Daughters of Charity International Project Services (DC IPS) is committed to funding Sisters’ projects that serve those most in need and to helping these vital programs become self-sustaining. Farm of Hope, a rehabilitation home for addicted men in the rural area of Sao Paulo, Brazil, provides a place for men to break free from their addictions while discovering purpose and building new skills. Through this project, a large chicken coop was constructed, allowing for production of 40-50 eggs per day, thus advancing the ability of the Farm of Hope to become a self-sustaining program. The successful completion of this project demonstrates the importance of investing in human-focused, self-sustaining projects with the involvement of the entire institution, community, and beneficiaries. The positive impact of this initiative on both the men in recovery and the surrounding community is inspiring.

Testimony:

Miguel Santos* has been at the Farm of Hope for almost 5 months. In the beginning, he couldn’t get along with the methodology of the house, the work or the other sheltered people, because he missed his life out there (drugs) a lot, keeping silent and isolated. We made the proposal for him to try an experiment as the person in charge of the chicken coop. He accepted. That’s when he started to take the steps, to go on a walk of freedom from drugs. We’ve noticed that he’s improved a lot. He assumes his work responsibly, according to the proposal that has been presented to him. In this way, we realized that the chicken coop project did a lot of good for him, for other young people, as well as for his family.
We can only thank everyone who contributed to make this dream come true.

*Name has been changed for privacy