Walk with Me

Walk with me was founded in 2020, by Luisa Cespedes, a Christian counsellor, passionate about social work and committed to children. Luisa believes that God has a special purpose for each person and that we should fight against children’s abuse so their hearts are protected from any harmful practices. 

Growing up in a country like Colombia, where the rates of child sexual abuse are high, Luisa had two personal experiences, one of sexualisation at an early age and another at school, while doing her social work, where she met a victim of child sexual abuse who presented herself as male because she thought being a woman was the cause of her abuse. This story and her personal experiences marked Luisa's life and became her motivation to generate sensitivity and change in the face of the reality of child abuse

From this experience, Luisa wrote her first book "El Cofre de Martina" (Martina's Chest), with illustrations by Bibiana Puente. The book seeks through Martina's story to prevent any kind of child abuse and also to raise awareness to guard the hearts of children and young people because we believe what the Word of God says: "Take care of your heart because from it flows life".  

Through the book and Walk with Me foundation, Luisa and her collaborators including Johana Nikepha, Karina Bolivar, Mauricio Rodriguez, Alejandra Carreon and Paula Acosta, Maria del Rosario Chacon and Edison Cespedes work to combat the indiscriminate spread of child abuse rates. This team is aware that there is a lack of knowledge, empathy and awareness about sexual abuse and therefore, it is necessary to raise awareness among the population, understanding that everyone is exposed to this situation, some at higher levels than others, but ultimately, it is a problem that has no distinction of race, religion, culture, socioeconomic status, territory, or age. Therefore, our goal is to reduce the rates of child abuse, help victims to end any destructive cycle, to heal and prevent them from becoming perpetrators. 
  
We believe that healthy families allow children to contribute to society, which reduces crime rates, reduces cases of mental health problems, criminal costs and has a positive impact on other *Social, *Cultural, *Artistic, *Educational, *Economic areas.