Children come to us from... prison. If we weren't here, they would "grow up" in prison alongside a father or mother with a sentence of three, ten or even 25 years in prison. It may come as a surprise to you that children accompany convict parents in prison. Unfortunately, in Bolivia this is norm...

- says Sr. Bonaventura Alicja Barcik, sister of The Congregation of the Daughters of Our Lady of Sorrows, director of the House of Hope.

Hogar de la Esperanza is a children's home in Santa Cruz, Bolivia's largest city. It was established in the year 2000 as a project to rescue convict children from the local maximum security Palmasola prison. Since 2014, the orphanage has been run by the Polish Sisters – Daughters of Our Lady of Sorrows. For the children living there, it is the only home they have and know.

Palmasola Prison occupies a huge area that looks more like a neighborhood than a typical prison. Under Bolivian law, the women's pavilion is allowed to hold children under the age of 6. In practice, entire families live there.

In prison, children are exposed to depravity from the very beginning. They sleep on the streets because they have to pay to live in a cell. They are victims of sexual harassment and violence, and because they are the only ones allowed to leave prison, they are often used to smuggle weapons or drugs.

Juveniles there live in terrible poverty. Children of parents serving sentences are filthy, half-naked, sometimes spending the night in the gutter. They are used for drug trafficking, sexually molested and sometimes killed. They have no chance for education.

In addition to children of convicts, Hogar de la Esperanza receives abandoned children, neglected children, children experiencing violence, and social orphans. They are directed there by the Defensoría de Niños, or Children's Department. Each of them has a story, the burden of which not a single adult could bear. At the children's home run by the Sisters, they have psychological support so they learn to live with their past. Above all, however, there is someone who devotes time to them and cares about their development, including moral growth. Only here they can be children - they don't have to think about what to eat and where to spend the night. They are cared for and have a sense of security.

HOW TO JOIN „ADOPTION OF hope”:

• We have set the minimum donation amount for "adoptive parents" at 12 $/€ per month for a period of at least 12 months. Bigger amounts depend only on your generosity and financial capabilities. Adoption is a collective one. Maintaining one child costs around 215 $/€ per month. The adoptive parent receives a letter and photo from the "adopted" child three times a year. Those who want to take on regular payments, please include this in the transfer title: Adoption of Hope - permanent declaration.

• However, in the case of larger donations, we do not use a mathematical formula, e.g. 36$ / 12$ = "adoption" of 3 children, because we donate the money to support the entire orphanage. In other words: the children who write letters to us are representatives of the entire orphanage in Santa Cruz towards the Donors.

• It is not necessary to make transfers monthly. Donations can be made quarterly, semi-annually, or even for the entire year in advance. Anyone who decides to make less frequent transfers of help, please write in the transfer title: Adoption ofHope - permanent declaration + number of months.

• We will also be grateful for one-time donations for children from Santa Cruz. In this case, please write "For children from Santa Cruz" in the transfer title. If we receive a donation of 144 $/€ or more, we treat this case as "adoption" (12 months x 12 $/€ = 144 $/€). That's why we send the child's photo and correspondence. However, this is not a commitment to continue "adoption" in the next year.

Bank account numbers for money transfers are:

For $: PL 52 1600 1462 1847 3641 5000 0009; SWIFT: PPAB PLPK
For €: PL 41 1600 1462 1847 3641 5000 0013; SWIFT: PPAB PLPK
For others: IBAN: PL 79 1600 1462 1847 3641 5000 0008; SWIFT: PPAB PLPK