Sandra, 38 and Manuel, 5*
Sandra bell is the mother of five children. Sandra and her husband, Gustavo, 43, fled Venezuela a year and a half ago with three of their children. They were forced to leave their two oldest children, ages 15 and 17, in their homeland to live with Sandra’s mother.
“My children who are in Venezuela ask us to come back,” says Sandra. “Hearing that is so hard. Someday, we will bring them here to Colombia, but at the moment, we can’t afford to look after them. We came here to support our family in Venezuela, but we can’t afford it. The worst thing is being away from our family.”
¨
Sandra and Gustavo feed their children by collecting recycling. It’s an unenviable way to make money, pushing a heavy cart up hills in 30 plus degree heat. It’s also having an impact on their health. Gustavo has a rash covering many parts of his body, and their youngest son, Manuel, 5, has chest pain.
For every kilo of recyclable material they gather, they earn 100 Colombian pesos. But their rent costs 220,000 pesos (around USD 50) a month. Sandra and Gustavo are often forced to skip meals when the rent is due.
Despite all the barriers, Sandra will do anything with her limited resources to help her children. We meet her and her youngest son Manuel at an NRC workshop for parents and their children, funded by the LEGO Foundation.
The project provides parents with the tools to teach their children at home, through play. This is important for the Venezuelan parents who have little time available to be with their children. The tools and techniques enable parents to spend quality time with their children at home, helping them develop.
Sandra and Manuel create a plane, which they paint green. “It will take us to Venezuela!” says Manuel.
.
When mother and son present their creation to the rest of the group, Sandra starts to cry. “I loved doing the activity so much because it made him so happy” says Sandra. “Today was my lucky day.”
When asked what she learnt at the workshop, Sandra says “I learnt how important it is to spend quality time with your children, even if you have problems yourself. I realised how much adults can learn from their children. When we were making the plane, my son really took leadership, and I was so proud of him.”
Photo: Christian Jepsen/NRC
*Names have been changed for protection reasons.
