Dear Pathways Supporters:
Thank you! Because of all the caring friends like you, Pathways to Children is providing education and health care to hundreds of children living in extreme poverty as well as providing “life changing” volunteer experiences to students.
Pathways to Children had many positive developments and achievements in 2016.
- Collaboration with the University of Minnesota School of Public Health has resulted in an innovative Community Health Program for our Jan Seva School in Kolkata. Every family of the students in the school have been visited and assessed for their living conditions and further health needs. These needs will be addressed at our family and pediatric clinics in the school and through educational programs for the parents. The University of Minnesota School of Public Health is very excited about this unique program which they believe can be extended to other poverty-stricken communities in India and other parts of the world.
- The student exchange from the Minneapolis Cristo Rey High School and the Sisters of St. Francis Rochester CASFA School in Bogota was extremely successful. In November 2015, Pathways brought 17 Cristo Rey students to Bogota. As significant as that trip was, we were able to bring their 17 partners from Bogota to Minneapolis in July of 2016. The picture that accompanies this letter depicts the combined efforts of both groups to create a conjoined butterfly with the images of each country.
- 2016 has been busy with our plans to take 13 seminarians from St. John Vianney Seminary to Kolkata in January to work with Mother Teresa’s Sisters in their facilities for the poor, disabled and dying and to work in Pathway’s Jan Seva School and Clinics. This trip will provide them with an opportunity to see severe poverty and perform “acts of mercy” which will influence their pastoral duties when their complete their training and ordination.
Of course, Pathways work requires funds since we provide operating support for Jan Seva, substantially all of the trip expenses for the School of Public Health volunteers and the seminarians, bringing the students from Bogota to the United States and otherwise support our programs which have extended from India to Ethiopia and Colombia.
Thanks to all of you who have so generously supported Pathways. As you consider your year-end contributions, please think of Pathways. We have limited administrative expenses and those are related to supporting the trips we provide. Your contributions go directly to programs like those described above.
Our best for the Holiday Season,
Grace Strangis & the Board of Directors of Pathways to Children