Elizabeth with photos of her children back home in Bolivia

Elizabeth's four children – one boy and three girls – still live in La Paz.

 

'I do not want to return to Bolivia. I've been here a long time and my experiences in Bolivia were very bad. I want my children to come here with me.'

 

Elizabeth had constant struggles with her husband in Bolivia. When she left, he quickly remarried and left her daughters destitute. Elizabeth was able to use her wages to find them a small place to live – but later found that her husband had not been giving them the money she was sending. This meant her children were malnourished and living in poor conditions.

 

'When I went to visit them I didn’t tell them I was coming. I found them sleeping on the floor, the door was made of cardboard, they didn’t even have a bed or a mattress. The place almost caught fire once, there was no hot water, no electricity, and La Paz can get very cold.'

 

Read more at odi.org/global-childcare-crisis

 

Photo: Álvaro Minguito ©ODI

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