Luz Y Vida is featured in a local news story that captures the heart of Sister Valeriana’s life mission. View the full news story here!
In the San Cristóbal Sur neighborhood, in Bogotá, there are thousands of stories of wonderful people, one of them is Sister Valeriana. Her work comes to life in a building in the sector, and although it is easy to explain what she makes of it, she admits that it is very difficult to execute.
Protect children with disabilities. They call her the earthly angel, however, she says that he has only dedicated himself to paying attention to her direct boss: "the manager" (God). Who has an office within the foundation, more like an altar.
And since he has a direct line with him (God) he knows well what his mission is; and every day 'from above', he sends her a message: put his gaze on those children who are invisible to others.
“This is a human recycling center because everything that is thrown away arrives here, everything that nobody wants; but here it is given the value that every human being can have” - Valeriana
At the foundation they receive children who are abandoned by their parents, but not only that, they also feed them, give them their life, heart and even their last name.
32 years ago he found a 5-month-old baby abandoned by her parents. "She was rejected twice because her mother gave her up for adoption and after her, the family that was going to adopt her found out that she was blind and they said that she was not."
Thus, Valeriana, as she called her, became part of her family, and incidentally, the cornerstone on which the Luz y Vida home was built. "I thank God for giving me the opportunity to meet her."
The nun is also the mother of 200 other children. Some have already reached adolescence and adulthood. “I am happy helping these children because for me they are angels, treasures that God gives me. Every time a child arrives, I hug him and say: thank you, Lord, because you gave me another one."
In that home, love is a mandate that feeds the work of doctors, nurses and other professionals who dedicate their hours to caring for them.
This foundation started in a small space, but “as the children came to me, I needed more space, because I built. They gave me a lot, a house next door, another lot…”. Today it is a great project that grew thanks to the insistence of this woman.
One by one, businessmen, neighbors and artists have joined, offering their talent in exchange for a smile. But charity is less than needs. "When there is no money to pay for accompaniments to hospitals, diapers, or not enough, I am distressed, but there is my God, my manager."
Mother Valeriana doesn't have anything great left and she got it into her head to start a clinic to care for all the children. For now, her work is focused on these children who have earned an earthly angel, stubborn and stubborn, who repeats to her manager every night that she does not intend to give up.
“Many times, due to so many difficulties, one thinks: no more, I close the house and that’s it. But I look at them (children) and I think, ‘Lord, you gave them to me and I’m going to fight for them as long as I have a little eye to open.”