Need a gardener / laborer in exchange for a few pesos plus housing?

We have a lovely, conscientious 18 year old youngster who works 4 days for us at the rancho.  His father is a gardener, and Rickie was raised and trained as a gardener, but he also helps with taking care of the horses and doing general repairs and labor.

Rickie lives with his family, and it seems that they take all his salary from him.  He has bought himself an old beatup pickup truck, but his father took it.  This morning Rickie was filling the horses' water buckets, and he fainted dead away.  Turns out, he hadn't eaten that day.  We called his parents but they wouldn't come for him.  My husband took him to Cruz Roja, where they diagnosed hypoglycemia - low blood sugar from lack of food.  BTW - Rickie's mother showed up at Cruz Roja and when the nurse said he needed to go home and rest, the mother told Rickie to get back to work.  We said, Rickie has 2 sick/vacation days left this year and he is to use one of them to rest today.  Oh, and we got stuck with the Cruz Roja bill plus buying the prescription they gave him. We're arranging for Rickie to come 30 minutes earlier every morning and are supplying fruit, milk and cereal for him for breakfast, so he'll have food in his belly before he starts work.

I'm thinking it's time that Rickie got a place of his own.  Does anyone have lodging to offer him, and maybe a couple hundred pesos, to exchange for a day of gardening each week plus some help around the house and night watchman duties if needed?  He is a real sweet, responsible and well educated (through prepa) young man who is always eager to find a way to help.  We trust him with access to our property and stables, including the cash box in the stables.  He lives in Chapala now, and works Monday - Thursday at our place just east of Chapala.  PM me, or email me at jane_holdren "@" msn.com if you want to discuss it.

It is pretty comon for the kids who live at home to give all the money to the mother and in turn she is supposed to supplu a rood and food and some spending money. That is the way it is in most of the porrer families I know. Apparently that mother is tight with food and money. Will the kid accept to live away from home? Do you think he will not still give money to his mother? ..Those ties can be abusive and pretty strong..

It seems to be the father here who is taking the moeny. Although the mother is no nuturer,
I imagine, like any employee, that Rickie will want to interview for any position offered to him and make up his mind as to whether or not he wants the job.

Hopefully he can get a nice offer .

I would think that anyone providing a place to live would want him there more of the time... you sound like the perfect place! You already know and trust him and you'd be sure he was being treated fairly.