Maria Elena’s story

Cochabamba, Bolivia

Like many children in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Maria Elena was abandoned by her parents when she was 8 years old. “At first I lived with my mother but I wasn’t ok living with her,” Maria Elena says. “That’s why my uncles and my grandfather decided to register me at the Home.”

Now 16 years old, Maria Elena recalls her arrival at Toybox-supported home Evangelina Booth. “My father left us when we were very young and my mother didn’t take care of us. I arrived at the Home skinny and naughty,” she says. “I don’t remember this but the girls told me that I ate desperately and that I was afraid because I didn’t see my grandfather anymore. Now I’m doing well; they teach us well here.”

At Evangelina Booth, Maria Elena received love and care, and it was here that she came to know God. “I’ve seen God’s mercy in my life,” she says. “He always responds to the things I wish for. I didn’t know where my step sisters where after I found out that the government took them away from my mother, because she didn’t take care of them. So I asked God to let me know where they were and He answered and allowed me to see them. Now, I visit them once in a while.”