Children's Home Luz y Vida

Luz y Vida was founded in 1990 by the Spanish nun, Sister Valeriana García Martín. Sister Valeriana arrived in Colombia in 1970 and worked in several social projects until she opened a children's home for abandoned and visually impaired children.

Sister Valeriana's children's home Luz y Vida very soon filled with visually handicapped children of all ages. Because the state support did not meet even the most basic needs, Sister Valeriana founded a non-profit society and started raising funds. In the meantime, Luz y Vida houses more than 250 children and offers out-patient care.

A third of these children are severly handicapped and require special care. A team of more than 35 specialists is committed to helping these children.

The children at Luz y Vida
The children have various handicaps, and some of them are also the victims of domestic violence. They were abandoned by their families who could not cope with the extra effort of caring for a handicapped child. The whereabouts of the mothers is usually not known as they are often drug addicts or prostitutes. Some of the children are in contact with their families. Most of the children will never be able to live without intensive care.

For these severely handicapped children a multi-story intensive care unit was built and opened in April 2001.