(MissionNewswire) The Don Bosco School, located in the city of Ramos Mejía, Argentina, has collaborated with the municipality of La Matanza to create an isolation center that will welcome the elderly affected by COVID-19. The school’s retreat house will host 250 beds for those in isolation.

Mayor Fernando Espinoza thanked the Salesian school for its efforts during a tour of the facility. He said, “This is an institution that is indeed a high mark of La Matanza, a house where values ​​are taught and which has an excellent educational level. And today, once again, we see how the Don Bosco School is helping, even more than usual, our community, giving up its structures to create a large place of isolation with 250 beds in this moment of crisis for our elderly.”

He added, “We hope not to have to use these beds, which add to the 4,000 isolation beds that we will have throughout La Matanza, but if we need them, we are already prepared. We are, however, grateful that this historic retreat house is available here because it is a comfortable place with lots of light and green spaces that create a welcoming atmosphere, which favors the elderly, raising their morale in these difficult times.”

At the end of the tour, Espinoza again appealed to everyone in the vicinity. “We hope we never have to use this place that we have prepared together with the Don Bosco School. To achieve this we must be supportive, responsible and aware of each other. Today, the only defense we have is respect for social isolation. Today, the only vaccine we have is that each of us fulfills the motto: I stay at home.”

Salesian programs across Argentina are primarily focused on education. Salesian primary and secondary education in the country prepares youth for technical, vocational or university study. Other programs help meet the basic needs of poor youth and their families by providing shelter, proper nutrition and medical care, helping youth to engage in their education and have hope for the future.

More than a quarter of the people in Argentina live in conditions of poverty with no formal employment and poor-quality education, according to the World Bank. The country’s high school dropout rate is close to 37 percent and youth account for a third of those unemployed. Almost 12 percent of children aged 5 to 17 are working instead of being in school and 20 percent need government assistance. Many face malnutrition, a lack of clean water and sewage, and inadequate housing.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

ANS – Argentina – Retreat house of “Don Bosco” school in Ramos Mejía, now an isolation center for elderly

Salesian Missions – Argentina

World Bank – Argentina