As we celebrate the girls we support around the world for International Day of the Girl on 11th October, we revisit sisters Helen and Laura in Bogota.

Their mum Sonia is a single parent and in early 2020 she was struggling to make ends meet. She had no family support around her. Her girls, then 11 and 14, were left to wander the streets instead of being supported to go to school. Sadly, the girls were taken from their mother and placed in an institution, run by the Michin Foundation.

Lumos has been working with Michín to transition away from institutional care and provide support for children within families instead. In June 2021, we supported the return of Helen and Laura to their mum through a number of ways.

Primarily, we helped Sonia find a more suitable school for her daughters, who have since grown in confidence. We’ve provided counselling and psychological support for the family through home visits. And we’ve helped them move to a new home, including securing the installation of a new water pipe and providing food packages.

With a stable routine and support from social services, the family now have the practical, emotional and social tools they need to face any challenge together.

Thanks to the help of Lumos and Michín, Sonia feels that she understands her daughters better, while Laura says she’s learned that “Every time you fall, you get up. Loving your mother and understanding each other is beautiful.”