Thread by @humansofny

(1/12) “We arrived here with $10,000. By the time we paid for the paperwork, and the lease, there was no money left to open a restaurant. But right away we were given hope—a potential investor. He was a friend of a friend..."

(2/12) “My earliest memories are watching her cook. Our family owned a small grocery—and my mother was the baker. All the time she was in the kitchen, so it was my only way to be near her. I would sit by her feet..."

(3/12) “At the discotheque we struck up a conversation with two guys. They claimed to be brothers, but I thought they were playing a prank. Because one of them had black hair and the other had red..."

(4/12) “For Sebastian it was ‘family first,’ always. It was his highest priority. So even before I decided to marry him, I knew he’d be a good father. I was less sure if I’d be a good mother. But when we became pregnant with our first daughter Camila..."

(5/12) “Camila had started kindergarten by this time. I was trying to pack her lunchbox with healthy choices, but the grocery aisles were filled with crap: potato chips, sugar, processed stuff. I’d been reading about the dangers of the modern diet..."

(6/12) “I could always tell when Sebastian’s furniture company was struggling. Because he talks to himself very loudly. Even in the other room I can hear him: ‘Please God, how do I fix this? What am I going to do?’ And around the time Camila became a teenager..."

(7/12) “After that day a dream began to grow inside of me. Maybe I could be a chef. Maybe I could write my own cookbook, and share my recipes with the world. But it was bittersweet. Because at the same time-- Sebastian’s dream was dying..."

(8/12) “I came back to Peru full of confidence. I even started to research locations for a café. But my optimism didn’t last long; because a few weeks later, the collection agencies began coming to our home. We had to remove the doorbell from the door..."

(9/12) “Our lives were brought down to nothing. The banks took the house. They took the cars, the furniture, and even our beds. We moved into a tiny unit that belonged to Sebastian’s mother, and laid our mattresses on the floor..."

(10/12) “Life in America was so much harder than we’d imagined. And on the night our investor backed out—I was ready to quit. All of our money was gone. We’d just been told the business wasn’t going to work..."

(11/12) “We’ve built a little family here over the past year. A family of people who believe in food. Many of our customers have strict diets because of allergies or illness. But they walk in this door and say: ‘Oh my God, I can eat everything here. I’ve found my place...'"

(12/12) “Last week we received a visit from one of our favorite customers. Her name was Janet. And she walked right in the front door-- which surprised me. Because it wasn’t something she’d normally do..."

We are currently holding a fundraiser to help get Cristy's Kitchen off the ground. But more importantly—to help Sebastian and Cristy get their family to a safe, stable place. If you have been moved by their story, please consider contributing here: bit.ly/cristyskitchen