A Chance in Life – COVID-19 Support
A Chance in Life – COVID-19 Nutritional Support Project
The mission of A Chance in Life began in 1945, in the aftermath of World War II. Vast numbers of orphans and vulnerable children were left living on the streets of Italy by the war. Monsignor John Patrick Carroll-Abbing was determined that someone should care for them. His decision to dedicate himself to their wellbeing defined the course of his life’s work. He founded what would become A Chance In Life.
Boys’ & Girls’ Republic of Italy (La Repubblica dei Ragazzi) and Boys’ & Girls’ Towns of Italy (La Città dei Ragazzi) were founded to provide, in Monsignor John Patrick Caroll-Abbing’s words, “a chance in life” to vulnerable and orphaned children. After months or years of living on their own, many of the children that Monsignor first encountered were unused or unwilling to live under the supervision of adults. This independent nature inspired a visionary approach to youth development at the Towns: give the children the responsibility of running their own Town through the model of self-government.
History
Since 1945, A Chance in Life has been helping orphaned children through their Boys and Girls Towns by providing shelter, food and education for them and giving them the skills to live independently at a young age. Although A Chance in Life started in Italy, they have now been able to set up these towns in Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, India and New York to help cover the needs of as many orphaned and vulnerable children as possible.
In 2020, with the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns to avoid the spread of the disease, many families struggled to keep their jobs and provide food and education for their children. Due to this increase in number of people needing support, A Chance in Life started a large scale nutritional program to ensure that these children and their families received the food and education they needed in these unstable times.
Mission
The Project supported by the Caritas Pro Vitae Gradu Charitable Trust
Thanks to our support, A Chance in Life was able to provide packages with food and basic necessities for 10’871 children and their families in India, Ethiopia, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo over a period of 6 months in 2020. This special COVID-19 nutritional support project helped a total of 26’027 people.