Emilio and Elena speak with Luz, a close family friend we met during our time in Medellín. She shares the story of her childhood and how she managed to break free from the cycle of poverty.
1. Question: What can you tell us about your childhood?
Answer: When I was a child, I had 13 siblings, and we lived in a small town called La Ceja near Medellín. My father was not very affectionate and didn’t contribute much to supporting the family. It was my mother who worked for us. Life was full of hardships.
2. Question: What was your experience living in poverty?
Answer: Well, honestly, since there were 13 of us, the house was too small. For instance, four of us would sleep in each bed. We all dried ourselves with the same towel. And we didn’t have toilet paper, so we had to use newspaper. We didn’t have toothbrushes, so we brushed our teeth with cloth. Sometimes, we didn’t even have soap to bathe. By the time I was seven, I had to start working in other people’s houses, cleaning, washing clothes, scrubbing bathrooms, and so on. My mom would get orders for arepas for a restaurant, and we had to walk far, barefoot, pulling a cart full of charcoal. We made about 800 arepas a day. On top of that, I had to do all the chores my mom assigned me at home. At school, I didn’t have notebooks and always had to borrow paper from my classmates.
3. Question: What other things did you lack as a child?
Answer: I would have liked to have toilet paper, a toothbrush, my own towel, and to sleep alone or with just one sibling. I would have liked to have food—good food. We only ate rice without salt and panela water because there was nothing else. Beyond that, I would have loved to play. I never played. I didn’t have toys or anything like that. I never had time to play. I would study and then go to work. That’s how it was.
4. Question: What were your dreams as a child?
Answer: As a child, I would have liked to play and not work so much. I wanted to go to parks. I wanted to wear clothes that weren’t hand-me-downs. Often, my mom was given clothes from wealthy people, and she would give them to the older kids first, and by the time it reached us younger ones, the clothes were already torn or too loose. I would have liked to have my own belongings.
5. Question: How did you feel when you saw wealthy people?
Answer: Well, the first time I saw wealthy people was when I was 12 years old and had to leave school. I only studied up to 7th grade—just half of my schooling—because my mom told me, “You have to go work in Medellín; there’s no food, there’s nothing.” So, I went to work in one of those beautiful houses. At first, I was very scared because, at 12, I was so young. But I had to learn to work. That’s where I encountered all these household products and was so happy to have my own bed and to use clean towels and sheets. There was soap—there was everything. I started working and sending money to my mom. I could never study again.
6. Question: Can you share moments when you felt injustice?
Answer: It felt unfair that I had to work instead of study. I really loved school and would have liked to continue, but I couldn’t. There were times when I thought, “It’s such a shame that I can’t buy anything for myself,” but I had to send all the money I earned to my mom so she could help my siblings, pay rent, and buy food. I could never buy anything for myself. I wore the clothes that my employers’ daughters no longer wanted since we were the same age. When they went to school, I stayed home to work. That felt very unfair. But there was nothing to do—I had to work every day of the week.
7. Question: How did you manage to escape poverty?
Answer: After my mom passed away and I had my daughter at 25, I saved everything I earned to give her everything I never had. Ten years later, my son was born. I never wanted to have as many children as my mom did. Little by little, I managed to have my own things. As a single mother, I’m very proud to have provided education for my two children. Today, they are good people and don’t live the life I had. I would have liked to have their life. I’ve spent most of my life working in people’s houses. Thanks to God, I now work from home, cooking and selling frozen food products. Between my earnings and my children’s contributions, we live well.
8. Question: What is your opinion of projects like the one we’re supporting at Future4Colombian Kids?
Answer: What you’re doing for these children is wonderful. I never had the chance to receive that kind of help, even though we lacked everything. I also had to experience sexual abuse within my family when I was very young. As a child, it’s hard to understand what’s happening. It’s tough not to have someone you trust to talk to about these things. It shouldn’t be that way, and these children deserve professional help to move forward with their lives. I was saved by leaving my home at a young age, and for the most part, I was lucky with my employers. Thanks to my work, I broke the cycle of poverty, but it came at a very high cost.
Thank you for sharing your story, Luz.