It is said that grandparents’ love for grandchildren knows no bounds, but what this 72-year-old woman does in silence for the good of her 3 grandchildren is amazing.
Aura Teresa Márquez lives in a modest house in the El Refugio neighborhood, in a suburb of Bogota, the capital of Colombia. About 25 unpaved roads have to be tackled every day so that grandchildren aged 8 and 10 do not miss the bus.
And these things are just part of the daily ordeal of this brave grandmother.
This grandmother’s courage is even more evident when she has to take care of her 12-year-old granddaughter, Laura Valentina, a girl with mobility problems, who does not speak or walk. Laura Valentina was nailed in a bed at the age of 8 months due to a fever that caused her meningitis and which then permanently reduced her to a wheelchair. To all this, it must be added that the grandmother’s health is not exactly good, the woman having problems with her legs that swell frequently.
But this is not an obstacle for her as long as her daughters Jenny Paula and Olga go to work as housekeepers to bring some money home.
As if that wasn’t enough, one day someone stole the wheelchair they had in the house and, with it, the few savings that younger brother Alejandro and his cousin Johan had amassed for the next one. Christmas. Grandma’s pain is even deeper when she remembers that the only one who helped her a little all this time was her son Carlos, but now she is in prison: unable to bear poverty and lack of food, but especially the fact that one of the children did not have diapers, he went to steal and on his return, the police caught him and arrested him.
They never had new clothes or toys, and they found the ones I use in the trash. Grandma Aura believes that a miracle is still possible and that people’s solidarity can take them out of the nightmare they live in, making them happier for at least a day.
A story about love, courage, and poverty that hit us right in the heart!