(MissionNewswire) Ukrainian refugees being sheltered with Salesian missionaries in Slovakia and Poland have been featured in a new documentary produced by The Malta Independent. Journalists Neil Camilleri and Giuseppe Attard produced the documentary about their first visit to Ukraine* in March. With the documentary, the two aim to raise funds for Salesians’ ongoing work with refugees.

The documentary includes young Ukrainian children who were once living in a Salesian orphanage in Lviv and were brought to Presov, Slovakia. There are 17 boys under the age of 11 who are part of a group of 50 children who were evacuated in the early days of the invasion. The older boys went to a local Salesian house while some of the younger boys were brought to live with foster families and have continued in school.

After Camilleri and Attard met with those caring for the children, they traveled to Lviv and Kyiv and then witnessed widespread destruction and loss of life at Irpin and what they report as war crimes in Bucha. According to The Malta Independent reporting, the documentary was sponsored by GO, which enabled the team to remain connected with unlimited data during its stay in Ukraine.

At a Salesian residence in Lviv, Ukrainians who have been living since displaced from other parts of the country shared their experiences when the bombing first started and their feelings on having to flee their homes. Among them is a woman who escaped from Mariupol. The woman had been excited about going on a cruise for her 60th birthday this year, but she instead found herself fleeing from her home for safety. Her home was destroyed in the bombing. But that wasn’t as important as the family that she has lost in the war, she said.

Other refugees interviewed included two mothers with their children. One mother said, “In March, when the war came much closer, we started hiding our children under the bed during the shelling. The children were crying so much because of the explosions. We took in another mother and her three children. One day, a Salesian priest brought us food and a small generator, so we could at least charge our phones. Eventually, we managed to escape.” They made it safely across the country to the Salesians in Lviv.

Salesian missionaries are providing food and shelter to refugees in Ukraine and neighboring countries as well as ensuring that children and older youth are attending school in their new locations. Refugees left their homes with very few possessions, so Salesians are working to provide supplies like clothing, bedding, personal items and more. Their work is being supported by donations and the network of Salesians organizations around the globe.

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Sources:

The Malta Independent – Watch: TMI’s first Ukraine War fundraising documentary now online

Salesian Missions

*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.

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(MissionNewswire) Brhane, a young refugee from Eritrea, is living at the Mamma Margherita Home in Sliema, Malta. Here, youth are provided with their basic needs such as food, medicine and clothing. They also learn English and basic skills to achieve self-sufficiency in their new community.

Father Savio Vella, director of the Mamma Margherita Home, said, “The Salesians are taking care of the most vulnerable and needy young refugees that arrive on our shores. We look after them, we care for them, we show them love, and, with them, we plan their future. We offer them hope.”

Young refugees, like Brhane, are risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea in search of a better life. The young man nearly did not survive his harrowing trip last year from Eritrea with a group of young refugees. Their small boat was caught in rough seas, and they were saved by the crew of a Lebanese cargo ship. When rescued, the refugees suffered from poor health and a lack of food.

When Brhane arrived in Malta, he was thin and scared. Lacking the strength to walk down unaided from the boat, he needed to be carried down by a member of the crew. After a period of care and recovery in the hospital, Brhane started to attend the Salesian day program which is run in conjunction with the Migrant Offshore Aid Station and the Jesuit Refugee Service. From there, he was accepted into the Mamma Margherita Home.

Since 2010, the Mamma Margherita Home and the Osanna Pia Home in Sliema have been offering accommodations and care to young refugees who arrive on the island of Malta. The Salesians support youth in seeking a better and secure future.

According to UNICEF, despite the wealth associated with many countries in the European Union, close to 18 percent of its population lives in poverty in Malta. Youth at risk of poverty or social exclusion are typically found in single parent families, large families, and immigrant and ethnic minority families. With almost 10 percent unemployment, often spanning generations, youth with unemployed or underemployed parents also face a higher risk of poverty. In addition, almost 15 percent of youth leave school without achieving a secondary education.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Malta – Salesians looking after Young Refugees

Mamma Margherita Home Facebook

Salesian Missions

UNICEF – Malta

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The program, known as “Mentor Power” has brought together 20 organizations to attend a seminar in addition to offering a handbook and training manual. Together these tools will be used by Salesian missionaries during the program to help youth.

Several partners have come together to launch and facilitate this program including: Osanna Pia Home in Malta; Zdruzenie exallievov Don Bosca na Slovensku in Slovakia; Cunamh Teo (Salesians of Don Bosco) in Ireland; Centro di Fraternità Exallievi di Don Bosco in Italy; and the Confederacion Nacional de Antiguos Alumnos y Antiguas Alumnas de Don Bosco in Spain.

Bryan Magro, president of the National Federation of Past Pupils and Friends of Don Bosco which is the lead organization on the project, said, “Our intention was to create a handbook and training guide that would be implemented in our own mentoring program. But we also wanted to create a tool that can also be used by other organizations in developing their own programs to help vulnerable young persons. The response to this project by other organizations was overwhelming, and we are also looking at ways of collaborating with each other on further projects related to mentoring.”

In addition to the mentoring program, this summer, the National Federation of Past Pupils and Friends of Don Bosco is opening a new home for three young people who are homeless or lack the support of a family called the Marvelli Residence. This project is in partnership with the Maltese Association of the Order of Malta and Osanna Pia Home.

