Colombia

The San Bernardo neighborhood, in the center of Bogotá, has 7,400 inhabitants, of whom 20% (around 1,500 people) live in poverty. To this number must be added the homeless population, not included in the census, which the parish community estimates at around 1,500 people.

In recent years, San Bernardo has also become one of the city’s main drug dealing hotspots, with multiple situations of social vulnerability.

In this context, the Parroquia Nuestra Señora de los Dolores continues to be a spiritual and social reference point, offering support, listening, and hope to a community that faces abandonment, poverty, and marginalization on a daily basis.

Since 2025, we have been collaborating with the Parroquia Nuestra Señora de los Dolores and the lay community Sembrando para Dios to provide a concrete response to the homeless people of the San Bernardo neighborhood.

We currently run a social canteen that distributes a meal to 1,200 people every Sunday morning, but our goal is to keep the service open every day of the week.