Regardless of latitude, any guarantee of a chance for a decent future is education. In Chad, one of the poorest countries in the world, where hunger and lack of access to clean water are daily problems, education is going down the drain. Building a boarding school for the children of Gam Parish in Chad is another project that will bring the right to education closer to being guaranteed for the poorest.

The Gam parish consists of 45 villages in an area of 50 square kilometers. Due to distances, high temperatures and the deplorable condition of access roads, the initiator of the project, Daniel Cieszyński, a volunteer with the Secretariat for Foreign Missions of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, together with local missionary Fr. Edward Ryfa, want to build and equip a boarding school in Gam for children from the surrounding villages.

Schools in Chad are often shacks in deplorable condition or collapsing old buildings without access to a toilet, let alone a kitchen. As a consequence of the lack of hygiene, hunger and thirst, children often have swollen and infested tummies. They feed only on rice boules, which they soak in a sauce made from leaves and so on all year round

– says Daniel Cieszyński.

At the end of 2023, by decree of the diocesan bishop, Fr. Edward Ryfa took over a new parish in Gam. In his own words, the situation is dramatic:

There is literally nothing in the Gam parish, and the parish's biggest problem is almost 100 percent illiteracy. The local population is extremely linguistically diverse, and there is a plethora of local dialects that make it impossible to get along together. People here can't even say "good morning" in Chad's administrative language, French.

Daniel Cieszyński chose St. Padre Pio as the patron saint of the project. It was while praying at the saint's relics that the idea of building another school in Chad was conceived (Daniel in Chad has already built several wells, raised money for medical equipment and birthing beds for two clinics in Colon and Baikoro, and successfully spearheaded a project to build a boarding school for blind children in Mundu).

I remembered reading that during World War II, Fr. Pio turned back bombers in the sky over San Giovani Rotondo - so I am convinced that through the intercession of such a powerful saint, another work will be created to help the dramatic situation of the poor children of Gam.

The school in Gam will be able to accommodate 350 children, including those with disabilities. Plans call for the construction of two brick school buildings, each with 3 classrooms. The costs also include furnishing the rooms and building a dormitory with a field kitchen. The total investment is 98 000 euro. At the turn of 2024/2025, Daniel Cieszynski plans to begin the construction with a ceremonial consecration of the site, where today there is only sand and a bunch of individual trees.

The children of the Gam parish, together with their missionary Fr. Edward, remember about all the Donors in prayer, especially on the first Saturdays of the month. Thank you for every donation and we assure you of our prayers, especially on the first Fridays of the month, when Mass is celebrated for the intentions of our Donors.

PS The initiator of the project Daniel Cieszynski can be contacted directly by writing to: [email protected]

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