Living Under Bridges – Part 1

Today at work we did outreach, reaching out to the population living on the streets of Cochabamba. We visited a bridge in the North of the city, similar to the one you see above minus the water. We arrived to find about 10 young people and a baby living under it! While been in Bolivia I have been aware that people live under the bridges but never seen it for myself until today. Its heartbreaking to see so many lives going to waste.

As we arrived the men we’re cleaning up the space they live in. Its was crazy to see them taking so much pride in it like it was a house, but then I guess under a bridge or not it is their home. Beyond this shock I looked down into the ditch to see a young mum breast feeding her tiny child.

Many of the men and boys had scars on their faces and we’re holding onto their pots of glue very tight; practically hugging them.

They we’re all surprisingly warming and welcoming. I felt a real sense of community from these people, they we’re obviously not all relatives but there was a huge sense of family among them.

We stayed there for a short while, the worker we went with played music with them on pipes and a wooden recorder. One of the guys joined in he was really good, it was sad to see a man with such talent living in this way.

They began to explain that the last few nights the police had been around and brutally beat them up. Some of the men’s clothes and faces we’re covered in dried blood. Its sickening to think the people who are employed to protect the people of Bolivia; the police do this. Regularly and purposely they go out of their way to do harm to the people who actually need the most help.

I tried to engage with them as much as possible, with my broken spanish I began to talk to the young girl who was breast feeding when we arrived. She handed me her baby and climbed out of the ditch to come and greet us. She is only 21 and has just given birth to a beautiful baby boy only 2 months old. He born under this exact bridge I was standing at and they continue to live there.

My heart was overjoyed when this young girl decided to come to the centre for the day with her little boy. The rest of girls living under the bridge we’re reluctant to come, which is sad! But hey 1 is better than none.

As we we’re leaving a young boy climbed out from under the bridge, must of been 9 years old maximum. He had such a look of innocence in his eyes but with a look of lost hope and desperation, he was also clinging onto a pot of glue. Young or old it breaks my heart to see people living this way. Its homelessness on a totally new level, like I’ve never seen before.

It warmed my heart to spend the day at the centre with this young girl and her baby. I helped her wash her clothes, she rested, we ate and did some Zumba with others in the centre. We giggled and had lots of fun and she left with a smile on her face which was wonderful.

I can’t even begin to comprehend the day to day life she lives but I am so thankful I got to share this day with her.

I will be praying that she comes back to the centre next week and hopefully she will begin to want to start building a new life for her and her little man, away from the bridges.