Recent News

May, 2005

We have 26 residents living in the home. They have enjoyed the security of living in the home this past winter. They did not have to worry about running out of wood, water freezing and lack of food. The residents pray and knit together. They sing, laugh and just enjoy each others company. When the pilgrims come to the Home to celebrate Mass with the residents, it is a wonderful experience for all. After Mass we have tea and cookies. We also have entertainment by both the residents and pilgrims. The residents will sing their old folk songs. Then the pilgrims will entertain with music and songs. Even though the English speaking pilgrims do not speak Croatian, the Language of Love is spoken by all.

August, 2004

As of today, 7 destitute elderly women have moved into the home. They sing and laugh together as they enjoy their new home. They are joyous over the many things that we take for granted:

Running water
bathrooms
Showers - they had to learn how to use them
Pajamas - they never had them before
Colorful dresses
Air conditioning
Oatmeal cereal for breakfast

Sister Muriel and the Sisters of Mercy of St. Vincent de Paul have already received 17 additional applications to move into the home. In early September, 3 wonderful nuns will come from England for several months to help the Sisters of Mercy with the operation of the home.

Sister Muriel and Mary continue to be extremely busy with the enormous undertaking of getting the home furnished. At the same time they continue to bring food and hygienic supplies to 300 destitute elderly families in the mountains.

Dr. Ratko Peric, Bishop of the Mostar area, is coming to consecrate the chapel on September 25, 2004.

July, 2004

The Certificate of Occupancy for the home was received near the end of June.

Shortly thereafter, Matijia became the first destitute elderly to move into the home! She is 92 years old, was living alone, is partially blind and has no pension and no relatives. The picture above shows Matijia arriving at the home with Sister Muriel and Sister Augustina of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Vincent de Paul.

Extensive work has been done to furnish the home.

In December, Respa Company of Ireland donated beds and pillows which arrived in a container filled with supplies from Northern Ireland.
In March, Mary Fournier and Pat Tradd from the States came for two weeks to work at the Home. They washed down all the bedrooms and sorted out the bedding and other items that had come in the container.
On the first of May, a truck from Scotland arrived with 8 hospital beds, walkers, wheelchairs, office furniture, chairs, new sheets and Christmas gifts.
In June, Jim Neary and Mary Mannion arrived from Ireland with 11 volunteers to unload a 40 foot truck of furniture which they had sent out on May l9th from Ireland. The truck contained a substantial amount of new furniture, towels and sheets, including furnishings for the chapel, 14 tables for the dining room, end tables for the bedrooms, walkers, wheelchairs, shower chairs, hospital rails, sheets and folding chairs, etc. The volunteers stayed two weeks working tirelessly installing the furnishings. In addition, they cleaned and sorted all the items from the truck. They definitely put life into the Home. The following week five residence were able to move into the Home!
A container from the United States is expected to be sent in mid-July with beds, mattresses, 60 bedspreads and other furniture.

This project is becoming a reality by all you generous people.

As of July 3, 2004, a total of 5 elderly have moved into the home. They are helping each other and are helping with some of the chores of the home. Each of the elderly had to be bathed and provided with completely new clothing when they came to the home. They are extremely appreciative of the care they are receiving.

May, 2004

Electricity was finally brought to the home at the end of February. The kitchen equipment was installed in February and the industrial laundry equipment was installed in April. During the month of March and April all the items that use electricity were tested to ensure that they had been installed correctly and were working properly. In addition, the heating, air conditioning and plumbing were tested. In May, Sister Muriel and Mary have been working on getting furniture and fixtures for the home: dining room furniture, beds, mattresses, sheets, bedspreads, and kitchen equipment. A volunteer from England and spent a week installing all the shower grab rails. Sister Muriel hopes to have the first residents move into the home in June. Sister also hopes to have the chapel consecrated to St. Joseph, the Worker on September 25, 2004.

All the visitors who have been to the home have been extremely impressed with the quality of the home.

St. Joseph, the Worker hopes to sponsor 10 residents a year through an Adopt A Grammy program.

January, 2004

Construction of the assisted living home is essentially complete and furnishings are starting to be installed. Unfortunately the Municipality of Libujski is over 4 months late in getting electricity to the assisted living home and we do not expect to have electricity until early February. Once the electricity is in, all items that use electricity will have to be tested to ensure that they have been installed correctly. Any deficiencies will have to be corrected. As a result, we do not expect the elderly to be able to occupy the home until March. The Sisters of Mercy of St. Vincent de Paul are a highly respected local religious order of Sisters who will operate and maintain the home. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.

September, 2003

Although there have been weather delays, construction of the assisted living home is proceeding well. Sister Muriel and Mary have spent endless hours making a myriad of construction decisions. Very little construction work was done during the month of August. Construction of the building is expected to be completed in October, 2003. This may be delayed since the Municipality of Ljubuski has yet to bring electricity, water and sewer to the building. Donations for the furniture are still needed. It is expected that the destitute elderly will be able to occupy the home by the end of the 2003.

An "Adopt a Grandmother" program is being considered to cover the operational cost for the elderly in the home. It costs approximately $300/ month for each of the elderly in the home.

November, 2002

The construction contract was executed with the Kons Construction Co. and construction of the 50 bed assisted living home commenced on September 23, 2002. It is expected that a major portion of the home will be enclosed by the end of January with construction to be completed in July/August 2003.

August, 2002

Construction bids have been received and accepted for a 50-bed facility with a kitchen, laundry facilities, physical therapy room, recreation room and a room for prayer. There will be a warehouse on the premises to continue St. Joseph, the Worker’s food delivery program. Construction will start in September 2002 and will be completed in May/June 2003.

November 2001

After more than a year of work and many prayers, a major milestone has been reached. In October, 2001, St Joseph, the Worker LTD signed an agreement with the Municipality of Ljubuski and the Sisters of Mercy of St. Vincent de Paul to build a home for the elderly. The Sisters of Mercy of St. Vincent de Paul are a highly respected local religious order of Sisters. The Sisters will operate and maintain the home. The Municipality is providing certain assistance and St. Joseph, the Worker is providing the funds to build the home. Architects are working on the plans. Construction is expected to start in Spring 2002. Construction will be costly. Any donations would be greatly appreciated.

September 2001

Last Spring, Sister Muriel and Mary Walsh found 2 handicapped sisters (Melena and Ankica) living in a barn-like building in the woods outside Klobuk. One sister is mentally handicapped and the other is physically handicapped. Their living conditions were terrible. They had virtually no electricity and they needed to walk a quarter of a mile to get water from a cistern.

In August, Sister Muriel and Belgium volunteers built a new home for Melena and Ankica. The new home, which is made of prefab wood and cement siding, has running water, a kitchen, a modern bathroom and 2 bedrooms. A concrete patio and walkway around the house will also be built so that Melena can get around in her wheelchair. A septic pit and a water cistern were also provided. A Belgian crew of 16, led by Frans Verleysen, dug the foundation and repaired 4 other homes in the Klobuk area. The home was completed during the first week of September, 2001.

On behalf of Melena and Ankica, St. Joseph, the Worker would like to thank you for making this possible. Words cannot express the deep gratitude in their hearts for what people have done for these two women. As we find more people living in conditions such as this, we become ever more determined to work harder to help them.