What is the Happy Hearts of Colombia's Mission?
It helps children of school age in Colombia, providing them with clothes, school supplies and toys that allow them to fulfill their education, enjoying a happy and peaceful childhood.
Helping those in need is not only part of duty, but also part of happiness.
How did it begin?
This mission began when its creator traveled to the United States and discovered that the children's infancy was very different from what she saw in Colombia. For this reason, she began to get clothes, household items, school supplies and toys to send to Colombia.
In 1999 the Happy Hearts of Colombia's Mission found an orphanage called "La Casa de la Joven", there were 51 girls there, there she felt her calling to serve and from that moment on every time she traveled to Colombia, she brought gifts for them. In 2007 the orphanage closed, and she never heard from the girls there again.
Her calling to serve continued, so in 2008, on one of her trips to Colombia, she dedicated herself to helping newborns and single mothers, so she began to project her mission to support school children by bringing them clothes and school supplies. During all this time it continued to be a small mission driven solely by Lucia Mejia and her children.
In 2011 Mrs. Jeanne Hooper joined this mission, cooperating with the resources that were delivered to the children and helping to make more people know about Happy Hearts, so they could receive many more donations from people who were linked to the mission. They began to create new strategies such as raffles and empanada sales, and with the money they were able to send boxes of school supplies and children's clothing to Colombia. At the beginning they were able to take between 30 and 40 aids, they were able to increase to 60 and 70, up to the point of being able to deliver in 2018, 147 donations.
Happy Hearts of Colombia Mission has been able to reach different parts of the country, La Virginia, Pereira, Viterbo, Andalucía and many more. In churches of different denominations the priests and pastors help to gather the children in groups of 25 or 30 children, there they hold a gathering with refreshments and give them the donations.
