A Life Turned Around: Lucia’s Story - #putchildrenfirst
Lucia is only ten, but she spent most of her life looking after her alcoholic parents until an SOS Children’s Village was built in her region and offered her a chance at a real childhood. The little girl from Cajamarca, Peru, shares her experiences.
“I used to sell candy in the street. I handed over the money to my parents so that they could buy food,” she says, adding that they would spend that money on alcohol instead. “I knew where I could get a free meal. I shared it with my parents.”
“My older brothers ran away from home, because they could not take the screaming any longer. Our parents beat the hell out of them when they got home completely drunk. We sometimes slept on the street. After drinking all day, my parents laid down on the street and I did not want to leave them alone. I stayed with them until they woke up.” Lucia could easily see the damage that alcohol was doing to them: “My parents’ drinking was destroying their life. I always felt I had to support them no matter what.”
Being exposed to such misery took its toll on Lucia, then seven. “I did not want to live. I had no dreams. I did not believe in myself. Being small, I felt I was losing my strength.”
SOS intervened in time, providing her with a temporary home until the permanent Village was finished in 2013. “Now I have brothers and sisters I care for dearly. I have an SOS mom, whose name is Odaley. She takes care of me, she lives with me and trusts me.” Lucia was finally able to go to school, and can now write. “I want to learn, even though it is hard for me to reach the expected level. I know I can grow and go further along every day.”
Lucia’s life has been turned around, but there are many other Peruvian children in situations like hers who still need help: there are almost 600,000 orphaned and abandoned children in Peru, as well as many others like Lucia who are neglected. 5% of the population lives below the extreme poverty line, scraping by on less than $1.25 a day, and their inadequate nutrition leads to poor health, with a stunting rate (low height and weight for age) of 44% among the poorest children. The 22% of kids who do not attend secondary school face bleak prospects without education: 34% of children under 15 in some parts of the country are engaged in child labour, while 19% of girls are married and 15% give birth before they are 18.
Lucia was transformed by SOS Chlidren’s Villages, from having no dreams to having a life filled with promise. You can help other children like Lucia to have a family and a future by sponsoring a child.
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Canadian's wishing to support SOS Children's Villages are encouraged to sponsor a child, sponsor a village or to make a direct donation. Your support ensures that SOS Children's Villages can continue to provide a safe and loving home to orphan and abandoned children worldwide.