She was only supposed to live until she was three years old

Street Children Peru

When Grace was born in 2005, life had handed her a tough cookie. Her 19-year-old single mother had crept from hospital, abandoning her newborn baby. As Grace was a premature birth, she suffered from cerebral palsy, was blind in one eye, and has spasms in her limbs. The doctors said, she would only live to be three years old, and they prophesied she would never talk or walk alone.

After several surgeries, Grace was admitted to the Transformation House in Lima, Peru at the age of 9 months, as nobody wanted her. The loneliness she knew so well from hospital was ended immediately, as she experienced the love and care of the staff. Soon she became everybody's darling.
Several times, her life hung on a bare thread, but Grace had tasted life and was not going to give up so easily.

Today, Grace is 13 years old and has already lived four times longer than predicted. Due to intense care and support, she started walking at the age of 5. Later she started talking, eating by herself, cleaning her teeth. For a few years now she had been able to complete simple chores, and she attends a special school. She loves listening to music and going on walks.
Sometimes neighbors who have watched her grow up talk to our staff. They are amazed and compliment her development.

Grace loves to be accompanied by Gabriela on her walks. Gabriela just turned 18. She was born in the mountain regions of Peru in a terribly poor family. She was sent to Lima, the capital, to work, when she was just a child. That is when neighbors found her, mal-nurished and neglected. They took her to the police, who in turn asked us to take her in. So she only started attending school at the age of 11, but she succeeded so well that she was able to graduate from school as the second-best in her class. Now she would love to attend college to learn more about children like Grace. She loves taking care of her, making her laugh. So Gabriela, too, has found a real treasure in Grace.