This morning, we jumped straight into life at Kasisi, which is organized around the school schedule. We’re checking in on preschoolers and older pupils on their way to school. We also want to take care of overdue organizational tasks, such as long-awaited updates on our children. But that’s just the beginning.

We’re also planning to take a closer look at everything that has changed at Kasisi over the last year in order to plan the next big investment. With your support we can make these plans a reality. Last year, your generosity helped us renovate House of Hope – an on-site hospital which saves lives and nurses children back to health every day. It is one of the most important places at Kasisi.

After the renovation, the hospital gained: a refurbished treatment room with a drug storage space, a modern ultrasound, automated lab for bloodwork, EKG, microscope for malaria diagnosis and four patient rooms with bathrooms (with 2-3 beds per room). We also bought animated movies for kids to watch and colorful bedding to provide them with a welcome distraction from their health problems. HOH also has a physical rehabilitation room where children with physical disorders exercise daily. The ambulance  we purchased with your support is always on standby in case a patient has to be transferred to the hospital in Lusaka (located about 40 km away).

The pandemic has helped us realize the importance of increasing our diagnostic capabilities.

We are seeing more and more children with serious health problems. 54 of our patients have HIV or AIDS, 4 suffer from tuberculosis. We also look after patients with sickle cell anemia, lung diseases, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and albinism. Children who are referred to us by social services or brought by the police are often malnourished and have ringworm or chronic infections, which we treat immediately. We also have to be prepared for more common diseases like malaria, colds, diarrhea, and injuries – quite the challenge for our medical team in a home for 250 children.

Hospitals around their country concentrated all their efforts on the virus, essentially closing their doors to patients with other illnesses. Now more than ever, we need more independence in diagnosing them and the right space and tools to provide medical help. We’ve devised a plan to accomplish this.

Located directly behind House of Hope is a plot of land where a policeman resides in order to watch over the neighborhood as well as our facility. The land belongs to the sisters and we haven’t needed it so far but it could prove very useful now. The congregation has decided to help the policeman move across the street to allow us to erect a new medical facility for Kasisi on the plot marked in one of the photos below. Utilizing the land will also make it possible for us to build out House of Hope and construct a brand new physical therapy room, an urgent need considering the number of children requiring specialized exercise continues to grow.

At least that’s the plan. We believe that with your help we can achieve our goal. If you can, support our construction fund – we cannot do it without you! Everything we’ve accomplished has only been possible thanks to your generosity. You don’t have to give much to make a difference. All donations count. You can also support us by sharing this message with friends and family.

P.S. Neighbors have noticed your presence at Kasisi. Seeing Kasisi thrive in such difficult times has given local business owners a ray of hope. They’re surprised but happy to see the impact of your support at Kasisi, where children who’ve been through the worst are happy, safe and never want for anything. Thank you – we hope you will continue to help us overcome new challengesZ pierwszego zdjęcia uśmiecha się do Was Hilaria. Od rana wchodzimy w rytm dnia domu, który w trakcie roku szkolnego w Kasisi wyznacza głównie edukacja. Podglądamy najmłodszych w przedszkolu i starszych w drodze do szkoły. Porządkujemy z Siostrą Mariolą zaległości – te, na które czekacie najbardziej, czyli informacje o naszych podopiecznych. Już za kilka dni odświeżymy albumy mieszkańców Kasisi, ale to nie jedyne nasze zadanie.