Betty Cecilia Lugo

She died in Maracaibo, on September 23, 2017. Her remains rest in the church "Padre Antonio María Claret" in Maracaibo. She is survived by her son Luis Eduardo Giusti Lugo and her daughters María Elena Giusti Lugo and Claudia Giusti Lugo.

Lugo remained an active benefactress of "La Casa de la Misericordia" for 25 years, until her death in September 2017.

In 2006 she founded in Maracaibo the “Association Zuliana para la Depresion y el Trastorno Bipolar, AZUDEBI (Zulia Association to treat Depression and Bipolar Disorder, AZUDEBI), which was the first initiative in this field in the State of Zulia. It was created as a charity association for providing education, guidance and treatment to people with mood disorders.

During the years Lugo lived in Maracaibo she carried out extensive work as a co-founder of the charity association, "La Casa de la Misericordia". This charity started in 1992, within the school building of "Colegio de la Presentación". It was founded together with the well-known catholic nun "Sister Francisca", with the aim of providing free medical care as well as spiritual support.

She moved to Maracaibo in the 1980s where she founded the first association of the state of Zulia to treat depression and bipolar disorder. She was also co-founder of the charity association "La Casa de la Misericordia" in Maracaibo, where she served as an active benefactress.

In the beginning of the 1980s Betty Lugo lived in Maracaibo. During the years she lived in that city she began a project to help people suffering depression and bipolar disorder. Due to the complexity and relative misinformation of the causes of the disease, giving advice on how to cope with it was considered essential by Lugo. This motivated her to form a psychological and medical group and to create an association dedicated to help people suffering this type of disorder.

AZUPANE-Lagunillas started on May 4, 1974, in a building with large gardens donated by Venezuelan Shell Company. A school bus was lately donated by the business community, to be used for the transportation of the students to the school.

She studied Medicine and Special Education, in Venezuela and in the United States, at the University of Zulia and the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma. At the end of the 1960s, she moved to Lagunillas Municipality, Zulia, where she started the education for children with disabilities in the East Coast of Lake Maracaibo (Costa Oriental del Lago de Maracaibo). In that part of the country is located a main oil production center and the area includes all major cities in the western region of Zulia state.

Betty Cecilia Lugo González (April 20, 1946 – September 23, 2017) was a Venezuelan philanthropist who started Special Education in the eastern region of Zulia State and founded the first Zulia state association for people with depression and bipolar disorder. She was also co-founder of the charity association "La Casa de la Misericordia" in Maracaibo, where she served as an active benefactress for 25 years.

Lugo was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on April 20, 1946. Her parents were Raúl Lugo Montero, born in La Vela de Coro, Falcón State, and Prefect of the Maracaibo District around 1950. Her mother was Dalia Emilia González Palmar de Lugo, born in Maracaibo. She went to primary school in Caracas. She started High School in the United States and finished it in Maracaibo at "Colegio de la Presentación, where she graduated with honors.