Children with disabilities in poverty-stricken areas of Lima, Peru, reach their potential at a Columban-founded school.

Katty Yañez, age 18, is the third of five children. When she arrived on October 6, 1987, her parents were extremely proud.

Katty Yañez and her mother, Maria, fold clothes that Katty created as part of her life-skills therapy.

When Katty was 3 months old, Maria took her beautiful baby in for vaccinations. Just before administering an injection, the nurse commented, “Do you know that there is a school near here for children like your daughter?” Maria was confused by the comment.

The nurse explained that the baby had Down syndrome. Maria had never even heard of this term and had no idea what it meant.

The nurse called one of the doctors who explained that Katty was fit and healthy but that she would learn much more slowly than other children.

Maria was devastated by the news and scared for the future. She found it very hard to accept that her child had Down syndrome. Maria’s mother Sonia took responsibility for Katty’s care.

Sonia took her granddaughter to the Manuel Duato School for Special Education the same week Katty was diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Sonia helped out in the classes, and Katty finished her primary education at age 14.

Therapy & Life Skills.

The Manuel Duato school was organized by Columbans more than 30 years ago in response to the large numbers of poor Lima families raising children with mental disabilities.

Today, the school serves more than 500 children. Many of the students are preschoolers, while a large number of the children have hearing impairments that make learning difficult.

Another 30% of the students suffer from difficulties such as Down syndrome. Almost 25% are in occupational therapy which gives the students a chance to participate in workshops that give them life skills for their adult years.

Since age 14, Katty has participated in these workshops in which students learn useful skills such as making handicrafts and jewelry, needlecraft, woodwork, cooking and general cleaning.

A teacher at the Manuel Duato School for Special Education works with a hearing-impaired student to improve his lip-reading skills.

Maria has accompanied Katty to these classes and has learned the handicraft skills alongside her daughter.

At first, Maria felt scared and nervous around the students. She did not know how to talk to them. Now she loves them as if they were her own. She also treasures the invaluable support from other parents at school meetings. Two years ago, Katty’s father, Miguel, lost his job.

The family has struggled ever since to make ends meet. Thanks to all her hard work at Manuel Duato, Katty has contributed to the family income by selling the table mats and cloths she learned to make at the school.

Maria has seen Katty develop into a caring, hardworking young woman. If Manuel Duato did not exist, Katty would not have attended school. After many hard and difficult years, the family and Katty are now happy.

Maria says the support from Manuel Duato has played a huge part in this happiness. The successes at the Manuel Duato school have been many, but so are the needs. Last year, Columban benefactors helped us build new classrooms and purchase teaching materials.

This year the school needs a machine that measures the level of hearing impairment of children. The machine costs $4,000 and is needed to accurately assess the level of hearing loss. We also need to buy hearing aids for some of the students.

The school’s water system desperately needs an overhaul so we can continue to provide the school with running water and sanitation.

Our parents help out the school financially when they can. But they are so poor, that we need outside help to keep the school running.

We hope you can us help these children of God reach their potential.

Please help Columban Father O’Connell operate the Manuel Duato School for Special Education in Lima, Peru.

Children in Myanmar

The Columbans went to Burma in the 1930s and stayed in the Diocese of Myitkyina in Kachin State until 1978 when those remaining were asked to leave. After the military takeover in 1962, when the name of the country was changed to Myanmar, any missionary who left the country was not allowed to return unless they had been in Myanmar prior to 1948. In order to continue their work in Myanmar, many Columbans stayed on for many years without returning home. Myanmar is now one of the poorest countries in the world. The country’s resources are being eaten up by the military and their international supporters.

The Columbans had set up some schools when they were in the diocese. However these schools were nationalized when the military took over. The military junta has systematically destroyed the education system, and teachers have very little incentive to teach. The so-called teachers are not qualified to teach the kids. Most of them are failed graduates from high school, as these are the only people who will stay in the remote areas for a salary equivalent to US $20.00 a month.

Myanmar children

The Columbans also set up boarding houses in many of the parishes. These boarding houses are still being used today. The children from the rural areas stay there and attend school. In the evenings they received extra tutoring and instruction in the catechism. Since the Church is no longer allowed to run schools, these boarding houses have become an important educational component for the Church. However, many of these boarding houses, especially those in the more remote areas, have become rundown.

