(MissionNewswire) Amid growing violence in the Middle East, Salesians with the Salesian Jesus the Adolescent of the Middle East Province are working to ensure the safety of children in Palestine*, Israel and Lebanon*.

In Lebanon, attacks are causing thousands of displacements and worsening an already fragile humanitarian situation. The incursion of Israeli forces into the country has further heightened tensions. The south of the country, particularly the Nabatieh region, has experienced intense bombardments, forcing numerous families to flee their homes in search of safety.

“The Middle East is facing a new and dramatic phase of emergency,” explained Father Simon Zakerian, provincial. “The civilian population will be the hardest hit, especially the most vulnerable, such as women and children. Following the attacks, our schools in Palestine, Israel and Lebanon have once again had to close to ensure the safety of our youth.”

In response, Salesians have reopened their doors to shelter displaced families. At the Don Bosco El Houssoun Center in Jbeil, about 30 kilometers (about 18 miles) north of Beirut, 120 people from approximately 30 families are being hosted, including about 50 children and 10 elderly individuals in vulnerable conditions.

A Salesian from Lebanon said, “We are certain that in the coming hours and days this number will increase. We must guarantee basic necessities for all these people, warm clothing, food and water. This is what we are focusing on.”

Many families arrive after 16 hours of travel to cover just 110 kilometers (about 68 miles), due to massive traffic jams caused by the exodus of people fleeing the bombings. Classrooms were quickly transformed into reception spaces with mattresses, blankets, and basic humanitarian aid kits, while Salesians, staff, and volunteers organize assistance for the families.

The Salesian added, “We are also worried about the lack of fuel in the West Bank, as many families have no way to heat their homes or cook, including our own communities, such as the one in Cremisan.”

Fr. Zakerian concluded, “We find ourselves, again, facing a complicated situation, but our entire network — Salesians, staff members and volunteers — is ready to help communities in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel as quickly as possible.”

The Salesian Mission Office in Madrid is already working together with the Salesians in the Middle East and the Salesian solidarity network to organize the necessary aid. Father Luis Manuel Moral, director of the Salesian Mission Office in Madrid, said, “We are appealing to all citizens to channel their solidarity toward those in need. It is not only about giving a blanket or bread, but about bringing hope to those who are now living in such a difficult situation.”

He added, “Furthermore, we join the words of Pope Leo XIV, who calls on us to ‘seek a way to stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,’ and we urge all parties to lay down their weapons and threats and to seek lasting peace through dialogue.”

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

ANS – Middle East – “We Are Working to Ensure Aid Arrives as Soon as Possible”

Salesian Missions

Salesian Province of the Middle East

Salesian Province of the Middle East Facebook

*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) Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, helped support the Salesian Bakery, a historical institution in Bethlehem. With the support provided in part by Salesian Missions, the bakery was able to provide free bread to 111 vulnerable families and eight institutions.

A Salesian explained, “The Salesian Bakery is serving people in situations of vulnerability either directly or through other institutions who serve orphans, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Many in the region are facing economic hardship during this time of conflict. This project also enabled the Salesians to pay the salaries of the bakery staff and cover part of the bakery’s running costs, such as the baking materials, water. and electricity.”

The families are selected by the Salesians with the support of the Arab Orthodox Benevolent Society, Women Arab Union in Beit Sahour and Jemima Institution in Beit Jala. The eight institutions supported include the Franciscan Boys House, L’Arche Daycare Center for children and youth with disabilities, Home of Peace, Ahdaf for elderly daycare, Antonian Society Elderly House, St. Nicholas Elderly House, Al-Basma Center for people with disabilities, and Jemima, which cares for children with disabilities.

Since 1891, Salesian missionaries have been living and working in Bethlehem, initially establishing an orphanage for boys and later expanding programs to meet growing local needs. Today, Salesian missionaries provide a range of educational and social activities to support the local community. Salesians offer a technical and vocational training center, the bakery, a youth center and a scout group.

Bethlehem has a population close to 25,000 people and an economy that is primarily tourist driven. According to UNICEF, poverty in Palestinian territories including the West Bank, Gaza and Bethlehem varies district to district. Along the Gaza strip, poverty rates have risen as high as 60% with residents relying on food assistance from the United Nations. Over half of the population is under the age of 18, and children in the region grow up amid frequent outbreaks of street violence sparked by ongoing political turmoil.

