Bridge of Love and Hope In Chimbote, Peru

Sisters Margaret Mary Birchmeier and Lillian Bockheim serve as part of the “bridge of love and hope” in one of the poorest communities in South America. They have lived in the community of Chimbote since the 1960s building a ministry that includes a maternity hospital, pre-natal education, and well-baby clinics.

For the past 50 years, the Dominican Sisters~Grand Rapids have been present in this place where drought, earthquakes, floods, disease epidemics, political corruption, terrorism and violence are prevalent. In addition to Sisters Margaret Mary and Lillian, many Sisters have traveled to minister to the people of Chimbote. In this photo, Sister Doris Faber visits children in the orphanage near Maternidad, our maternity hospital.

Learn more about our work with our partners at the Chimbote Foundation in Pittsburgh, PA. See the Face of Christ. Be the Face of Christ.