In 2016, he received a call from the Victims Unit, which notified him that his compensation process was ready to be effective. "This has been one of the best news of my life, I had never had so much money, besides thinking about how much this represented for my project and to improve the living conditions, I managed to buy a more modern sewing machine", Marlene said when referring to her administrative compensation.

"I took my children forward and I still support them and I did it because I never lowered my head, nor did I recoil from the difficult situations that arose", this is the security with which Marlene Vides Hernández, a victim of forced displacement, expresses herself, born in San Pablo and taken from her two years to the municipality of Puerto Wilches in Santander.

Later, Marlene moved with her parents to "Patico", village of Cantagallo (Bolívar); Apparently, her destination was Puerto Wilches, then, when she turned ten, her parents wanting her to be better academically sent her to her older sister who lived in that Santander municipality.

"At 13 I fell in love for the first time." And, this was the reason that her family sent her to Montelíbano (Córdoba) in order to separate her from that person who considered her the distractor so that Marlene could continue with her academic preparation.

When she turns 17 she returns to Puerto Wilches "I remembered that girl's love and that makes me return to look for what I wanted", Marlene points out, however, that love was not waiting for her and she found him married, so she decided to stay in Puerto Wilches and began to develop domestic service tasks.

At that time she met her husband, a native of Sincelejito, Bolívar, "I fell in love, it was like that love at first sight, I remember that I sang many vallenatos and that made me fall in love more, the one I remember most is a song by Diomedes Díaz which is called "The Brown Window", I felt a love so strong that it led me to escape with him, "says Marlene about how she began the relationship with the father of her three children.

So, this is how at 18 years old living in Sincelejito, Bolívar, his first son was born, Leiner (30 years old), two years later, his second son was born, in the municipality of Montelíbano, who was baptized Guido (26 years old). "Life during that time was very hard, you could not leave in the same place, we had to go from one place to another and many times we went to bed without eating because when her husband went to work at the mine he forgot about us completely, I managed to go to the mine and after being there for two years I gave birth to Ana Isabel, my third daughter, the only woman”, says Marlene.

For this reason, Marlene embarks on a trip to the mine and there, after living two years, her daughter Ana Isabel (23 years old) is born. "At this time the situation became very heavy, because we began to be afraid of the violent events that were happening, fear took over us, I began to feel that they were persecuting us and that is why I looked for a way out of there, we arrived again Sincelejito and although we were able to build a house, we were overcome by fear and we were displaced from there to Puerto Wilches, returning to the place that has always received me throughout my life, she adds.

With these circumstances in the year 2000, Marlene arrives with her three children to Puerto Wilches, "I consider myself persistent, because even though I was once thrown out of the ranch for being in an invasion, I raised it again and today it is the where I live, I also decided to declare the victimizing fact because initially I was afraid, but once again I thought that I could not beat and then I had to wait to be included, and once I achieved that inclusion I had more motivation to move on ".

For the year 2003 her husband returned to his natal Sincelejito and abandoned her with his three children, which is why Marlene had to look for different jobs as a maid, street sweeper, picker of the palm fruit, learned to cut hair, "I I did not stay still, I remember that from the lunch they gave me to sweep the streets I ate with my children.

In the work process, living in Puerto Wilches, Marlene met with her first love, and who is now her husband, this led her to be calmer, because in him she found the support that with the father of her children not had had, and had more time to dedicate to household affairs and decided, in 2007, together with other victims to form a Victims Organization which they called "A future for Colombia", where Marlene became the Secretary.

"The truth was the idea of ​​creating this organization taking into account that I lived many situations and needs at the time I moved, and I attribute that to the lack of knowledge and information about where, when, with whom to contact for the Offers that I had as a victim of  armed conflict and I wanted those who were in the same situation to have the facility that I did not have ", Marlene narrates to refer to the reason that led her to form the organization".

In order to continue with their leadership and entrepreneurship, they formed a group of women who were engaged in clothing and in 2012 we presented a project to the City Hall, however, this time it was not approved.

In 2016, she received a call from the Victims Unit, which notified her that her compensation process was ready to be effective. "This has been one of the best news of my life, I had never had so much money, besides thinking about how much this represented for my project and to improve the living conditions, I managed to buy a more modern sewing machine", Marlene said when referring to her administrative compensation.

And life continues smiling to Marlene, because in 2016, the Victims Unit, managed resources through the Government of Santander and, in turn, articulated with the Municipal Administration, provided technical assistance to improve the project that had been presented in 2012 by those women dedicated to clothing, and that this time was approved and supported.

This project consisted in being able to train with SENA support in embroidery and confection of blouses, shirts and pants, in which each of its beneficiaries received a flat machine and an industrial filing machine, as well as supplies of fabrics and other clothing elements.

"When the project was approved I felt very happy, they gave us more than we expected, I thank the Victims Unit, the officials in Magdalena Medio for insisting on that accompaniment and for still continuing the growth process of our life project, well I consider it. I used to just tug pants, take hems, arrange clothes, but now I am a woman who makes and dare much more, so much so that sometimes I do not have time for all the work that comes to me ", are Marlene's Vides words of thanks.

"It is important that the Victims Unit continue to support as you have to date those who have requirements for their condition as victims and I thank them for being in the right moment contributing to my life to find a solution. Behind me there are many more stories, I tell these people not to get tired, that they do not waste the opportunities offered by God and the different institutions that keep their projects alive”, she concluded.