According to UNICEF, despite the wealth associated with many countries in the European Union, close to 18 percent of its population lives in poverty in Malta. Youth at risk of poverty or social exclusion are typically found in single parent families, large families and immigrant and ethnic minority families. With almost 10 percent unemployment, often spanning generations, youth with unemployed or underemployed parents also face a higher risk of poverty. In addition, almost 15 percent of youth leave school without achieving a secondary education.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Malta – Past Pupils to start Mentoring Programme for homeless young persons

UNICEF – Malta

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Since the week before Christmas, 49 migrants have been stranded on two rescue ships owned by non-governmental organizations operating in the central Mediterranean. The ships are unable to berth in any port because of the differing interpretations European Union governments give to the Law of the Sea on helping migrants in distress. The situation is exacerbated by political differences within the EU.

On Jan. 4, two boats sailed from Malta to replenish supplies to the two ships carrying migrants and to ferry several German members of the European Parliament, a church representative and a fresh crew. Unable to help the migrants directly, Salesian missionaries in Malta offered to host the 16 exhausted, mostly German, crew members – sailors who had spent almost four weeks on sea rescue missions.

“Our prayers accompany those still on board as we ask for humanitarian action in favor of those who risked all to save their lives and families by escaping from their home countries and Libya,” said the Salesians of Malta.

With no additional changes made to help the migrants, the Salesians of Malta joined with 46 other groups and NGOs in a statement. That statement reads: “We are appalled beyond words that, after 18 days of negotiations, 49 men, women and children remain stuck on a boat within sight of the Maltese shore.

In spite of countless calls for solidarity, European Member States have not managed to find a diplomatic solution to the current impasse. This is nothing short of tragic and shameful. It can only mean that we have completely lost our humanity – as a people and a union of states that supposedly upholds the values of solidarity, respect for human rights and human dignity.

We acknowledge the complex issues this situation raises, and agree that it is a European challenge requiring a European solution. However, this cannot be an excuse to abdicate our own responsibility, as individuals and as a nation, to save lives at any cost. The duty to save lives is not only a legal but also a moral imperative which can never be subjected to political conditions, such as the availability of concrete offers of relocation or the fear of creating a precedent.

At this point, the question we must answer is simple: what is more important, scoring political points, or saving lives? For us, the undersigned organizations, there can be only one answer: people are more important. Today we are here to take a stand for life and dignity. We call on Malta to prioritize life and open its doors today.”

According to the International Organization for Migration 2018 World Migration Report, there were 244 million migrants in 2015, 52 percent being male and 48 percent female. The number has been increasing over the years but remains stable to the increase in overall population, according to the report.

UNICEF notes that as of 2016, 28 million or 1 in 80 children in the world were living in forced displacement – this includes 12 million child refugees and child asylum seekers and 16 million children living in internal displacement due to conflict and violence. Nearly 15,000 people are displaced every day within African countries. UNICF has also noted that at least 300,000 unaccompanied and separated children who moved across borders were registered in 80 countries in 2015 and 2016.

Salesian missionaries care for and provide educational services to youth migrants in programs around the globe. Unaccompanied youth migrants are often faced with rejection, homelessness, exploitation and delinquency as they make their journey to find a new way of life. Salesian programs help young migrants adapt to their new environment through language, human development and skills training and workforce development services as well as by increasing access to jobs whether through self-employment or for hire.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Malta – People are more important

ANS – Malta – Salesians in Malta supporting NGO migrant rescue ships

International Organization for Migration World Migration Report 2018

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Youth at risk of poverty or social exclusion are typically found in single parent families, large families and immigrant and ethnic minority families. With almost 10 percent unemployment, often spanning generations, youth with unemployed or underemployed parents also face a higher risk of poverty.

In addition, almost 15 percent of youth leave school without achieving a secondary education.

These conditions give rise to a staggering youth unemployment rate which is about twice the average when compared to the general population. Almost one fourth of youth are unemployed and face daily struggles to find employment and earn a livable wage.

To combat these challenges, the Salesians held a seven day training course called, “Transforming Voluntarism into Social Entrepreneurship” in early April at the Salesian Youth Center in Sliema, Malta. The course was funded by the European Commission and utilized project management within “Youth in Action” programs as a tool for developing entrepreneurial competence.

Designed and organized by Don Bosco Youth Net, the training program aims to motivate young volunteers to take the initiative to develop solutions for problems faced by young people across the European Union today.

“Salesians are working across the European Union to help youth find their own path out of poverty,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Youth need the tools, the education and support to help them on a path to a productive life. Courses like this help propel youth in the right direction, encouraging them to take responsibility for their lives and their futures.”

Twenty youth representing Austria, Belgium, Germany, Slovenia, Poland, Spain, Malta, the UK, Czech Republic and Italy took part in the training course. Learning the differences between voluntarism, social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship through role playing, presentations and active work, the students learned how to turn ideas and concepts into action.

Each session combined elements of theoretical and practical work and challenged youth to utilize both personal and team skills to develop their abilities to plan and manage projects in order to achieve social objectives. Youth were challenged to design an innovative product to fit the needs of people in modern times.

Ideas ranged from arranging a festival to building a hostel. The students learned how to create a project based on ideas that had been collected. Then they explored how to finance their project and apply for funding from the European Union. Students received feedback from experts and their peers as they discussed their ideas for implementation.

“Sometimes jobs just aren’t available for youth”, adds Fr. Hyde. “The program’s overall focus on social entrepreneurship helps youth create their own opportunities in their local communities.”

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Sources:

ANS – Malta – Young Volunteers become Social Entrepreneurs to Fight Youth Unemployment

UNICEF – Tens of millions of children living in poverty in the world’s richest countries

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