(MissionNewswire) Portugal has seen record poverty and unemployment rates in recent years. The World Bank estimates that close to 18 percent of the Portuguese population, roughly 1.8 million people, are living below the poverty line. Nearly 400,000 of Portugal’s total population of 10.5 million benefit from
(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries living and working in communities in Guatemala are helping to provide food aid and other support to families affected by a recent drought in the country. Guatemala’s government recently issued a state of emergency after 256,000 families, most living in rural areas, lost
(MissionNewswire) Flooding in northern Bangladesh has continued throughout the month of September destroying crops and affecting close to 2 million people. Torrential rains the first two weeks of September left up to half a million homeless, according to a recent IRIN article. According to government figures,
(MissionNewswire) More than 25,000 displaced people remain at a Salesian center in the Catholic diocese of Kaga-Bangoro in northern Central African Republic and another 500 at a Salesian center in Galabadja near Bangui, the capital city of the country. Even though violence has eased in several parts
(MissionNewswire) Poverty is widespread in Zambia with 64 percent of the total population living below the poverty line. For those living in rural areas, the poverty rate rises to 80 percent, according to UNICEF. Over the past three decades, incomes in Zambia have fallen steadily and
(MissionNewswire) More than 46 percent of Mexico’s population lives in poverty, according to UNICEF. Close to 53 million people lack access to education, healthcare, transportation and even the most basic necessities such as food and shelter. The poverty rate for youth in the country is higher at
(MissionNewswire) With more than 1.2 billion people, India has the world’s fourth largest economy and according to UNICEF, is home to one-third of the world’s poor. Close to 217 million of India’s poor are children. Although more than 53 million people escaped poverty between 2005 and 2010,
(MissionNewswire) According to UNICEF, more than 150 million children worldwide are considered orphaned – living without one or both of their biological parents. Orphaned youth living in poverty have most often lost their parents to natural disasters, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and other diseases, war or domestic
(MissionNewswire) Less than a year after Typhoon Haiyan, also known as Typhoon Yolanda, devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, Salesian missionaries working in the region are noting steady progress in community rehabilitation and rebuilding. The super typhoon, which struck on November 8, 2013, was one of
(MissionNewswire) Thousands of unaccompanied children from Central America have been apprehended at the United States southern border in the last year, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Many have left their homes in Central America trying to escape poverty and violence in search