She was working as a
volunteer in the maternity clinic at one of the largest hospitals in
Cartagena, Colombia. At that time -- October 2000 -- such incidents
weren't that unusual; on average, at least one infant a day died at the
overcrowded and underfunded facility. But when Escobar learned that the
baby's teenage mother had not been able to raise the money for treatment
that would've saved his life, she was crushed.
"His mother [needed] $30 that I had in my pocket. I will never forget that," she said. "It was a preventable death."
Less than a week later,
Escobar endured another, more personal loss: her second son,
16-month-old Juan Felipe, died in a tragic accident when he fell from
the balcony of her home. She was overwhelmed by grief.
"It was agony," said Escobar. "I didn't want any mother to feel the same pain, so ... I took action."
The successful
businesswoman sold her international trading company and dedicated
herself to helping the city's most impoverished children and their young
mothers. In the last 10 years, her Juan Felipe Gomez Escobar Foundation
-- named for her late son -- has brought health care to tens of
thousands of children in Cartagena and provided more than 2,000 teenage
mothers with counseling, education and job training.
At first, Escobar focused
on lowering the infant mortality rate at the hospital where she'd
volunteered. It was more than double the national average. She built a
state-of-the-art neo-natal unit, brought in experts to train the
clinic's staff and established a program to cover the medical costs for
babies born to impoverished mothers. Five years later, the rate of
infant deaths at the hospital had dropped 67%.
From the start, Escobar
noticed that 70% of the mothers she was working with were between the
ages of 14 and 16. Most lived in the slums outside of the city, which have grown during the last decade as people have fled violence in the northern areas of the country.
"You see these girls, [with] their tiny faces ... they're babies holding babies," said Escobar, 42.
She realized that the
only way to ensure the long-term health of the children was to enable
these teenage girls to break the cycle of poverty.
"When a girl gets
pregnant, she drops out of school. ... Next year, she's going to be
pregnant again," Escobar said. "She's repeating the same patterns of the
mother, the grandmother."
The Colombian government reports that nearly 20% of girls between 15 and 19 years old are or have been pregnant -- nearly triple the U.S. rate.
In Cartagena, where one-third of residents live at or below the poverty
line, it's an equation that means these young mothers have very little
chance of improving their lives.
Escobar is hoping to
change that through her teen mothers program, which aims to teach young
women how to support themselves and their children. It started with just
30 girls in 2002, but it has expanded in the last decade. With the
opening of her foundation's new center last year, 400 pregnant teens and
young mothers now enroll every year.
Built in one of the
city's many slums, the center is an elegant, modern structure, equipped
with a daycare, medical center, cafeteria and classrooms. It's light
years away from the impoverished world of these teen mothers. For
Escobar, that's the whole point.
"When they come here, this is a piece of heaven [on] Earth," she said. "They deserve the very best."
For the first year,
young mothers come to the center every weekday, leaving their babies at
the daycare while they attend classes. They receive instruction on basic
hygiene -- many have never encountered indoor plumbing before -- and
learn how to care for their infants. Because food is often scarce at
home, the girls also receive a hearty hot lunch.
During the first six
months, the teens take part in therapy sessions to help them understand
their new reality and responsibilities. Escobar says that many of the
teens she's worked with have been victims of rape and sexual abuse, so
counselors work intensively with each girl. The goal is to help them
come to terms with their past so they can focus on the future.
The center also teaches teenage mothers about reproductive health and contraception.
"Girls tell me they
don't understand how they got pregnant. They think it's from a kiss,"
Escobar said. "They don't know that the option of using condoms exists."
While the program aims
to prevent future pregnancies, Escobar also wants to give these young
mothers the tools they need to change their lives. The girls can finish
high school on site, take computer classes or learn vocational skills
like sewing or jewelry-making. The teens also make and sell products at
the center's bakery, which helps fund the program, and the foundation
offers micro-loans to help them start their own businesses.
The program also helps
mothers find jobs or provides them scholarships to help them continue
their education at a trade school or university. The teens return to the
center every week so Escobar's staff can track their progress and
assist with any problems. Within two to four years, Escobar wants her
girls to be providing for their families and be on their way to a better
life. She says that two-thirds of those who've completed the program
have gone on to find jobs.
"I want my girls to be
empowered," she said. "Earning money provides them with independence and
allows them to gain back control of their lives."
That's exactly what
Yerlis Bautista has been able to do. She dropped out of school when she
got pregnant at 16, but through Escobar's foundation, she enrolled in a
beauty salon course. She recently earned her diploma, an accomplishment
that makes her glow with pride.
"I feel great, since I
was able to accomplish a goal that I had wanted," Bautista said. "Now I
am working in the best beauty salon ... earning a good salary."
She said Escobar and the program gave her a new outlook on life.
"It is better to go
forward with my future, to not just sit around like other girls," she
said. "Because I have been a fighter, I have found a better future for
my child. ... I will keep fighting so he can have everything."
Escobar believes that
attitude change is what will help these young mothers have long-term
success. For her, each girl she helps is cause for celebration.
"These teen mothers are my own daughters," Escobar said. "When they get here and they make it through, I feel so proud of them."
Escobar is always
looking for more ways to have more impact. In 2005, she established a
medical clinic that has provided health care to more than 84,000
low-income residents of the community -- mostly young mothers and their
children. And she's planning to build an early childhood education
center where the girls can bring their children ages 1-5. In the coming
years, she is hoping to expand her program throughout Colombia.
While Escobar has accomplished a great deal in the last decade, one thing is clear: Her personal war on poverty has just begun.
"I'm so passionate about
it because we are seeing progress. ... We are changing the lives of
these girls," Escobar said. "I wake up every single morning thinking,
'What else can I do to help them?' "
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