Many children from the forest have no money for food. They are unable to pay monthly fees or buy uniforms, and the like. For some of them it is the first time they use a colour pencil, or paint or a ball. Thanks to our benefactors they now have the opportunity to learn to read and write, to get to know their country, to learn English and get a job. The needs are many but the Salesians are doing all they can to assist the poorest and to ensure that they do not waste the opportunities they receive.
Josephine belongs to the oratory in Kazembe. She has completed seventh grade in primary school. She is a Catholic. She lives with her parents and her three sisters and three brothers. She was included in the Distance Adoption programme but then they realized that the child had been sold by her parents to a 34-year-old man for 300 kwacha (30 dollars). Josephine presented herself at the police station. Fr Slawomir went to the child's home to talk with her mother, who in turn, asked forgiveness from her daughter and broke the contract with the man.
One of the reasons parents take this type of decision is the extreme poverty in which they live. Josephine can now rest easy until the end of her studies because she has the support of Distance Adoption. The child lives about an hour’s walk away from the Salesian House but nevertheless she is always the first to arrive for Mass at 7.00 a.m. She takes part in the oratory in the afternoon and again she is the first to arrive.
Fr Slawomir feels very grateful to God for the benefactors. Thanks to them the Salesians can help the needy. "My greatest joy is to see the children walking along in their white shirts and going to school. Thanks to the Distance Adoption programme, I also see hope in the eyes of their parents," he said.
