Wilma, a widowed mother in Bolivia, found hope and support through SOS Children’s Villages
Only 34 years old, Wilma had already been widowed twice and lost her first daughter in a fatal car accident while working in a busy Cochabamba market.
” I fell apart. My life was shattered, and it seemed like a nightmare. At that moment, I just wanted to die with her,” she says.
A year later, tragedy struck again when Wilma’s husband died. Wilma was eight months pregnant and needed mental health support to cope. After baby Pamela was born, Wilma poured her energy into caring for her.
“She has kept me from falling apart… She has given me strength.”
Sadly, however, Wilma became a widow once more during the pandemic. Pamela was one year old, and Wilma was eight months pregnant. At that moment, she knew her children depended on her, and despite the overwhelming challenges, she had to push forward for their sake.
Mental health and childcare support for widowed mothers
Wilma did not earn enough to pay for childcare, and venturing into street vending was not an option… one of her greatest fears was that history would repeat itself. Then she met with SOS Children’s Villages, on the advice of a neighbour who told her there was a daycare centre nearby where she could leave her daughter while receiving support to navigate this difficult time.
“I was afraid to take my daughter and be apart from her. I didn’t know what it was like, and then a neighbour told me, ‘It’s good, they will help you, they will help you with the baby.’”
Since then, Pamela’s been attending the SOS Children’s Villages children’s centre in Cochabamba, while Wilma received prenatal care and mental health support for herself and her daughter.Â
During her pregnancy, Wilma participated in neonatal classes, received psychological counselling, and secured a place at the centre for her newborn baby.
Today, Wilma is an entrepreneur, running her own ice cream business, which she hopes to pass on to her children.
“Now my dream is for them, this business is theirs, I want to finish paying my debts, I am finishing paying it off and this business is theirs, so they don’t start empty-handed suffering like I did.”
“My life has changed a lot now because I have support thanks to [SOS Children’s Villages]; it is a huge help for me. It is a safe place where my children are more secure, and they have helped me. I also have this ice cream shop because they have given me courses, training projects to encourage me.
“I am happy with all that I have grown, and I realise that I have grown not only myself but also in my business, and I feel good.”
Wilma is a mother, an entrepreneur, and a woman who shows that conviction and willpower are essential to move forward.
