Transforming unplanned pregnancies into children who are loved.
María Ayuda, Viña del Mar is 7 years old and has 70 new lives
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Madres adolescentes con sus hijos en la Casa de María Ayuda, Viña del Mar, Chile Teenage mothers with their children at the House of María Ayuda, Viña del Mar, Chile Wenn Kinder Kinder bekommen: diese jungen Mütter werden von Maria Ayuda in Viña del Mar aufgefangen |
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70 nuevas vidas en siete años 70 new lifes in 7 years 70 neue Leben in sieben Jahren Fotos: Martínez © 2009 |
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CHILE, Paula Martínez. March 15th marked the 7th anniversary of María Ayuda -at- Viña del Mar with 70 new lives.
In March 2002, the Maria Ayuda or Mary Helps Shelter Region V opened through the initiative of a group of Schoenstatt lay people; it serves about twenty-five low income, young pregnant girls, who are in conflicted situations, and who many times do not have the support of the baby’s father or that of their families.
This House of Shelter helps these young girls to move forward along with their babies, since they opted for life; they are offered personalized attention until their children are two years old. The social program also provides the material means necessary in order to give them the best conditions possible to welcome these children into life.
A team of professionals who help the girls accept their premature role as mothers by helping to strengthen their social and parental abilities to prevent abuse to the infants from conception carries out this work. For seven years, this work has been carried out through serving more than seventy babies who have been born, and transforming unplanned pregnancies into children who are loved.
It is important to stress that this year Maria Ayuda Region V received the National Prize for The Day of Unborn Children 2009, which was presented by the Network of Life and the Family, for recognizing the solid work of the House of Shelter and also the worthwhile support of its collaborators who have helped to maintain this shelter.
About María Ayuda
María Ayuda is a non-profit corporation that has worked for the prevention and rehabilitation of infant abuse. It shelters 1,700 children and youth with their respective families in Iquique, Antofagasta, Viña del Mar, Santiago, Curicó, Los Angeles, Concepción and Temuco, Chile. It also exists in Spain, Burundi, Perú, and Portugal. Presently it has nineteen homes, shelters, speciality centers, centers for pregnant youth, and a family educational center. It was founded in 1983 by Father Hernán Alessandri Morandé, a Schoenstatt Father.