Renewing hope: accompanying people who are refugees on their journey
A mother bends down to bury her own child, killed by the violence of war. A family mourns in pain after losing their home destroyed by the bombs. Dozens of people killed as a boat sinks off the coast. A father hopes to soon reunite with his daughter and wife,...
From Ghana to Seville: Doris’s journey, a mother, a friend, a sister
My name is Doris Agyapomaa, I am 24 years old, and I am from Ghana. I have a baby named Raymond, who is 16 months old. He was born in 2022 in Seville. I was born into a Christian family with eight siblings. I remember living in extreme poverty, and not all of us could...
The Light of Pentecost of St Louise: responding to God’s call in serving the poor
On the occasion of this month, we want to recall the experience of Pentecost of Saint Louise de Marillac, when on 4th June 1623, St Louise was moved by a deep spiritual insight. She tells us: “I was advised... that a time would come when I would be in a position to...
The Cry of Street Children across the World: How the Vincentian Family is Responding
Poverty affects everyone including children, in fact, they are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than adults[1]. Poverty is not only economic but is multidimensional, affecting fundamental rights including education, adequate housing, and access to drinking...
Protecting Children’s Rights in the Netherlands
According to recent figures published by Statistics Netherlands (CBS)[1], 209,000 children in the Netherlands are living at risk of poverty, with their parents earning a salary below the national low-income threshold. The ‘Team against Poverty’ in Tilburg – with the...
From Venezuela to Colombia: crossing the borders for a better future
Since the 2015 economic crisis in Venezuela, Colombia has hosted approximately 1.7 million Venezuelans, representing more than 37% of the approximately 4.6 million Venezuelan refugees in Latin America and the Caribbean.[1] Over half of the Venezuelan population living...
By word of mouth, the 13 Houses Campaign “travels” to new countries
The 13 Houses Campaign keeps growing: with the launch of the call for proposals on 30 August 2022, we witnessed the Vincentian desire to strengthen a ‘network of charity’ for homeless people that goes beyond geographical borders. The objective of the call was to...
Losing everything in an instant: A new home after the hurricanes Eta and Iota in Honduras
'It only took two weeks to go from poverty to absolute homelessness in Honduras and Guatemala'. (BBC, 2020) Through these few words, we can already feel the catastrophic effects of hurricanes Eta and Iota that devastated Central America in 2020. The natural disaster...
More than a home: a 13 Houses project helping people who are homeless in Asturias, Spain
Billions of people experience homelessness in the world (1), and its causes and forms are diverse. Therefore, it requires answers that go beyond providing a home but which also include wider and more holistic aspects. For example, the provision of psychological...
Ukraine joins the 13 Houses Campaign: rebuilding hope for those who lost everything
Fourteen million people fled their homes in search of safety and more than 800,000 homes have been destroyed: frightening numbers that have been seen in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022 to today (UNHCR). The Vincentian Family has showed great...
Typhoon-resistant houses and repair kits: an update on the Vincentian response in the Philippines
According to data from the Philippines' National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Super Typhoon Rai (local name Odette) which hit a large part of the Philippines on 16 December 2021 resulted to around 405 casualties and 78 missing people....
Diaries of a Vincentian: Brazil
"The 13 Houses project is much more than the provision of a house; it is giving someone a space in which they can feel like a child of God, a human being and a citizen who has the right to a place to call home." M.F.S, 57 years old, widow, 3rd grade education. She...