“It was the case that most moved me. I can’t bear to see the little ones go hungry and because of the coronavirus situation they entered a state of anxiety. So, every so often, they asked her for something, a cookie, to say the least, and she had nothing.
“They sell pejibayes, but the man who gave her the fruit stopped, I don’t know why he didn’t do it anymore and they were left with nothing. I was desperate and she felt the need to look for me and tell me her story, she showed me pictures of the children. They had nothing to eat. It was difficult,” said the tarot reader.
Each child receives the package of groceries distributed by the Ministry of Education, and Paola appreciates that help, but it is not enough for every day. So Andy did not hesitate to take part in her profits, buy food and tell the story on social networks.
“I started to be contacted by clients who were saying, ‘Take this to buy such a thing, take the other.’ A person of humble condition and who I know only had two bags of rice gave me one,” Andy confessed.
Paola told us that she is very grateful for Andy’s gesture, whom she considers an angel.
“I do this because it comes from my heart and I make it known so that whoever needs help knows where they can find a helping hand” Andy Villegas
“I was desperate and one day with a migraine lying down I went to Facebook and saw a message from Andy saying that if someone was having a difficult financial time, they would contact her.”
“I kept thinking, wanting to call, saying‘ what a shame, what a shame and all that ’… but she could have been a mom and when I called Andy’s response was incredible,” said Paola.
It turns out that Andy was willing to listen to her story, look at the photos, and help the family.
“It was the angel that God sent me and I said to my husband, they are going to help us, we will have something to eat for a few days, our children will have sustenance. I cried locked in my room, then another young woman called me. It was surprising that they came together.”
The tarot reader believes that the crisis has brought out the positive and caring side of people in greater numbers than those who seek to profit.
She said that she cannot read the situation in the world because her desire for everything to be better on the planet conditions the result. Still, she feels that in two months, the situation can improve quite a bit.
She has already helped more than thirty families in difficult situations by the coronavirus.
“The stories where hungry children and older adults are involved are the ones that move me the most. They have even told me that the only thing they have to give a young child is sugar water, that breaks my heart,” she said.
From La Teja: Cartas del Tarot ayudan a familias afectadas por COVID-19 (in Spanish)
