For the community surrounding the Lenny Peters Home in Manizales, Colombia, August 10 began like any other day. Then, within seconds, an earthquake changed life for families throughout the area.
The Lenny Peters Foundation responded by supporting families connected to the Home as they began to recover. But the Foundation’s relationship with this community began long before the earthquake.
Building a Community in Manizales
The Lenny Peters Home in Manizales is the Foundation’s first home in South America and its 14th worldwide. It continues work the Bright Minds Foundation started in 2020 to support individuals with cognitive and physical disabilities and create more opportunities for inclusion and independence.
That work reaches into different parts of everyday life.
The Mentes Brillantes Soccer Club brings together 60 boys and girls through sports. The Vanilla and Chocolate Project provides recreational and cultural activities, while other initiatives help people facing barriers to education and connect participants with training and employment opportunities.
Earlier this year, another LPF video showed that mission in action during Champions Day. Children and adults with disabilities participated in adapted sports and recreational activities designed around movement, engagement and teamwork. The focus was not on what participants could not do, but on giving everyone an opportunity to take part.
Together, these programs have helped create a community in Manizales where people with disabilities can participate, learn, build relationships and have opportunities to grow.
When the Community Needed Help
Months later, that community faced a very different challenge.
Leaders at the home shared that families connected to the Manizales community lost homes, personal belongings and sources of income following the Aug. 10 earthquake. Families who had come together through the Home’s programs were suddenly beginning the difficult process of rebuilding their lives.
Dr. Lenny Peters and the Foundation supported affected families during that period.
In a message following the earthquake, Lyda Sinai-Betancourt, Lenny Peters Foundation Director for South America, and Patricia Betancourt of Lenny Peters Foundation Manizales, Colombia shared what that assistance meant to the people they serve. They emphasized that Dr. Peters’ support reminded families that they were not alone during an uncertain time, stating, “In the midst of this tragedy, Lenny Peters’ kindness and generosity became a light of hope.”
They also made clear that recovery is not finished. Families continue to face needs as they work to rebuild their lives.
A Commitment That Continues
The needs in Manizales may have changed after the earthquake, but the relationship behind the Foundation’s work did not.
Before Aug. 10, that meant creating opportunities through sports, recreation, education and employment initiatives. After the earthquake, it also meant responding when families connected to that same community suddenly needed help in a different way.
The children, adults, families and caregivers served by the Lenny Peters Home remain at the center of that work. As recovery continues, so will the programs and relationships that brought this community together before the earthquake.
For the Lenny Peters Foundation, standing with Manizales is not only about responding to one difficult moment. It is about continuing to show up for a community it was already there to serve.