Inside Casa de la Amistad

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Not long ago, trips to Mexico City filled Luz with fear — tears, long bus rides and the dread of what waited at the hospital.

Today, she runs through Casa de la Amistad center like she belongs.

Bright colored paintings stretch across the floor under Luz’s feet as she strides down the hallways, moving past bedrooms, classrooms and a chapel.

At Casa de la Amistad, a multi-floor residence in Mexico City, Luz walks with the kind of confidence that didn’t come easy.  

They call her Lucha or Luchita, fighter or little fighter.

The nickname follows Luz wherever she goes in the building, from the dining room where the chef greets her to the playground where she runs and giggles like any other child. Other times, she creates crafts, and flips through books and when she’s feeling well, she heads to a classroom where she learns to spell and count. When she walks hand-in-hand with other little girls along the corridors, volunteers refer to them as the comadres, loosely translated as the girlfriends.    

For Luz and her mom, Rosario, Casa de la Amistad’s building is more than a place to live while in Mexico City. It’s a place that provides warm meals, comfort and friendships during one of the most frightening times of their lives as Luz receives treatment for blood cancer. 

“Here at Casa de la Amistad, they offered us a sense of safety more than anything, and here they taught Luz to let go of her fear,” Rosario said. “Here, she has learned to be more independent. She goes around, goes up and down (the stairs to the kitchen) and visits the chefs.” 

Casa de la Amistad is a nonprofit that provides holistic, no-cost care to children and youths with cancer from underserved communities across Mexico. Starting in 2016, the foundation and St. Jude Global have partnered to increase childhood cancer survival rates in Mexico through a program called Mexico in Alliance with St. Jude (MAS ). Having celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2026, the program aims to standardize and modernize childhood cancer care across Mexico and eliminate survival disparities by centralizing diagnostics and improving early detection. As a foundation member of the St. Jude Global Alliance, Casa de la Amistad receives training to help them optimize their fundraising efforts.

Collaborating with 30 hospitals in 21 Mexican states, Casa de la Amistad offers patients housing and transportation to and from medical appointments, as well as medical and oncology support. It provides medications, diagnostic tests, prosthetics and the necessary care to improve a child’s chances of survival. When children and their parents head home between medical treatments, bags of food containing oatmeal, beans, milk and pasta are provided, helping ensure patients continue to receive nutritious meals while away. 

Casa de la Amistad is funded by supporters and offers both educational support and counseling to families on-site. It ensures children can continue learning through classes and activities, so they stay on track academically, while also providing emotional, psychological and grief support to families. 

Its school program, certified by the Ministry of Education, is staffed by four teachers and offers in-person and online classes. Blanca Leon, who oversees the program, emphasized that education has always been a cornerstone of the support services provided. She said when parents first arrive, they are focused on their child’s treatment and schooling takes a back seat. But eventually, she said, they realize how beneficial it can be for their children’s well-being. 

“With the classes, their child will be able to return to school at the corresponding level and that helps build their self-esteem and confidence, and they won’t feel left behind,” Leon said. 

Work-development opportunities are offered for older patients, many of whom have completed treatment, giving them a chance to explore their interests while building practical skills. Moms are also given the opportunity to learn nail-painting and cross-stitching that could help them earn a little more once they return home. 

“It’s a way for them to learn how to support themselves with a skill they may not have had before,” said Leonardo Arana, chief executive officer.  “We have to give them hope. I want them to see that after they go through all of this, there is life.”  

Among patients enrolled in classes is Asher, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2023 when he was 4 years old. His mom, Fortina, said she hasn’t enrolled her son at school near their home yet because of his ongoing treatment. When Asher returns home, which is about an 8-hour bus ride from Mexico City, he connects to his classroom at Casa de la Amistad remotely for a few hours a day.  

“The teacher tells him what to do, and he sits at the table and works on the activity assigned,” his mom said. “But he likes to be here more (at Casa) than to be online.” 

When Luz, the youngest of three, was first diagnosed with leukemia at 3 years old in early 2025, checkups and treatments meant endless poking and prodding, leaving her afraid and in tears, recalled Rosario. When they boarded a bus to the capital, Luz used to pound on the windows, crying out to her aunts, pleading to them not to let her go. As they passed terrain dotted with cacti and rocky hillsides, Luz eventually slept, and Rosario’s thoughts spun with worry.

Rosario felt lonely in Mexico City. During those first days at Casa de la Amistad, Luz, unsure and upset, kept close to her mother, not yet ready to trust those around her. But with the help of a psychologist, Luz began to show her true personality. 

“She started to learn to express what she was feeling, and then she started to talk more,” Rosario said.  

Slowly, Luz began to explore the center by participating in kid-friendly activities. She made friends, looked for her teachers and confidently entered classrooms filled with books, wanting to learn. Long stretches were spent on the playground. 

On days when Luz was feeling the effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment, the center was her preferred place to heal. “She always liked to be there because she says there are no doctors there, or syringes,” Rosario said. 

Sometimes, Luz longs to return to Mexico City —back to the center of Casa de la Amistad.

“I have to remind her that it’s not yet time to return,” her mom said.   

It is estimated that 400,000 children worldwide develop cancer every year, and half of them are never diagnosed. In many low- and middle-income countries, less than 30% survive due to the lack of access to quality care. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital believes children all over the world deserve the same chance at survival and is working with doctors and foundations across the globe to make that dream a reality.