On the outskirts of the city of Lima, there are homes where you don't see luxuries, but you do see order, cleanliness, comfort, but above all a lot of love and tenderness. Boys and girls whose parents abandoned them are housed there; The reasons are many, several of them questionable, others understandable, others totally incomprehensible, how difficult is it to understand why? their own parents do not take care of them.

Minors hurt by the orphanhood of maternal love, so essential at the beginning of life, hurt by lack of love, hurt by the forgetfulness of the family and some, hurt by the vile action of their own parents, but, in the midst of this cruel helplessness, God provides a light of hope in the lives of these children.

As everything contributes to the will of God, this year 2025, the “Angels of Hope” sponsorship program has begun, financed by Food for the Poor and developed by Cáritas del Perú, through its Assistance and Social Works area, which will provide help to 265 boys and girls between 0 and 16 years old who live in 10 homes with permanent boarding, which in reality are true refuges of love and tenderness.

As a Cáritas communicator, I have the privilege of accompany this program not only by disseminating it, but also by recording in images the stories that many do not see. I have walked through the hallways of these homes, looking into the eyes of the girls who call you “mom” when they see you enter, who ask if you are the one who can fill out the form for someone to visit them. Because what they want most is the presence of their relatives, they need to be visited, listened to and embraced by the family bond.

The nuns or those in charge of the homes are angels with habits and aprons, with huge hearts and agile hands. Angels who hug them, kiss them, protect them, who replace the absent mother, who know their stories and who try to make up for the lack that affects them, are angels without wings, who do not abandon them night or day, as the angelic prayer says.

Each visit to these homes is a questioning of our own life. Sometimes we have coincided our visit with the arrival of the girls from their schools, they arrive happy, and upon seeing the image of the Virgin Mary waiting for them at the entrance to the home, they greet the heavenly mother with the Hail Mary, without forgetting the God of life, with an Our Father, then come the hugs, the laughter and those looks that pierce your soul. How not to question how you lead your life and how not to thank God for everything you have, and that sometimes, we do not appreciate it as we should.

Of all the visits, the one that had a profound impact on me was the one we made to the Las Bienaventuranzas Association, as they serve more than 70 boys and girls with different abilities, it is something that shakes your heart and makes you see the suffering face of Christ in each one of them. I remember that the tutor in charge of the place knew the name of each child, she knew how they had arrived at the home, she knew how to cross the barrier of disability so that the children understood the instruction, the game and the orientation.

Then, I started to think, what would become of these children without these visible angels, who take care of them, who protect them and give them their love. This program not only transforms the lives of children but also of ourselves.

Program “Angels of Hope”

It is a child sponsorship initiative that provides support to abandoned, orphaned and neglected children in Lima, thanks to the support of Food for the Poor, it seeks to positively transform the lives of abandoned children sheltered in homes with permanent boarding. Ángeles de Esperanza provides sponsors to send financial funds for the purchase of basic products and also contributions in kind from abroad, all coordinated with Cáritas del Perú through the Assistance and Social Works area.

Written by: Karla Auza Valdivia, Head of Institutional Image of Cáritas del Perú.