LEONOR PORTELA
2010 HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Misioneros del Camino
Guatemala
In 1961, Leonor Portela was widowed with a six month old son after her husband’s military airplane crashed into the ocean. In 1976, she traveled from Miami to Guatemala to care for victims of a devastating earthquake that left 23,000 people dead and 100,000 injured. Since then, Leonor has been on a mission to care for the orphaned, abandoned, and malnourished children of Guatemala.
Since the 1980s, Leonor rescued children from the streets and saved the “throw away children” brought to her by the Guatemalan police. In 1986 she founded her organization, Misioneros del Camino, which has now given thousands of orphans a safe home, an education, medical treatment and hope for a better future. Leonor used World of Children funds by serving a long waiting list of children in need of help.
Sadly, Leonor passed away on 8 March 2015 after a long life of dedicated service to children.