Pan y Amor
Welcome To Pan Y Amor!
Pan y Amor is a unique mission aid program that sponsors needy children around the world. Pan y Amor – "bread and love" in Spanish – provides both the physical and the spiritual needs in life to these children. Pan y Amor sponsors children primarily in Bolivia, but is also present in Colombia, Kenya and Uganda.
Monsignor Bernard Sandheinrich, founder of Pan y Amor, once said: "Mother Teresa wrote that missionary work is doing 'something beautiful for God.' How can anything be more beautiful than taking a sick child and nursing that child to health? How can there be a scene more beautiful than giving love to a young homeless child of the streets? Pan y Amor does this every day ... Pan y Amor, bread and love for the young people of the world!"
Become a Sponsor:
- Select a program that touches your heart
- Give monthly to support the children
- Receive a quarterly newsletter
- Pray for the program and the children
Our Sponsored Programs
Hogar Carlos de Villegas (La Paz, Bolivia)
Boys, infants to 5 years old
Girls, infants to 17 years old
Many of these children come from abusive backgrounds. They are offered counseling, medical care, religious education, and a safe, loving environment. They are cared for by the Sisters, doctor, and psychologist on staff.
Salomon Klein (Cochabamba, Bolivia)
Girls & Boys, infant to 5 years old
These children are orphaned, abandoned, or at-risk and are provided food, clothing, medical care, and psychological care. Many of the children are adopted as they reach elementary school age.
Maria Reina Lunch & Tutoring (La Paz, Bolivia)
Girls & Boys, school age
Mostly from single-parent homes, the children are offered a nutritious meal every day, as well as an opportunity to learn, grow, and receive academic formation from teachers, tutors, and volunteers.
Albergue Nuestra Casa (Cochabamba, Bolivia)
Girls, 5-16 years old
The abused and abandoned girls in residence receive ongoing support from a psychologist and social worker. They attend public schools, while receiving religious education and celebrating the mass and other sacraments through the service of a Jesuit priest.
Sayaricuy (Cochabamba, Bolivia)
Boys, 5-16 years old
Many of these boys come directly off the streets and from broken homes. They are provided with food, shelter, and begin a rehabilitation process comprised of therapy, psychological counseling, and formal education.
Fundacion Talita Kum (Boyaca, Colombia)
Girls, 6-18 years old
These girls have suffered trauma or abuse in their family lives and are cared for by the Daughters of Mary Immaculate and Co-Redemptrix, who help them recover their dignity and develop leadership skills.
Casa Nazareth (Cochabamba, Bolivia)
Boys, 6-12 years old
The boys receive a formal education, counseling, and a loving and stable environment. Here they are taught responsibility for the home and for each other. The staff works with the families, so that if family issues are resolved, the boys can safely return home.
Madre de Dios (Cochabamba, Bolivia)
Girls, 6-17 years old
The girls are assisted with education, health, vocational training, religious education, counseling, and psychological care. The staff also meets with the girls' families to help resolve home issues.
Eastlands Youth Project (Nairobi, Kenya)
Girls & Boys, school age
This program consists of the Eastlands Study Center (ESC) and the Informal Sector Business Institute (ISBI). The ESC offers an after-school educational center for studying, tutoring, and character development. The ISBI offers tutorial sessions and meetings to train young people to establish small businesses.
Broader Vision Schools (Kampala, Uganda)
Girls & Boys, school age
This school and dormitory is for orphans whose parents died from HIV/AIDS. It was established by Fr. George Ssemmombwe, graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. Construction continues as funding allows, to eventually house preschool through 7th grade.
More on PYA's History
Pan y Amor was founded in 1991 by Monsignor Bernard Sandheinrich, former Director of the Mission Office and the Latin America Apostolate. Monsignor Sandheinrich learned from our Saint Louis priest missionaries in Bolivia of the plight of hundreds of children who were abandoned by their families and were living on the streets of Cochabamba and La Paz, Bolivia. During a trip to Cochabamba and La Paz, he visited various group homes for children and saw firsthand the ways in which the Sisters were struggling to break down the walls of poverty, hunger, disease, and illiteracy that surrounded so many of these children. He saw children sleeping on floors, Sisters scrubbing clothes by hand, and the lack of adequate food and clothes.
Monsignor Sandheinrich returned to Saint Louis and immediately founded Pan y Amor, working hard to recruit sponsors and supporters. The first efforts of Pan y Amor were directed at five group homes for children located in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Because the Archdiocese of Saint Louis had connections with the missionary priests working in Bolivia, it seemed to be a perfect fit. These group homes were part of a network called Amanecer. Amanecer, meaning "to dawn" in Spanish, was founded in 1981 by Sister Stephanie Murray, a Daughter of Charity from Philadelphia who was working in Bolivia. Sister Stephanie assumed responsibility for these group homes that had long been under the care of the state, going above and beyond the call of duty to care for the children and to bring hope and new life to their worlds.