For children with leprosy who survived on scraps scavenged from other people's garbage cans, lunch time is the most beautiful of the day. On a diet of more than 3,000 calories a day, even the most wasted of bodies regain strength in a few weeks.

Thousands of individual donors and wellwishers, and several welfare foundations are helping Dominique Lapierre's author royalties and lecture fees meet the budgets of all the programs supported by City of Joy Aid. Many of them have requested their donations to remain anonymous, and we respect their wishes. We are very grateful to all for their contributions, no matter important they are. Every dollar counts.

Here, City of Joy Aid wishes to acknowledge the very special contribution of:

• Marie B. Allizon, from the U.S., for her assistance in organizing and managing City of Joy Aid, which receives U.S. tax deductible donations

• Michele Migone, from Italy, whose organization contributes to the support of many of the City of Joy children suffering from leprosy or handicaps

  	Education is a primary target of the Lapierres' humanitarian action. They launched a program to teach the women of a thousand Bengal villages how to read and write. Family planning education has been particularly effective--the number of births over four years for women involved in the program has decreased from an average of three to one.

• Kathryn Spink, from England, for her assistance in the management of the UK tax deductible trust "Dominique Lapierre City of Joy Aid, England"

• Francis Wacziarg and Prity Jain, from New Delhi, for their assistance in the management of the "Dominique Lapierre City of Joy Foundation, India"

• Cristina Mondadori and Mario Gallini, from Italy, for their regular and so generous sponsorship of one unit of the Udayan-Resurrection home, and of the Mariabasti handicapped children refuge in Jalpaiguri

• Alexander and Suzanne van Meerwijk, from Holland, for their sponsorship of the first hospital boat "Merison - City of Joy"

• Federico Sassoli de Bianchi, from Italy for his sponsorship of the unit "Children from Italy" of the Resurrection home

• Pere and Maria-Lluisa Roquet, from Andorra, for their sponsorship of the second hospital boat

• The Italian cities of Turin and Lecco and two spano-american friends for their sponsorship of the third hospital boat

• Marcelle and Jean Coutu, from Canada, for their sponsorship of the running expenses of the hospital boats through their family foundation presided by their daughter Marie-Josée

• Paul and June Schorr, from the USA, and all their friends of the Snowmass Chapel Community for their sponsorship of the new Dominique Lapierre village built in the village of Belari

• Daniela Gavini, Michèle and Xavier Givaudan, David Graham, Shirin Paul, Gilbert Soulaine, our friends of TCI; several Lions, Rotary and other service Clubs, Mimmi, Isabelle and her family, Rosario and her patchwork students; Larry and Barbara Kirschbaum, Maximilian Kaufmann-Stemp, Ratan Tata, Raul Bajaj, Peter Brabeck, Catherine Taittinger, Arlette and Christian Millau, Lon and Richard Behr, Harriet and Larry Weiss, Colette and Steve Wood, schools, colleges, parishes, theater groups

• John Therkelsen, Jessica Papin, and Antoine Rodeghiero for their assistance in building this web site

• and so many we will list in our future donors page ...