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

Salesians in Bethlehem

UNICEF – Bethlehem Poverty

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(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries working in Lahore, Pakistan received donor funding for flood relief thanks to Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The funding helped support 800 people, most of whom are from large families with children and include women who are pregnant. Nearly 40% of the beneficiaries are under 16 years old.

“This helped us support families impacted by intense flooding,” said Father Noble Lal, rector of Don Bosco Lahore. “Now that the emergency phase is over, we are in contact with some families who will soon send some children to our boarding school for a more stable educational path.”

One of the recipients is Danish, a 13-year-old boy. His house was damaged, but after repairs, his family was able to move back. Danish had attended grade 5 in Pasrur, but his school closed due to flood damage. Danish, along with some of his cousins, will now be attending the Don Bosco Youth Center and stay in the Salesian boarding house in Lahore.

Salesian institutions are open to youth of all faiths. The schools provide economic benefits, scholarships and accommodations for students from the families most in need so that education is not only accessible but also an incentive for parents to send their children to school.

Pakistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in South Asia at less than 50%. Although the country’s constitution acknowledges free and compulsory education between the ages of 5-16, the rule is often not followed in rural areas for those over age 13.

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Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Pakistan

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SYRIA

New center is Salesians’ second in the city

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries have opened a new Don Bosco Center in Jaramana, a multicultural neighborhood in the capital city of Damascus, Syria*. This is the second center that Salesians have opened in the city, highlighting their commitment to serving vulnerable youth.

The opening ceremony was attended by numerous families and friends of the Salesian community. Father Simon Zakarian, provincial, and Father Edwar Gibran, director of the community, welcomed the guests and emphasized the importance of this new center as “a new light for the youth of the area.”

The new Don Bosco Center offers a variety of spaces designed for the different ages and needs. There is a study area for university students to have a peaceful and stimulating environment that encourages study, academic preparation and sharing. There are rooms for after school programs for younger youth that will promote the development of academic skills and human values.

There are also classrooms equipped for vocational training, with courses for English language, accounting and electricity. Youth will be able to develop skills that will lead to jobs in the current marketplace. Once completed, they will have access to concrete tools to explore those job prospects.

A Salesian noted, “With so many young people in Jaramana, this center is not simply a building, but a concrete response to the daily needs of young people and families. Our mission remains to serve youth through educational, pastoral and formative paths that sow hope and build the future.”

The Salesian added, “While the region is marked by the tensions and difficulties, for many young people, often tested by the uncertainties of the present, this Salesian center will be a place where they can experience closeness and rediscover that they are not alone on their journey towards the future.”

Salesian centers in Syria are providing youth a safe haven and a place where they can continue to cultivate their dreams and their faith through education and support. Salesian centers are located in Aleppo, Damascus and Kafroun.

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Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

ANS – Syria – Second Don Bosco Centre inaugurated in Damascus

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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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesians are continuing their work with youth in Syria* in the face of the challenging security situation in the country. Salesian projects for youth provide a ray of hope in the midst of continuing insecurity and violence. In Damascus, Aleppo and Kafroun, joint summer activities were offered to 2,200 youth.

“In times of great uncertainty, our centers are places of hope for children and young people. It is our task to offer them a future perspective in spite of all dangers, because every young person deserves to grow up in peace and security,” explained Father Simon Zakerian, superior of the Salesians in the Middle East, in a statement released by the Austrian Salesian Mission Office, Don Bosco Mission Austria.

This summer, Salesians continually assessed the security and sometimes had to amend or cancel programs for the safety of all. After the attack on the Mar Elias church in Damascus in June, in which more than 25 people were killed, the summer programs in Damascus were suspended. Programs resumed in mid-July with strict security measures. Summer activities continued after a brief interruption in Aleppo and Kafroun, but large-scale group activities such as summer camps were replaced by smaller, safer activities nationwide.

The Salesian Mission Office in Vienna has been supporting the educational and development programs of the Salesians in Syria for many years. Salesian Brother Günter Mayer, director general of Don Bosco Mission Austria, added, “In the face of a situation in Syria that remains dramatic, the commitment of our confreres and local staff is even more impressive. Education, a sense of community and trust are key to rebuilding a peaceful society.”

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

ANS – Syria – Help and hope from the Salesians in the midst of the crisis. Also ‘Don Bosco Mission Austria’ in support of young Syrians

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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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesians were able to help support children at two orphanages in Aleppo, Syria*, thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Both an Armenian orphanage housing 30 children and a Muslim orphanage hosting 50 children, aged 6-18, were supported through the ongoing project.

