"In India, 40,000 children a year lose their eyesight. Most of the children who come to us could have been healthy... They lost their eyesight due to maternal malnutrition during pregnancy or vitamin deficiencies right after birth. Unfortunately, also marriages among close relatives are quite common in India, from which disabled children are born. Once, during the school admission interview, I asked the father of a blind girl about the cause of her illness, and he replied: my wife is my niece... The children who come to our center in Nongbah come from very poor families. They are often orphans. Only a few percent of blind people in India have ever gone to school. Blind children are very eager to learn, because they know that this is the only chance for them to have a reasonably good future" - says Sr. Sara Kieliszek FSK, who has been working with blind children in India for 10 years.

Nongbah is a small town in the state of Meghalaya in Northeastern India. The Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Holy Cross runs there a dormitory and a school for 50 blind children. This place is called Jyothi Seva which means Service to the Light.

India is a country full of contrasts. There are mansions of very rich people who have servants and right next door, there are whole families living on the street. They make a living by collecting plastic bags and selling them to get the money for at least one meal a day. Nearly 70% of India's population (that's 800 million people!) lives on less than 3$ a day. As many as 14 million of the country's citizens are blind.

The Franciscan center provides its students with 3 meals a day, opportunity of learning the Braille alphabet and English, and a peaceful and safe home. Here the children develop their musical talents, learn computer skills, together take care of the vegetables from the home garden or the animals the sisters raise. They also have time to play and a chance for a happy childhood.

The charism of the Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Holy Cross is to care for the blind. The founder of the congregation was Blessed Elizabeth Rose Czacka, who lost her sight at the age of 22. In 1911 she founded the Society for the Care of the Blind, and seven years later the congregation. The first specialized center for the blind in Poland was established in Laski near Warsaw. Besides Poland the Franciscan Sisters are currently also serving the blind in Rwanda, Ukraine and India. 

HOW TO JOIN "ADOPTION OF LIGHT":

• 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 265 $/€ per month. The adoptive parent receives a letter and photo from the "adopted" child three times a year. Those who want to take on regular payments, please include this in the transfer title: Adoption of Light - permanent declaration.
• However, in the case of larger donations, we do not use a mathematical formula, e.g. 36$ / 12$ = "adoption" of 3 children, because we donate the money to support the entire center. In other words: the children who write letters to us are representatives of the entire centre in India 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 of Light - permanent declaration + number of months.
• We will also be grateful for one-time donations for children from India. In this case, please write „For children from India” 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