Friends' Stories

The Story of Carmen and her children
Carmen Bruno came to the Hogar this year, along with her children Karen, 6 years of age (who attends the 1st grade of Elementary School) and Pablo, 2 years old. They all live in a nearby rented room at a boarding house, where another family assisted by the institution also lives.

Carmen needed someone to help her to take care of her kids in the mornings while she was working at a local shop. She doesn’t have a partner or any other family member around to help her with her children.

Carmen’s mother passed away when she was a baby, and her father gave her away to some nuns to be raised by them. She spent her childhood and her teenage years in two institutions. With a great deal of personal effort and dedication (and the help of a grant) she finished her High School studies and specialized herself in practical activities such as cooking and sewing.

When she became a young woman she met the father of her children and went to live with him for a number of years, period after which he abandoned her. She doesn’t have any contact with him now nor gets any kind of help for the care and welfare of their children.

Carmen’s children attend the Hogar Rincon de Vida on a daily basis at the present time, and she helps there every afternoon in the School Support program for the younger kids.