St. Mary's Shelter

In 2019, Father Donato welcomed 26 boys, ages 6-12 from the streets and rented a palace to give them a home. They became a family, living together and recovering from their trauma together. This became St.Mary’s.
Rather than fighting, and thinking only of themselves as they did on the streets for survival, they learned to co-operate and respect one another, bonding as a family.
Each of the older boys is paired with and is responsible for the care of a younger child. He learns to be aware of his needs. All go to school or learn a skill. Now they see the  shelter as their home and love their dedicated and  amazing house mother.

Building a New St. Mary's

A permanent place was purchased in 2022 by Father’s Xaverian Order and Hope of St. Joseph Shelters Inc. has been paying for the tear down and reconstruction of the New St. Mary’s. The boys were able to move into the basement, which has 3 rooms, in November 2023 after beds and mattresses were purchased.;

 Construction is ongoing. Their water is not connected yet.  But this is a city wide problem They are pouring concrete and installing doors and windows. There will be 3 classrooms on the second floor and ideally they would like to add another floor of classrooms.  That would allow them to take in neighboring children as students and recoup the cost of the teacher’s wages with the outside student’s tuition.

Charity #: 760001-4324-RR0001

Hope of St. Joseph Shelter Inc

Tumaini ni Uzima (Hope is Life)

 A Canadian Non-Denominational Organization