Oswaldo B. once had a life he had worked hard to build. In Venezuela, he ran his own business and had stability and plans for his family’s future. When the country’s economic and political crisis made that life impossible to sustain, he did what so many others have had to do — he left, crossing into Ecuador with his children and the hope of starting fresh.
The road forward wasn’t easy. The children’s mother traveled to Peru for work, and the family eventually followed. But the situation there proved difficult and exploitative, and they returned to Ecuador to begin again. Then, not long after, Oswaldo faced one of the most difficult moments of his life: the children’s mother left the home, taking their oldest son with her. Oswaldo has been raising, protecting, and providing for his three younger children on his own ever since.
What strikes people who meet Oswaldo is not just what he has been through — it’s who he is on the other side of it. There is a real tenderness and patience in the way he is with his kids, a quiet determination to give them a stable, dignified life even when the circumstances around him are anything but.
Every day he keeps showing up for them with resilience and hope. That, more than anything, defines him.
Since February of this year, Oswaldo and his children have been part of the Pan de Vida community after a friend pointed him toward the foundation. Since then, the family has received grocery support, medical care for the children, and access to programs like VBS — somewhere his kids can simply be kids, learning and playing alongside others who care about them.
Oswaldo’s story is a reminder that even after experiencing loss, migration, and moments of deep uncertainty, God continues to sustain families. Even in the midst of hardship, he continues moving forward with a firm faith in Christ and the desire to build a different future for his children, trusting that they have not been forgotten by God.
His story is still being written. But it’s one worth knowing.
Your support helps Pan de Vida walk alongside families like Oswaldo’s — providing practical care and a community that doesn’t let people walk through hard seasons alone.
Learn more at pandevida.org.ec