M i s s i o n Hope               Services              Luz y Vida           About

Much has happened in the city of Bogota, Colombia.  Colombia has been in a civil war for over 4 decades and it is because of this 40 year-war that Colombia has the 2nd largest population of displaced people in the world (people who have been pushed from their homes due to fighting), with almost 3 million, only second to Darfur.  Many people who are displaced come from the countryside and mountains and have built refugee camps and neighborhoods on the outskirts of the major cities. A result of this tragic war has been that many children are orphaned. In the city, there is a shelter for these children called Luz y Vida.  LYV was started 19 years ago by Sister Valeriana Marquez, a nun who had a passion and calling to care for blind children.  Because the need was so great, the Order she was a part of in Bogota gave her permission to leave and start an orphanage. She started with 7 blind and deaf children.  Sister Valeriana and her small staff now care for 110 extremely special needs children full time in a large house in south Bogota.  She also cares for over 700 children through day-programs and after-school programs throughout the city. The children at LYV face every disability imaginable including Down's Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, Cerbral Palsy, severe physical malformations and skin diseases.  Most of the children are left at the doorsteps of LYV as infants because their natural parents just cannot care for them, however, LYV continues to strive to care for as many as they are able to.           Photos courtesy of Lori Rutherford. :-) thanks Lori.