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In 1995 Sister Joan returned
to the United States to help realize the dream of Sister Niva - a residence
where malnourished children could be fed adequately and restored to health.
Sister Joan, with the support of her Notre Dame community, made the need
known to family and friends of the Notre Dame Sisters. Many generous donors
helped bring the Nutrition Center into existence despite many hardships.
Since  then
the cycle of drought has at times taxed the ability of the Nutrition Center
to help enough children. Often Sister Joan purchases sacks of corn and other
grain and distributes them in the mountain villages during years when corn
crops have repeatedly failed. Many of the children who come to the Nutrition
Center come from the rural mountain areas surrounding Sulaco. Only those
who are most seriously deficient can be helped, due to space constrictions
in the Nutrition Center. It takes some months before the children are out
of danger, and can be returned to their homes. |
