Carlos Mario Duque, also known as “Mayayo”, former drug addict and who lived as a beggar, stealing to consume and going through many rehabilitation centers, finally, based upon to his own strength and after 20 years, he was able to overcome such stage in his life and today, at 55, he is a role model. This is why, by an initiative of the social work interns of the “María es mi Madre” (Mary is my Mother) dining room, the psychosocial division of Fundación Proyecto Unión invited Mayayo to share his story with the beneficiaries of the program.
The “María es mi Madre” dining room is a program by Fundación Proyecto Union which, for more than 20 years, has received more than a hundred elderly street dwellers with the purpose of providing them with a warm meal. As part of this very important mission fulfilled by Fundación Proyecto Unión, Mayayo came to the dining room, as a special guest, to share his story with the beneficiaries, for them to learn how Mayayo was able to cope with adversity, setting goals for himself such as completing high-school, working for a company in the plastic transformation industry and paying for his Social Worker studies at Universidad Minuto de Dios, where he is currently studying.
The most important part of this experience is that his life lessons helped to bring together a group of beneficiaries for whom he left a special message about self-improvement, the importance of never giving up, and persevering in the fight for your goals. Those who attended the talk participated actively and shared with other beneficiaries. The Social Work interns Carol Castañeda and Laura López, whom we thank for their valuable work, also participated in this activity.
