Sister Sophie's Project in Bethlehem

The Crèche of the Holy Family accommodates a hundred children from birth to six years old. 
These children come from various backgrounds. Many are abandoned children, or from broken  families, or very poor families, or of parents unable to take care of their children. With the Crèche of the Holy Family we propose programmes for the better looking after of the children while considering their well-being in the light of their growth and integral development.

In the teaching plan we propose a service for the external children like that for the internal children. The programme is managed by the Crèche of the Holy Family, in liaison with the Faculty of Education at Bethlehem University.

The Programme:
The children welcomed at the Crèche are, for most of them, traumatised children (sometimes before their birth).  The plan is to offer them education in age groups:

1. Children aged 18 - 30 months
2. Children aged 30 - 42 months
3. Children aged 42 - 54 months
4. Children aged 54 - 66 months

Each group has about 15 children, a maximum number for the very individual needs of each child at this age. Each group is managed by a graduate instructor, and supported by part-time trainees who work under the supervision of the teaching coordinator named by the faculty of education of Bethlehem University, as well as welfare officers, employed by the Crèche.

The Proposal:
The Crèche of the Holy Family depends on the charity of the benefactors. To be able to maintain the quality of services and to ensure just wages for the instructors, the Crèche needs subsidies to cover the wages of the four instructors including their benefit as required by law. The cost for one year is about $ 31,000 (c. £17,300).

I appreciate any help. Any sum is a great help for us in the present time. May the Lord bless you and all our dear benefactors.

Sister Sophie Bouéri, Daughters of Charity.