Most of the boarding houses are in areas that foreigners are not allowed to visit.

When Columban Fr. Eamon Sheridan visited Myanmar, he was taken to see the “good” ones and found them to be in mostly very poor condition. The kids have just two meals a day, breakfast and then an evening meal. Providing these meals is a struggle for the local priests as they juggle the many other demands on limited and sometimes non-existent resources. Many of the boarding houses don’t have toilets or washing facilities.

Project Mission

Most of the people in the diocese are extremely poor and engage in unstable jobs for low pay. Farming, livestock raising, working as street vendors and other very difficult and low paying jobs are all that is available to them. Many of the young people leave school at early ages to work for their families’ survival. Education is vital to break the cycle of poverty in Myanmar. Current estimates place the adult illiteracy rate at 89.7% for the population. In Myanmar, compulsory education ends at age 9 compared to the international level which is age 16.

Although not technically schools, the boarding houses function as schools offering tutoring in addition to pastoral care for all students. Improving the physical condition of the boarding houses, increasing the funds available for food and medical care for the students and teachers, offering training programs for boarding masters and offering scholarships to students are the top priorities.

Funding and Sustainability

Myanmar children

Due to the grinding poverty under which the majority population of Myanmar lives, the project must be funded by benefactors. The military junta ruling Myanmar will not allocate funds to anything other than the government-run schools. It is the hope that education will provide the pathway out of poverty for future generations. With education come better employment opportunities which can lift entire villages out of poverty, one person, one family at a time.

A Catholic school in Lahore that helps stigmatized Christians and poor Muslims break the cycle of poverty needs your help.

When Columbans established a parish in Shadbagh in 1985, we conducted an exhaustive survey of all families in the new parish, asking them about their unmet needs. Most parishioners are sanitary workers, or “sweepers,” a role that carries a stigma in Pakistan society and socially and economically excludes Christians in a nation that is 97 percent Muslim. The parishioners said they wanted a school because they knew that education would help them break the cycle of poverty and achieve a better life for their families.
The school began slowly with the building of one block of 10 classrooms and an office.

We quickly outgrew the space, and some classes were held out in the open in the cold of winter and the extreme heat of summer. So, a second block of six classrooms was added in 1997, and a third extension in 1999 added eight more classrooms, a staff room, a science laboratory and offices. The school now has 675 students, both girls and boys, and now offers high school classes.

Building Understanding & Fulfilling Potential.

Religious intolerance is a hallmark of Pakistani society and is a growing problem worldwide. From the beginning, there has been a policy to integrate Christians and Muslims and have them working side by side in the classroom. Now, 25 percent of the students and many of the teachers are Muslim, including Miss Lubna who is the principal of the senior section and has been on the staff since the beginning.

We continually try to build up understanding and mutual acceptance of each other’s faith. It is our hope that we will be the foundation of a better and more tolerant society.

The school is unable to cover its expenses and has been assisted by the generosity of Columban benefactors over the years. The economic situation recently has worsened because of the dire economic situation of most parishioners for whom the daily reality is either low- paid menial work or unemployment.

Added to this is the reality that many parents are themselves illiterate and are not convinced of the value of education. In most families, educating a child lies in direct competition with feeding the child—they are simply unable to do both.

Fighting Illiteracy In Pakistan

Despite the many difficulties, many good things are happening at St.Paul’s High School. It is wonderful to see so many poor children given the opportunity to fulfil their potential and to see friendships between Muslims and Christians both in the classroom and the staff room.

Many children who attend our school become the first generation in their families to achieve literacy. Some of the teachers, such as Miss Irm, Miss Rehana, Miss Usma, are past pupils of St. Paul’s and are passing on the gift of education they have received to others. Education has made a world of difference to the lives of children and families in Shadbagh, and we now ask you to help us ensure that we can continue giving this gift.

Please help Columban Father Liam O’Callaghan provide an education to poor Pakistani children. Your tax-deductible donation will help St. Paul’s High School in Shadbagh, Lahore, keep its doors open.