The young woman at the podium is Monica. She came to COAR in early 2022. She arrived with her short hair and her ever-present sweatshirt and hat, as pictured in the inset. But slowly, she has bloomed. She succeeds at school and at art. She exceeds most in her enthusiasm, her joy in life, her love of COAR, enough to say that COAR saved her – yes – saved her.

She is pictured speaking at the Nuncio’s visit to COAR in November (Apostolic Nuncio, Luigi Roberto Cona). She was nervous because she shared, very publicly, for the first time, that the abuse she suffered before coming to COAR had left her hopeless and suicidal. But with the help of the staff (especially our Director, Marta, sitting on the right in the pink shirt) she is excited about her future. She has learned self-worth and to take pride in her art. She has bloomed, thanks to you.