Volunteers engaged the children in activities such as sports and games, cultural and educational sessions, psychological workshops, interactive theater performances, and a carnival day. Children also had access to individual counseling sessions to begin or continue therapeutic support in a safe, confidential setting. Each child was also taken to choose a new pair of shoes.

Orphanages in Aleppo are critically under-resourced and face overwhelming challenges including overcapacity, staffing shortages, and limited funding to meet even the most basic needs of the children.

A Salesian noted, “The Orphan Project represented a powerful humanitarian initiative that delivered essential care and emotional support to orphaned children in Aleppo — regardless of their religion, background or community. Amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis and socioeconomic instability in the region, this project has served as a beacon of hope, offering these children not only essential resources but also dignity, love and belonging.”

The program was led by Salesian Cooperators, who spent time engaging with the children. A dedicated team of approximately 50 volunteers handled planning, preparation, implementation and follow-up.

Maria Keshishian, aged 10, has been living in the Armenian orphanage in Aleppo since she was 5. She said, “Living in the orphanage sometimes feels like we live far from the rest of the world — where not many people remember us or know what our lives are like. But something changed when the Salesian Cooperators came to visit us. They didn’t come just to entertain us. They came with open hearts and warm smiles. From the moment they arrived, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I felt seen, heard and truly cared for.”

Mohammad Al-Ahmad, aged 11, has lived in the orphanage for six years. He explained what he liked best about the Salesian visit. “One of the coolest things was when they taught us fun dances that we all did together. It wasn’t just about the steps, it was about feeling connected and being part of something joyful.”

Salesian centers in Syria are providing youth a safe haven and a place where they can continue to cultivate their dreams and their faith through education and support. Salesian centers are located in Aleppo, Damascus and Kafroun.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

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) Salesian missionaries have been able to provide emergency assistance for people impacted by the war in Lebanon* thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The “Emergency assistance for Fidar and Hossoun communities and refugees in Beirut” project is ensuring that families living in these communities have the basic essentials and the psychological support they need.

With donor funding, Salesians were able to provide medical assistance, psychosocial support, food supplies, fuel vouchers and warm clothes. Families were chosen from those involved with local Salesian centers and schools, including Don Bosco Technique, Don Bosco Hossoun oratories, and Angels of Peace School.

A Salesian noted, “Through coordinated efforts, our team provided immediate relief and laid the foundation for resilience and hope during an incredibly challenging period. Moreover, the project had a comprehensive and profound impact, as it combined educational support, psychological care and social activities to address the multifaceted needs of the various communities served by the Salesians.”

The displacement crisis in Lebanon has exceeded the levels seen during the 2006 war, driven by intense Israeli airstrikes and civilian evacuation orders. In October 2024, national authorities estimated that over 1.2 million people had been displaced. The escalation has primarily affected southern Lebanon and Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR), at the start of January 2025, 868,947 people were displaced within Lebanon but most have returned back, leaving 115,439 people still displaced. Many of these individuals have been displaced multiple times since October 2023. The war also triggered an economic impact with a noticeable shortage of goods that has only worsened over time.

Lebanon is also dealing with more than 1.5 million refugees who have fled the Syrian civil war, according to UNHCR. Salesian missionaries have been working in Lebanon since 1952 and currently have two centers. The center in Fidar has Don Bosco Technique and a youth center. The Salesian community in Hossoun has an oratory and a reception house that has been housing Catholic refugees since the start of the war in Syria.

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Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Lebanon

*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) Salesians in Nazareth, Israel, were able to provide scholarships and psychosocial support for youth thanks in part to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The project was funded through the Don Bosco Network with support given by several Salesian organizations including Salesian Missions.

Through the project, Salesians provide scholarships to 106 students who are enrolled at the Salesian School in Nazareth. They were also able to provide 78 hours of psychosocial support to 50 staff and around 170 young students (grades 1-6) affected by war and unrest in the area.

The scholarships were provided to students, including 39 female students, in the form of school fee deductions. The students are from families severely impacted by the broader socio-economic challenges affecting the Arab community in Israel, many of whom experienced job loss, business closures and reduced income as a result of the conflict.

To most effectively provide the psychosocial support, Salesians utilized a train the trainer model to train the school staff and teachers, focusing on psychosocial awareness and support strategies for students affected by conflict. The training consisted of three sessions, each lasting two hours, and aimed to equip educators with practical tools to recognize and respond to signs of emotional distress, anxiety, and trauma in students.

