Santa Teresita Home
Since 1998, Erika has lived in San Luis as a volunteer, seeking to support the most vulnerable people in the most neglected communities of the highlands: malnourished children, the terminally ill, abandoned chronically ill patients, people with mental illness, and single mothers in difficult circumstances. Moved by such widespread need, she envisioned and created a home primarily for abandoned elderly people, to accompany them in their final years so they would not be left alone in their mud houses in the high Andes.
With the support of many benefactors, as well as Caritas of Milan, this project was made a reality and inaugurated in 2001 by Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini.
The home welcomes elderly people who have no family, who are completely alone and unable to care for themselves. Others are supported in their own homes through visits by catechists and members of parish youth groups from various communities. The Chacas hospital identifies those who need to be admitted to the home due to serious health conditions.
At the same time, targeted support is provided to single mothers, children with disabilities, and adults with psychiatric disorders through medication, food supplies, and assistance at the clinic or through home visits. In some cases, they are also offered short-term accommodation to help them learn how to manage their treatment or care for their children.
The dream is to help more people and to inspire in catechists and assistants a deep sense of dedication and compassion toward the most vulnerable and abandoned in our communities.
Through her dedication, Erika also collaborates in the formation of young women, accompanying them as they discover their vocation of service to the poor and the sick.
It is an immense and ongoing work: seeing how they care for the elderly is something that truly touches the heart.