About Us
-
The Sister Domingas and Friends Foundation was founded by a group of individuals that were inspired by the incredible work that Sister Domingas Loureiro has accomplished at the Casa da Criança Santa Isabel orphanage.
We are focused primarily on funding the programs that Sister Domingas has created through OCSI-Angola. They support orphans both in the facility and surrogate homes. OCSI also runs a community school for children who cannot afford to go to government schools.
OCSI-Angola or St. Isabel’s Childrens Charity is the culmination of a lifetime of work by Sister Domingas. You can find more details about the amazing work by following the link below.
When Angola’s war for independence from Portugal ended in 1975, a Civil War began. The war lasted 27 years, ending in 2002. An estimated 500,000 people were killed. This war spawned a disastrous humanitarian crisis in Angola, internally displacing 4.28 million people, one-third of Angola’s population. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that 80% of Angolans lacked access to basic medical care, 60% lacked access to water, and 30% of Angolan children would die before the age of 5, with an overall life expectancy of less than 40 years of age.
Nearly three decades of Civil War left behind enduring social problems. A huge exodus from the countryside to the Angolan Capitol, Luanda, has generated extreme poverty in the metropolis. The health and education systems were basically destroyed and now there are far more orphans and abandoned children than the government can provide for.
Low-income families have inhabited the area in Viana, where OCSI is based, since 1996. All these families came from the outlying provinces of Angola during the war and settled in the suburbs of Luanda for protection from military activity. Some have managed to obtain small, low paying jobs in the city while others sell their wares at the market.
Many parents leave their houses at 4 am and return after 8 pm. Caring for the family is often left to the older sibling, even if he or she is still very young. This means no school and much responsibility to still very young children. There is little in the way of extended family support because most families were broken up during the war.
Our foundation helps to support the children displaced by this crisis and the wonderful work of Sister Domingas at the Casa da Criança.
