Arrivals and Departures
Goodbye to Berit and Kerstin who returned to Germany to continue their studies after a year here. They both were a beautiful presence whose smiling faces and continuous helpfulness were much appreciated.
Sara and Sergio made a welcome return to COH in early August. They were followed by Carolina from Poland and Sacha from Holland. They join other volunteers who arrived in early July: Ania and Ola from Poland and July from Ireland. They all decided to use their holidays to spend time here with us.
Goodbye and Hello!
Claire and Anna with some of the girls
The CoH family bids farewell to Anna and Claire, who have returned to England after three months of volunteer work. Anna taught English and Geography in the OSC, as well as extra lessons in GART, and she’ll be traveling to Italy soon to continue teaching. Claire taught Maths and Sciences in the OCS and also lent a helping hand in the girls’ home. She will be returning to work in London. We wish them luck in their future endeavors and will miss them very much!
Umberto
Soccer practice
On a lighter note, volunteer Umberto Bosco has arrived from Spain to stay at the CoH for two months. His duties are twofold but both will be in collaboration with the Sports and Cooperation Network (Red Deporte y Cooperación) in Spain. While he will work to potentially secure CoH as a site for future projects with the Red Deporte y Cooperación, he will also prepare a team of girls to play in a football tournament next year in Spain. It’s not only a unique opportunity for some of the girls to travel and experience a new culture and environment, but it will also serve to promote the City of Hope.
Number of Volunteers Still Rising!
When Luciano Perissinotto from Venice, Italy, joined the group at the beginning of March 2011, we reached number 12. We are extremely grateful to Luciano’s wife, his daughter, who is a doctor, and son, an engineer, for agreeing that he come to help us.
Addie
The same day, number 13, Addison Ploeger came to City of Hope to have an experience at the Auxilium Skills Training Centre for a few weeks. Addie is from America and came through Fr. Michael Kelly SJ, the founder of Kara Counseling. We are very grateful to the volunteers and happy to have them.
Current Volunteer Number Reaches 11!
The City of Hope welcomed the arrival of new volunteers throughout the month of January. They come from across the globe: Elizabeth, Austria; Hannah, United States of America; Dympna, Ireland; and Anna and Claire, England.
Volunteer David with his grade 1 class, using balloons and the pupils themselves to teach addition.
While each volunteer brings something new to the City of Hope, they are joining a community of six volunteers who have already been working at the project for 5+ months. These include David and Jan of Belgium, Christina from Austria, Kerstin and Berit of Germany, and Agnieszka from Poland.
Volunteer Christina tutoring girls before rosary.
With a grand total of eleven volunteers, a new initiative to improve the pupils’ standard of English and Math has begun. Students in the Girls’ Home have been assigned personal tutors to supplement their in-school learning, receiving an additional thirty minutes of individual help each day of the week.
Two New Volunteers!
During the first days of November there arrived two new volunteers at City of Hope: Lars and Esther. They are from The Netherlands and they will stay here for 3 months. A very warm welcome, Lars and Esther.
Lars and Ester
100 Volunteers for City of Hope!
Since 1996, when the first two Volunteers, Carlos and Asun came from Spain to City of Hope, there has been a steady flow of volunteers each year. We are most grateful to the Volunteers, who gave of their best to help the Sisters set up this City of Hope. It is with the sacrifice given by each one, that we have received many blessings, that has enabled us to help many, many young people, particularly the girls, by offering them education, skills training, a home, an Oratory where they enjoy sports and other activities and use their free time constructively.
In 2009, we celebrated the Silver Jubilee of the arrival of the first 5 Polish Sisters to Zambia, who spent a year learning the local language and the culture, before they began our Salesian Work with the young people. This year, 2010, we have reached the number of 100 Volunteers!!! Congratulations for your courage in leaving your homelands to share your talents. We will always be grateful to each of you for your contribution to City of Hope.
It took the 100th Volunteer, Valerio from Italy, to set up our website and we hope to keep in touch through this modern medium of communication.
