Parroquia de San Francisco de Asis

Padre Damian and the Parroquia de San Francisco de Asis

Padre Damian Parroquia runs a parish which helps all the needy families in the impoverished neighbourhood of Vallecas in Madrid. It is run under the auspices of San Francisco de Asis.

It is difficult to say how many families are being helped at any given time as it is a fluid structure, with new families applying and older ones leaving as they are able to become self sufficient.

Every Saturday many families flock to the centre where they describe their current economic situation and ask for aid if this is required. The questions that they are asked are whether they have a job currently, whether the children attend school and how they are able to pay their bills. Depending on the outcome of this close scrutiny they are then given a ration of staples on which to get by until the following Saturday.

IWCA donates staples like oil, pasta, canned vegetables, lentils, milk, sugar for subsequent distribution to these families. We also help with liquid detergent and other cleaning products to help them run a clean centre.

This organization also runs a school for young drug addicts where they are coached to come out of this lifestyle and encouraged to adhere to society. During the summer these adolescents are treated to a camp where they can get away from their difficult lives for a short while.

Another initiative that they run from their parish is to run a home for single mothers whose partners are drug addicts with issues. They help them to care for their infants, teach them to be more responsible, to fend for their children and to stand on their own two feet.