“Casa hogar para niñas” Mérida - Venezuela
Two pictures of disctrict Los Curos: this "barrio" is located in the lower part of the city Merida, inside the town hall Libertador, and there are living approximately 35.000 people, divided in 20 community-sectors, in self-made houses with bad quality materials.
Many of them are in fact built with metal sheets and lack of the most important services (electricity, water, drainage system). The pictures were taken in the two poorest and most problematic areas of Los Curos called Kosovo and Negro Primero. Here live many girls who will benefit from the project, often within large families.
This is for example, Lesly's and Lismar's place, two girls who will live in Family Hogar in Kosovo area. As you can see their life condition is very precarious.
We can recognize here the project's coordinator, Ligia Escalona, during her first visit to the family. Right there is Ligia with Reicar and her sister Maira. Both girls have been already selected to enter "Casa Hogar" Family. So they can be constantly followed during their schooling and their health care, thanks to a well-balanced diet, too. And - least but not last! - they will play and have fun with the other girls.
Another very important side of the project is to relieve these families from the girls' after-school and daily assistance. That does not mean that the project will replace the families, but will help them in those situation that a large family cannot face
In fact we see here Reicar's and Maira's oldest sister helping her brother; this family counts 5 children and the oldest sister has to be their mother during the day, as their real one works the whole day and their father left them. Such conditions are usual within this area. To give assistance to Reicar and Maria will surely lighten the oldest sister's job.
We can see her Ariadna (in a green t-shirt) and her sister Angy, two girls in Negro Primero who will soon take part to the project. Their condition is almost the same as Reicar's and Maira's.
Here are some pictures of Andrea's family, another young candidate for Casa Hogar. We can also see her very large family, with her mother and 3 brothers.
Ligia Escalona, Coordinatrice del progetto