In autumn 2006, one of our Sisters Sr. Luiza started a new project in the village of Luizi Calugara with children from very poor families living on rubbish dumps. Somehow, finding where to start wasn’t very difficult, as the village is very big and there are so many families with children living in appalling poverty. After Sr. Luiza visited the families, she got in touch with the local doctor and primary school teachers and she set up a special room for more than twenty of the worst cases in our new Divine Mercy house. All of these children are between 7 and 12 years old. and all of them have serious health problems because of where they live and the terrible lack of basic hygiene.

The first purchase Sr. Luiza had to make for the house was a washing machine to wash the children’s clothes. The next job was to install a shower to wash the children. There were problems with heating all the hot water needed, so a large boiler is now a priority.

After school, the kids come straight into the Divine Mercy Centre, where they get something to eat and then they start doing homework with Sr. Luiza to help with their education needs. I visited the centre several times during lunch hour and it is quite touching to see the children being so grateful just for receiving food. It was probably the first time they were allowed to eat their fill. Sr. Luiza makes a lunch for them going to school but many start eating this going out the door.