The first Rosalie project in Kazakhstan, Central Asia

The Daughters of Charity arrived in Kazakhstan in 2000. In 2020, a community was opened in Makinsk, a town founded at the beginning of the 20th century in the middle of the forests!

As throughout Kazakhstan, Makinsk is populated by many World War II deportees or their descendants: Poles, Germans, Russians, Ingush, Gypsies, Byelorussians, Ukrainians, Koreans, Mongolians... of various religions: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Muslim...
Find out more about the history of Kazakhstan: KTO TV - "Sous le ciel des Kazakhs" ("Under Kazakh skies") 

The sisters carry out a wide range of missions: catechesis and preparation for the sacraments, help for large families, visits to the poor, lonely and sick, medical and administrative assistance, accommodation for the homeless, tutoring and activity centers for poor children, meals for adults in great need...

Working hard in summer to survive the long, extremely harsh winter

The people of Makinsk live by gathering in the woods (berries, mushrooms, etc.), and above all by the poultry industry, where the work is very hard physically. The inhabitants have a low level of education.

"The average monthly income of workers is €230... But many have no permanent job and earn a little money by doing odd jobs. The living conditions of these people are very difficult. Alcoholism, drug addiction, and consequently material, moral and spiritual poverty, are present in Makinsk." Sr Halina 

Fragile, unsanitary dwellings for living in extreme climatic conditions, from +40°C in summer to -45°C in winter!

"Many people live in individual houses on wetlands, built of clay and straw, and often without running water. They have to bring it in on carts from roadside public access points. Most of the work is done by children...".
Sr Halina

The vegetable gardens help them save money to buy much-needed coal to heat their homes and survive the extremely cold winter months.

The project: helping 4 families (11 people) to renovate or partially rebuild their homes

"All the beneficiaries are poor people whom we visit regularly. Their living conditions are so difficult that they no longer see the meaning of life; they are sad and broken. The women's homes are dirty and cold..." Sr Halina

4 families, 4 stories, 4 actions to make their lives more dignified

House of Mrs Tatiana N.
Mrs Tatiana N. lives with her son and her sick mother. She and her son receive a disability pension, and Mrs. Tatiana N.'s mother receives a pension. But this is not enough for them to live with dignity: they barely have enough money to buy food.
The work will involve demolishing an old, dilapidated wall, rebuilding a new one, plastering and installing a new door.

Mr. Igor's Banya, a traditional Russian bathroom located outside the house.
Mr. Igor is a poor man who has been helped by the community for many years. In 2023, his house burned down in a fire. He started working at the church as a handyman so he could afford to rebuild his house. But his salary is very low.
The sisters want to help Mr. Igor finance the materials needed to rebuild his banya. He will carry out the work himself: removing the remains of the wooden walls destroyed by the fire, rebuilding new walls, and installing a heating system.

Mrs Tatjana Ł's house.
Mrs. Tatjana Ł. raises her two daughters alone and cares for her mentally ill mother. She works in a car wash. Her income depends on the number of customers; during the long winter period, sometimes there are no cars for 12 hours in a row, so she earns nothing...
The work will involve cleaning the soot off the walls, repairing all the holes and cracks in the walls of two rooms, and repainting them.  

Mrs Tatjana K.'s home
Mrs Tatjana K. is ill and has no means of support. Her son works and earns 150 euros a month, which is not enough to survive on. A local woman, herself poor, used to share food and coal with them. But now she also has to fetch food from the community kitchen to take to her sick mother...
The work will clean the soot from the walls, repair the holes and cracks in the walls, and repaint them.

"Once the funds have been received, we will be able to purchase the necessary materials and, within 3 months, the work should be carried out by local workers and completed." Sr Halina

Thank you for your support before winter sets in!

With them, thanks to you, 

« Une fois les fonds reçus, nous pourrons acheter le matériel nécessaire et, dans un délai de 3 mois, les travaux devraient être effectués par des ouvriers locaux et terminés. » Sr Halina

Merci pour votre soutien avant l’arrivée de l’hiver !

Avec eux, grâce à vous,