OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL: Luz’s Story

Luz is a single mother of six children in Colombia. Luz is a survivor of domestic violence. Every day she lives with the fear that drugs, crime and violence will impact her and her children. Luz used to be married to a man that was affiliated to the guerillas until he was killed a few years ago. After her husband died, she fled to Bogota with her six children. She lives in the area of Cazuca, a community that largely consists of other internally displaced people that flock to the cities looking for safety because the countryside is a very violent place in Colombia right now. Luz never finished elementary school. She earns a living digging through garbage. Every night she leaves her home, leaving her children in the care of a neighbor or a friend, and she goes to rummage through garbage around the city looking for plastic, glass, metal, and anything of value that she can find in the unimaginable stench of the garbage. After 5 hours of rummaging the city, she goes to try and sell it. Usually she gets earns between $1.00, 1.50 a day. Friends, Luz has fears and needs and worries that most of us can’t even begin to imagine. Every day she has to make impossible decisions. The single most important ingredient for Luz to escape extreme poverty is opportunity. That’s all most people are asking for, and it’s usually exactly what they need. An opportunity to earn a living. An opportunity to get their kids a good education. An opportunity to take the talent they have and turn it into a sustainable business that can support their family.