Little did five-year-old Maria Luisa Morales know that her life in the town of Santa Teresa, Boyaca Estate of Colombia, would soon be torn apart by war raging between guerilla forces and the Colombian government. Forced to flee barefoot from her town, Maria Luisa learned at far too young an age how to endure the harsh realities of abandonment, abuse, poverty, and more. Deserted by her mother and given away by her grandmother, Maria Luisa eventually lost every last tie to her family, and by 1952 she ended up at the Infant Grange of Father Luna, a Catholic school established for underprivileged children. It was there that she began to envision a better future.
Just when she had started to feel safe, at peace, and hopeful, Maria Luisa was molested by the very priest who had taken her in. Devastated, she escaped her circumstances again and found work as a maid in the Italian Embassy in Bogota. Eventually Maria Luisa courageously made her way to the United States, where she forged a new life.
This is Maria Luisa's triumphant and uplifting true story.
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