With a Little Help from My Friends

There are events in life that can throw people completely off track. With the necessary support and encouragement, however, it is possible to get back on your feet again. One such story is that of Mayra, the children's tutor at the Transformation House in Sucre, Bolivia.

The team at the Transformation House remember well the day when a violent explosion suddenly shook the neighborhood. A gas cylinder had exploded in the kitchen of Mayra's small house while she was standing right next to it. The accident left her with severe injuries to her face and body. She was in hospital for months with severe burns, and her bandages could only be changed under anesthesia due to her severe pain.

Mayra survived and had to slowly fight her way back to normal life. The Transformation House, which then included a school, was a valuable bridge. Mayra at
tended it, at the time quite disfigured by the burns, and gained a new sense of security in this protected atmosphere. The team at the Transformation House visited Mayra and her family regularly to encourage them. They were also able to establish contact with a medical company in Germany, which tailored and donated special bandages for Mayra's wounds so that the burns would not leave such ugly scars.

All of this gave Mayra the encouragement she needed to pursue her path and complete her studies to become a primary school teacher. Today, she visits the children at the Transformation House several times a week to help them with their daily schoolwork. She encourages and invests where she herself has received help in great need.

It is often stories like these that connect the team and children in our projects with the people in their neighborhood in a special way. For the workers in the Transformation House, these were small gestures of help for a family from their village. For Mayra, it was the tailwind she needed to get back on her feet after tragedy had hit.