A Salesian explained, “The sessions covered topics such as the psychological impact of war on children, creating trauma-sensitive classrooms, effective communication techniques and educator self-care. Through interactive activities and group discussions participants enhanced their understanding and developed practical approaches to apply in their classrooms. The training empowered teachers and staff to serve as peer leaders within the school, promoting a supportive and resilient learning environment for all students.”

Two psychologists were also brought in to provide direct psychological support. The psychologists helped students address a range of mental health concerns, with a focus on trauma-related conditions such as anxiety, depression and emotional distress. The sessions enabled students to process their emotions, develop coping mechanisms and regain a sense of normalcy.

The Salesian noted, “Through this multifaceted support, Salesians not only prevented student dropouts during an incredibly difficult time but also fostered a more resilient school community, better equipped to handle future challenges.”

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Salesian Missions

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(MissionNewswire) Since the beginning of the war which has claimed thousands of lives and displaced over 1.9 million people in Gaza, the Salesian International Volunteer Service for Development (VIS) has continued its work in Palestine* without interruption. Now, it plans to expand its support and educational initiatives by renovating existing buildings and launching the construction of a new school facility.

In Gaza and the West Bank, attacks on schools have impacted the lives of children. In Gaza, 84% of schools require complete or major reconstruction. In the West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Education reports a high number of incidents affecting both students and teachers.

“This past year and a half has been emotionally exhausting. People continue to suffer, and humanity continues to be trampled. But we’re not giving up. In fact, we’ve realized that the only way to keep hope alive is to double down on what we do,” explained Luigi Bisceglia, VIS regional coordinator for the Middle East.

VIS plans to work with four public schools in the West Bank, providing renovations and psycho-social support for both students and teachers to help them cope with the trauma. There is also a plan to build a new primary school in the village of Khallet Taha, south of Hebron in the West Bank. The new school will serve 40 children who currently walk five kilometers each day to reach the nearest school..

The school will include four classrooms, one pre-school room, a staff room and bathrooms. There will also be an outdoor courtyard for physical activities.

The project was launched through the support of several associations from the Piedmont region of Italy — including the Toni Lucci Peace School of Bra, the Youth Council of Bra, and the Cuneo Network for Palestine — with the patronage of the Municipality of Bra.

“We’ve named this project ‘Juzoor’, which means ‘roots’ in Arabic, because we believe that school and education are the roots from which a future of hope can grow,” added Bisceglia.

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

ANS – Palestine – The “Juzoor” Project: Educational “Roots” to Build a Future of Hope

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.

The post PALESTINE: Education projects launch to support youth first appeared on MissionNewswire.

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian-run Angels of Peace School in Lebanon* has been providing refugee children with education, as well as a psycho-social support program carried out by psychotherapists and speech therapists to address some of the challenges given the war and their displacement.

About 1.2 million people in the country have fled their homes in search of safety, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Homes and public infrastructure have been destroyed, further aggravating the suffering of the civilian population. The closure of schools continues to threaten the lives and futures of millions of children.

A Salesian noted, “Refugee children in Lebanon face several obstacles to accessing education. Until 2023, they could only attend school in the afternoon, exposed to risks and dangers. This has caused an increase in school dropouts. After the teachers’ strikes against the strong devaluation of their salaries, the afternoon shifts were suspended.”

One of the schools where refugee children can gain an education is the Angels of Peace School, where Florina Maher Khairi, aged 14, is a student. Years ago, her family fled her home in Mosul, Iraq, amid war and ongoing conflict. Her family settled in Lebanon temporarily while awaiting permits to immigrate to Canada or Australia. Khairi believes in a brighter future and is grateful for her education, which she knows will improve her prospects in the future.

Adapting to her new life was not easy at first. Refugees are denied access to public education and work opportunities. They are stuck in a painful limbo unable to return home due to threats of imprisonment, yet unable to settle permanently in Lebanon.

A Salesian explained, “Their only options are to await official refugee status from the United Nations or to risk everything by attempting dangerous journeys by land or sea, where rejection, deportation, or worse are constant dangers.”

Salesians hope to continue to guarantee education at the school for up to 250 vulnerable children. This connection to school not only is an avenue for them to continue their education but also to share moments with their peers and have respite from war.

