Dear Friends,
Another
difficult year has passed, full of challenges and
losses, but also successes and joy. I am sure God allows
us to face the occasional challenge to test us. But if
we stay strong and faithful, rewards come our way.
Many of
these rewards come from you, our faithful friends from
all over the world. As I keep saying, we are very
grateful, and can only hope that the Good Lord above
will reward you, because I down here below cannot.
Thank you so
very much for all your donations and regular monthly
contributions for our children. Much of the money, is
always used for school fees and other school-related
expenses.
Just to give you a little bit of information about our
big Kasisi family, I would like to let you know that we
now take care of 240 children who live here with us and
over 60 children who have been discharged from Kasisi
but we still support them (and their families) with
school fees, food, clothing, medication and many more
things that they need in their daily life.
We help a mother and her six children who have been
brought to us some years back. The mother is a very good
and hard-working woman suffering from chronic disease.
She became homeless after her husband chased her away
and took another wife. Now that her children are older
and they have very good results at school, we have
managed to put three of them in the boarding schools and
the other three are still with us. To let them enjoy
some time during holidays with their good mother, we
bought for them a piece of land and we are helping the
mother to build a small house where she can live with
her children in the future. She does all she can to
support herself selling fish and vegetables that she
grows in her garden and she is very grateful for help
and for a rare opportunity to have her children with her
from time to time.
In the last few months, we have also helped many
patients in Cancer Hospital in Lusaka by providing food,
medicines and paying for transport when they were coming
for treatment or when they were going back home. For
those who needed palliative care, we would find a place
in the hospice for them and we would cover all the
costs. Our involvement in helping Cancer patients
started last year when we faced the sad reality of our
Christopher losing his short battle with leukemia.
We also have regular visits from the poorest of the poor
who come every month to get food and a bit of money that
help them survive in this difficult time of Covid-19.
There is also a lot of good development at our Kasisi
home. Boys' house has been beautifully renovated and
improved. They have nice bedrooms with enough space, a
big sitting room with games, TV and musical instruments.
Their house is surrounded with plants and flowers which
are loved by us and some snakes from time to time!
The next project that will help us to help our children
is construction of the new physiotherapy building. We
have two physiotherapists who make everything possible
to help our 24 children with special needs as well as
other children from the villages around Kasisi.
We are also
planning to construct a big library where our children
and workers will be able to read all sorts of wonderful
books.
At present, oftentimes we have to deal with power cuts
which results in shortage of water. This inspired us to
dig wells with hand water pumps in different areas of
Kasisi Children’s Home. Their existence will assure us
that we will have water at any time we need it.
All these great things are happening because of all of
you, our Kasisi Friends and Supporters. Without your
loving help we would not be able to give our children
the life they deserve. May your good deeds come back to
you through God's blessings this Christmas time. May
Joy, Peace and Love be always part of your life. We
assure you of our prayers and sincere gratitude for
everything you do for us.
With love and prayer
Sr. Mariola |