Fight For What's Right
Donation protected
In 2009, my life was changed forever when I moved to a little town called Mazabuka, Zambia (Africa) to help the Salesian Sisters build a school and housing project for girls who are at-risk or abused in their own homes. The place is called City of Joy.
I only stayed six months, but in the 5 years since, I have remained in close contact with the Sister Agness Mukoma and the Salesian nuns who live and work there, and even visited again in 2012. The campus has grown, adding more houses, and sustainable fish ponds and chicken coops to make the project more self-sufficient. Of course as the compound has grown, so has the population, from only 5 girls in 2009 to over 50 - ranging in age from 8-21. Of course this means that the cost of maintaining a safe and productive environment has also grown. Any and all funds raised will be deposited directly into the City of Joy account to be used at the discretion of Sister Agness, who is effectively mother and mentor to all of the girls and young women at City of Joy.
The reality of where many of the girls at City of Joy come from is beyond difficult. In many cases, they are victims of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of their family members or those closest to them. Most previously lived in poverty. In Zambia, there is no social-services infrastructure to save them. Places like City of Joy are the ONLY chance they have. But this is not a sob story. I have seen first hand that the care and safety provided at City of Joy truly does save these girls. They are loved, supported, educated, and rehabilitated by the family environment provided by the Salesian community. You would be hard-pressed to find any place where the triumph of compassion and love over evils such as abuse are on more obvious display.
Seeing the project come to fruition and do the work intended has been one of the great joys of my life. I intend to see it survive and thrive.
Hopefully you can help.
I only stayed six months, but in the 5 years since, I have remained in close contact with the Sister Agness Mukoma and the Salesian nuns who live and work there, and even visited again in 2012. The campus has grown, adding more houses, and sustainable fish ponds and chicken coops to make the project more self-sufficient. Of course as the compound has grown, so has the population, from only 5 girls in 2009 to over 50 - ranging in age from 8-21. Of course this means that the cost of maintaining a safe and productive environment has also grown. Any and all funds raised will be deposited directly into the City of Joy account to be used at the discretion of Sister Agness, who is effectively mother and mentor to all of the girls and young women at City of Joy.
The reality of where many of the girls at City of Joy come from is beyond difficult. In many cases, they are victims of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of their family members or those closest to them. Most previously lived in poverty. In Zambia, there is no social-services infrastructure to save them. Places like City of Joy are the ONLY chance they have. But this is not a sob story. I have seen first hand that the care and safety provided at City of Joy truly does save these girls. They are loved, supported, educated, and rehabilitated by the family environment provided by the Salesian community. You would be hard-pressed to find any place where the triumph of compassion and love over evils such as abuse are on more obvious display.
Seeing the project come to fruition and do the work intended has been one of the great joys of my life. I intend to see it survive and thrive.
Hopefully you can help.
Organizer
Sean O'Connell
Organizer
Salt Lake City, UT