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Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

UNHCR – Lebanon

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Lebanon

*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) Salesian missionaries have been able to provide emergency assistance for people impacted by the war in Lebanon* thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The “Emergency Assistance to Internally Displaced People in Lebanon” project provided aid as well as housing for 100 internally displaced people who escaped villages at the border with Israel and south Beirut.

These individuals were hosted in the public school inside Don Bosco Hossoun’s center. The funding from Salesian Missions helped those displaced settle inside the school premises and be supported through the winter with kitchen equipment, blankets, and warm clothes. Salesians also were able to create a stock of medicines and provide meals, water, medical and psycho-social support, and recreational opportunities for youth.

A Salesian noted, “The funding was essential to helping us provide a safe and secure place for the families who were displaced. It allowed Salesians to provide ongoing support too. While those displaced remained at the Salesian center, staff were able to monitor to provide ongoing social and psychological support and continue to address urgent humanitarian needs, while fostering resilience and hope.”

One of the youth supported was Omar Al-Doweil, aged 6 and from Damascus. In 2024, his family fled Syria on foot, crossing the border into Lebanon in search of a better life in Beirut. The sudden, stressful move profoundly impacted the young child. and the bombings in Lebanon echoed Syria, reinforcing the trauma of displacement. Months passed, and Al-Doweil withdrew from everyone, including his family.

After the war ended in January, Al-Doweil enrolled in Angels of Peace School, which was free and near his home. Many Syrian refugees are barred from attending Lebanese public schools, and private schools remain unaffordable for families like Al-Doweil’s.

The school staff — particularly the psychologist and special education teachers— dedicated themselves to helping the young boy heal.

The Salesian said, “Today, Omar is vibrant and cheerful. He proudly recited the English alphabet to demonstrate his progress in learning a new language. According to Noura, the school’s director, Omar now speaks frequently and even cries when it’s time to go home.”

Lebanon is also dealing with more than 1.5 million refugees who have fled the Syrian civil war, according to the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees. Salesian missionaries have been working in Lebanon since 1952 and currently have two centers. The center in Fidar has Don Bosco Technique and a youth center. The Salesian community in Hossoun has an oratory and a reception house that has been housing Catholic refugees since the start of the war in Syria.

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Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Lebanon

*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) Salesians in Bethlehem were able to organize Christmas events in 2024, thanks in part to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Additional funding for the events was received from Opera Don Bosco in Milan, Italy.

A Salesian explained, “Through this project, the Salesians in Bethlehem promoted a sense of community and hope during the recent challenging times, offering emotional support, encouraging unity, and providing a break from the pressures of the conflict.”

With the funding, Salesians organized spiritual activities, including Christmas Mass services featuring traditional readings, carols and homilies. Prayer vigils offered a peaceful setting for reflection and communal prayer, fostering unity and support within the community. Additionally, Salesians facilitated Christmas carols and a performance by the local choir Sounds of Angels, which included members of young performers from the Bethlehem area.

Salesians also offered youth various activities, including a Christmas cookies workshop and a Christmas crafts workshop. Drama and theater activities were organized to allow participants to explore storytelling and performances to capture the holiday spirit. Finally, in response to the urgent need to support vulnerable families and institutions, Salesians distributed free bread with the help of dedicated volunteers.

The Salesian added, “These events brought together 200 youth, approximately 100 families, around 45 scout volunteers, and several invited institutions. The celebrations included meaningful spiritual activities that fostered a sense of community and holiday spirit among all participants.”

Since 1891, Salesian missionaries have been living and working in Bethlehem, initially establishing an orphanage for boys and later expanding programs to meet growing local needs. Today, Salesian missionaries provide a range of educational and social activities to support the local community. Salesians offer a technical and vocational training center, the bakery, a youth center and a scout group.

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Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Salesians in Bethlehem

UNICEF – Bethlehem Poverty

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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian center in Aleppo, Syria* continues to provide education and social development programs for youth even during the most challenging of times. The center provides an array of services year-round for youth who are poor and at risk so that they can learn and engage with others.

In the winter, youth come to the center on Fridays to play, learn and have fun together while meeting new friends and educators. Salesians offer sports education including basketball, soccer and volleyball for different groups. The sports are held two days a week and provide youth with a chance to spend time playing and building confidence. Christian education is held for children and youth aged 7-18.

Salesians also hold special meetings for families offering educational workshops and entertainment. Undergraduate students come together every Thursday to discuss important topics like university life. In addition, Salesians offer an after-school program for youth in second to the ninth grade. The students are taught and supervised by university youth who are prepared to teach, so children who need help are supported academically.

