In the shantytowns of South Lima, Peru - where poverty will suck life from a stone - "neglect" can seem part of daily life.

En español
Read their stories...

But not because parents don't care. It's because many of them work hard until late at night, and no one is home to supervise their kids after school. Without adults around, many youngsters close their books at 2:00 pm and head for the streets. The lessons they learn there won't get anyone a scholarship.

Alarmed by the gangs and the violence, a young mother went to her pastor, Father Tom Burns, M.M., and asked for help. Anabella, who is also a teacher, told Father Tom something he never forgot: "When kids learn early in life that they're losers, a whole generation fails."

That's when Father Tom said the parish community would open its doors to help children with their homework after school, and also provide a lending library, educational games, and counseling. Today, a program called Bridges of Hope is saving the children of Pampas de San Juan in South Lima from a dead-end culture of gangs, drug trafficking, and for some, an early grave. They are studying hard and growing up into wonderful youngsters.

But so many other children need the same chance. Will you help us build more bridges for those left behind? Your gift will change small lives in very big ways.

Father Tom can tell you more…
"Often times, when a child goes home after school, no adults are there until 9 or 10 o'clock at night. Or maybe the child lives with an elderly grandparent who is unable to provide the right discipline. Whatever the circumstance, a lot of children have no one to supervise them after school. When Mom and Dad finally come home, they're flat-out exhausted and barely have time left to put a meal on the table."

Bridges of Hope helps fill the gap, and with your support, will continue to do so in the future.

When the program opened in 2009, 70 children came to our center. At the end of the year, one had to go to summer school, and one who had started the program very late was left back. Every other child was promoted.

Students arrive at 3:00 pm and get to work right away with tutors trained in reading, writing, science, and math. Counselors are available, too, if a child needs to talk. There's also a break for snacks and recreation. Every Thursday the children spend time in church to venerate the Blessed Sacrament and pray. As Anabella said, schools may inform, but they do not form. "They don't always convey the values we share as people of faith." But the children at Bridges know they are here because of the Church and the Gospel we treasure. Bridges of Hope is centered in God's love. "The parish is at the center of our lives," Father Tom says. "We want our children to know this parish is their home, too."

Fees are modest but everybody pays something—2 soles a day or about 60¢. If parents don't have the money, they volunteer their time.

Your donation will accomplish all of these things for the 104 children in our program today…and the countless more who wish they could be. Every dollar you give will make a child's path to adulthood that much safer, that much stronger:

• $5 will purchase paper, pencils, and other supplies for our youngest kids —in kindergarten and first grade—to use in reinforcing their lessons.
• $25 will pay for a short series of counseling sessions for a child that has behavioral problems, or is the victim of domestic or gang violence.
• $50 will buy snacks for one month, a treat that encourages daily attendance and puts a smile on every child's face.

Like so many other Maryknoll missions around the world, Bridges of Hope is the best chance parents have at breaking the cycle of poverty—and giving their children something they can both believe in. With your help, we will give them the future they are praying for.