For years, Michela’s Children have been active as a project support group in Chad.

It is an initiative that started in 2006 among colleagues at the Public Vehicle Register in the capital. Other offices of the Public Register also contribute to the solidarity projects that bear the name of Sister Michela Larini, at that time a missionary in Goundi, Chad.

Since then, the group, coordinated with enthusiasm and determination by Umberto F., has also involved the parish of Santa Giovanna Antida in Fonte Meravigliosa and several food merchants, who donate the proceeds from the purchasing groups promoted by Michela’s Children to the projects.

Regularly, Umberto and others go to Chad – at Koumra, Sarh, Maimba and Ndou – to the different communities of the Sisters of Charity, to meet the sisters, the people, to help concretely with masonry work, carpentry, plant engineering… and to keep the ‘bridge’ of support alive and involved. The parish of Saint Jeanne Antida welcomes as often as possible, in presence or online, the testimonies of those who live on the other side of the bridge. The parish priest, Fr Davide L, together with some parishioners, also spent three weeks in Chad in 2022.

On 7 November 2024, Paolo P. left, together with Sister Anna Rosa C., Provincial Councillor for Central Africa to stay in Chad for three months.

The projects supported by Michela’s Children at the moment are:

The paediatric dispensary in Koumra, southern Chad, which is under construction will ensure milk, food, medical care and soon also stable shelter for orphaned and malnourished children. The first structure has been completed and is being furnished. Koumra is the sixth most populous town in Chad. It has been a bishopric since 12 August 2023.

Koumra pediatric dispensary under construction

Street children in the Balimba community in Sarh

The House of Balimbà is located in the town of Sarh, 80 kilometres from Koumra. It was set up to house about 40 young people of various ages who have been abandoned by their families or have fled violence.

They live on petty theft, constantly risking arrest and assault. The Sisters of Charity look for these young people, going at least once a week to the big market in Sarh. Through contact and mutual acquaintance, they offer them hospitality at the House of Balimbà where they organise various activities with them: education, vegetable production, sewing, to offer them an alternative future to life on the street, destined for delinquency.

Archaeological remains, including rock art, show that Chad was already inhabited in prehistoric times. During the Middle Ages, the territory was a crossroads for trade between the Arabs and the local populations. In 1891 it became a French colony and then gained independence on 11 August 1960.

Today, Chad is facing a humanitarian crisis characterised by recurrent displacements, especially from Sudan and the Central African Republic, food insecurity and malnutrition, health emergencies and climate shocks. The national education system is of a poor standard, with insufficient qualitative and quantitative results. The official languages of Chad are Arabic and French, but more than a hundred languages and dialects are commonly spoken.

For updates on Paul’s trip visit: