The Foundation Senor San Jose was started by Sister Edith Suazo Fernandez on August 16, 2004.  After serving 16 years in the Immaculate Conception congregation of Franciscan nuns, Sister Edith renounced her sisterhood to follow a new path in her life—serving the most poor.  She drew her inspiration from the Bible verse of the Beatitudes (Mathew 5: 3-12), which encourages us to live contently and joyfully even in the face of difficulties and persecution. 

The very first building the Foundation inhabited was donated for their use by the then Mayor of the city of La Paz, Carlos Flores Chavarria.  The building didn’t quite provide adequate living conditions given it was missing doors, windows, whole sections of roof, bathrooms, electricity, and water connections.  Sister Edith therefore organized a volunteer group to help with income generating activities to rehabilitate the building.  They began selling food, organizing raffles and donation drives, etc.  Progress was slow until a Puerto Rican and friend of the Foundation, Bill Negrón, arrived and sponsored the final repairs.  In 2006, Sister Edith finally moved into her new home and took in the first two children from a drug-addicted mom. 

Little by little the group grew until they no longer fit in their new building.  On June 19, 2009 the Mayor of the city of La Paz, Danilo Cervantes and the town council decided to relocate the Foundation to a building long abandoned by the Parochial School Our Lacy of Merced.  The building had been abandoned for many years and was practically a public dumping ground.

Since that day on, Sister Edith and innumerable collaborators of the Foundation have been working to reconstruct the edifice to make it inhabitable and spacious enough to accommodate all of the children.  Thanks to divine Providence, the Foundation has found such a steady stream of gracious people willing to share the blessings they’ve been given with those who need it most.

Currently, Sister Edith cares for 17 at-risk children, an older woman in need of supervised care, and a single mother with her son.

La Paz, La Paz                                                                              December 5, 2011