We invite you to support missionary stations in Bolivia, Chad, and Congo.

"Teenage mothers, victims of rape, are unable to cope mentally and ask us to take care of their children because they cannot bear to look at a child that reminds them of their trauma. One of them tried to poison her daughter, little Sofia. The girl was miraculously saved. Today she is six years old. She is very petite but happy, has friends, and goes to school. After four years of absence, her mother returned. The sight of Sofia, alive and happy, was a sign of blessing and forgiveness for the evil she had done to her child in the past," Sister Anna Kurysz, a member of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart and director of the shelter in Cochabamba, describes the situation, adding: "At our altitude of over 2,500 meters above sea level, the temperature changes are drastic. We don't have heating in the house, so we wear sweaters and hats to sleep because it's hard to fall asleep when you're shivering from the cold." We want to finish replacing the windows in the St. Francis Girls' Home, which was started thanks to the "Give Warmth" campaign, and paint the children's rooms, which have not been renovated for many years. To achieve this goal, we need PLN 61,500.

"I am literally building the parish of Saint Maximilian Kolbe in Lai, Chad, from scratch. When, in 2021, the bishop entrusted me with organizing its material structures, I was terrified! I had only four hectares of bare land at my disposal. Since then, thanks also to the help of the Dehonian Missionary Family, a chapel, a primary school, a health center, and a church (shell) have been built on the mission grounds. Since September 2024, I have been assisted in the parish by nuns who came from Burkina Faso. Both they and I live on the bishopric grounds. The parish is three kilometers away, so every day we commute there as if we were going to work. We would very much like to live on the mission grounds to be close to the people, and so that the sisters can lead a religious life according to the charism of their congregation. I am asking for your help in the amount of PLN 268,100 for the construction of a convent for the sisters. My parishioners are mostly poor farmers who cultivate up to two hectares of land by hand. Their main concern is what they will feed their children today. Raising the above amount is completely beyond our reach," describes Father Jakub Szałek, a missionary from the Diocese of Bydgoszcz.

The third place we want to help is an orphanage run by the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary in Mikalaya, Congo. The children there live in very modest conditions, as evidenced by the facility's budget, which amounts to PLN 29,500... per year! We want to give the children new mattresses, because they currently sleep on metal bunk beds with "mattresses" consisting of a few centimeters of foam... The cost of purchasing new mattresses is PLN 14,250. "My name is Victorine Tshibola. I was born on March 30, 2011. I was taken to an orphanage when I was two weeks old, after my mother died. Since then, no one from my family has visited me. I saw my father for the first time when I was in second grade, even though our family village is not far from the mission. I saw him again during my First Communion when I was 12 years old - this time he came to take me away and marry me off against my will. I begged the Sisters of Charity not to let me go. I am currently in the first grade of high school. I want to continue my education. Thank you."

PROJECT SUMMARY

We are proud to announce that the “Empty Seat at the Table 2025” campaign was a success!

1. Replacement of windows at the St. Francis Home for Girls in Cochabamba

One of the biggest daily challenges for the children in the “Adoption of Love” project is the Bolivian winter. Starting in June, temperatures here drop as low as 0°C, and the house has no central heating. The old wooden windows, over 30 years old, were drafty, letting in cold and moisture. Replacing them became an urgent necessity – an investment in the children’s health, safety, and decent living conditions.

Thanks to the support of our Donors, we were able to raise funds to purchase and install modern double-pane windows. Sister Anna Kurysz SSCJ, director of the orphanage in Cochabamba, expressed her gratitude to the donors from Poland:

Dear Donors,
Hogar de Niñas San Francisco is, above all, home to the 60 girls who live here. Over the years, this place has become a family home for them. The orphanage has been operating for over 30 years and has provided a safe haven for many girls. Some of them have lived with us since they were one or two years old.

After so many years, the house is in need of major repairs – not just patching up the holes caused by frequent earthquakes. It has always been difficult for us to get through the winter, as temperatures drop to freezing, and our modest, very thin windows and cracked frames fail to keep the heat inside the house. We put on sweatsuits and hats to sleep, and even then it’s hard to fall asleep when it’s so cold.

We thank every single Donor from the bottom of our hearts for every zloty donated toward replacing the windows in our home. We certainly would never have been able to raise the necessary amount of money on our own, because daily expenses, skyrocketing prices, and the lack of support from the Bolivian government make it a struggle to meet all our needs and not send anyone out onto the street due to a lack of funds... The donations you have made have both a material and a spiritual dimension for us, because each one is a “green light” showing us that you care about our lives. We thank you once again with all our hearts and pray for each of you in our daily Rosary prayer in our home chapel.

With the gift of prayer
+ Sister Anna

The total amount of aid was 148,865 PLN – this also includes funds for repainting the children’s rooms. The remaining funds will be allocated to the day-to-day operations of the orphanage as part of the “Adoption of Love” project. Thank you!

2. Construction of a monastery in Lai, Chad

Father Jakub Szałek sends greetings from faraway Chad to report on the progress of construction of a convent for the sisters from his parish in Lai:

Praise be to Jesus Christ!
We’ve managed to dig and pour the foundations. We’ve laid out the entire sewer system and dug two septic tanks. We’ve also poured a concrete floor throughout the entire house. As part of the finishing work, we’ll install tiles in all the rooms.

The next step will be building the walls. It won’t take us long. Over the next month, we’ll try to build the walls up to the ceiling. Then we’ll prepare to pour the floor slab. This will be the most labor-intensive and difficult task, because everything has to be done by hand: mixing the concrete and carrying it up in buckets. There are no concrete mixers or mechanized equipment for such work here. Everything must be done by hand. The house will consist of: a chapel, a large dining room with a kitchenette, six bedrooms with bathrooms, a storage room, a guest restroom, and a laundry room.

My parishioners, the nuns, and above all, I am very happy that the construction work is proceeding smoothly. This would not be possible without your financial support from Poland. Thank you very, very much. We repay you with our prayers. May the Good Lord bless you all.

With a priest's blessing
+ Fr. Jakub – a missionary from Chad

In response to the missionary’s request, we have donated 268,100 PLN toward the construction of the monastery. Construction is underway, and we will certainly keep you updated on its completion.

3. New mattresses for children at the Mikalaya orphanage in the Congo

The photos of children sleeping on tattered, worn-out, and dirty mattresses, without any sheets, broke our hearts. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to change that. The cost of replacing the mattresses amounted to the requested 14,250 PLN. However, our support for the orphanage run by the Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus and Mary in Mikalaya does not end there. Thanks to the generosity of the our Donors, we have also already donated funds to purchase new beds.