Three little girls at the orphanage were happy to have their pictures taken.
On July 16, we visited an orphanage in Tshumbe sponsored by the diocese and directed by one of Albert Shuyaka’s sisters. The orphanage was just down the street from the bishop’s house, and it cares for twelve orphans and the adults in charge of them. One of the women at the orphanage said that it will educate children through high school. After that, the orphans often stay on at the orphanage and become caregivers themselves.
Leprosy is a common ailment treated at the Dikungu Hospital.
At the bishop’s house, we received a visit from Sister Helene, one of Albert’s aunts. She is in charge of a group of sisters that serves at a hospital and a residence for those with leprosy. The hospital was built with help from the U.S. government and from Catholic Relief Services. It sobered us to think that leprosy was still so much a part of people’s lives. Sr. Helene said that she tries to give her patients a sense that they are living (and dying) in a Christian environment.