In the summer, Salesians offer education for volunteers who run the summer camps. High school youth are selected and go through volunteer training. They connect with older volunteers and learn the skills needed to support younger youth in summer camp activities.

A Salesian explained, “Every day of the week during the summer, there are activities for youth. The goal is to keep them engaged and give them a respite from the challenges they face in their communities. There are times for playing, learning crafts, trips, activities, and special days to swim. With all its rich and varied offerings all year round, the Salesian center remains an oasis of education, peace, reconciliation and development for thousands of youth.”

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Sources:

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

ANS – RMG – Social works that bring Don Bosco to life today: the Salesian house in Aleppo

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.

The post SYRIA: Salesians continue programs for youth in challenging times first appeared on MissionNewswire.

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian center in Al Fidar, Lebanon*, continues to play a crucial role in offering support to people in need with a focus on education, reconciliation and solidarity. Salesians report that the situation in Lebanon has shown signs of slow improvement. The ceasefire and the recent appointment of a new president have brought hope to a country that is trying to get back on its feet after years of economic and political difficulties, even though recent developments have shown the fragility of the situation for the local population.

A Salesian explained, “The heart of the Salesian mission lies in the diversity of the people we help including young Lebanese, Syrian and Iraqi refugees, each with their own story of suffering and hope. Although the challenges are many, every day offers us new opportunities to do good.”

The Salesian added, “With Lebanese and Iraqi children, we focus on schooling and emotional support through oratory activities. These become places where values such as solidarity, friendship and hope for the future are cultivated. For Syrian refugees, our main focus is on the oratory, which becomes a space where, despite daily difficulties, they can feel free to dream and discover talents they might otherwise not have had the chance to express. Each encounter is a small step toward building a sense of dignity and humanity.”

One of the youth helped at the Salesian oratory is Rami, a Syrian refugee who arrived in Lebanon with his family. In Lebanon, Rami found himself facing poverty and disorientation. The first encounter with the oratory was difficult for him. As time passed, he began to feel part of a community that offered him a safe haven.

Rami said, “Here, I feel accepted for who I am, not as a refugee but as a boy who has the opportunity to learn and to dream.” His experience reflects how important it is for youth, especially those scarred by war, to have the opportunity to hope for a better future.

During the 2024 conflict, the Salesian house took in more than 100 displaced people from southern Lebanon. For them, finding refuge in a time of violence and instability was a sign of the support and friendship they needed. The community went to great lengths to ensure that those displaced were not just helped, but supported in finding hope in the recovery.

The Salesian noted, “The mission that guides us every day is inspired by Don Bosco’s Salesian charism, which sees education as a fundamental means to change the lives of young people and communities. The road will still be long, but the goal is clear. We want to be a light of hope for every young person, for every family, for every person who needs to find a reason to believe in tomorrow.”

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

ANS – RMG – Social works that bring Don Bosco to life today: the Salesian presence in Lebanon, a refuge of hope

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Lebanon

*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.

The post LEBANON: Salesian center provides beacon of hope for refugee youth first appeared on MissionNewswire.

SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries with Don Bosco Network and the Middle East Planning and Development office report that the Salesian emergency response to the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria* resulted in 30 projects supported by 27 Salesian organizations. The 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria on Feb. 8, 2023. In its wake, 14 million people were affected and 1.5 million people were left homeless, according to the United Nations. The earthquake killed close to 55,000 people in the two countries.

Salesians quickly responded to the devastation. Father Simon Zakerian, Middle East provincial, explained, “One of the most beautiful things that happened was the correspondence that involved the whole congregation including all the Salesian centers and mission offices. They all came together to support the emergency response. This provided a sense of family, trust and joy despite the suffering for all those impacted, especially the youth. They felt supported by so many brothers and sisters who were thinking of them in prayer and who offered material and psychological support. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Father Alejandro León, the provincial at the time, was making the canonical visit in Syria and coordinated the emergency efforts directly, which allowed Salesians to mobilize funds immediately. In his message in February 2023, Fr. León shared, “It’s been three very difficult days. The first night 300 people were here to sleep, the second night it was 420 and now, as of nine o’clock in the evening, more than 500 people are seeking asylum. We are welcoming everyone.”

In addition to the quick mobilization of funds, there were many in-kind donations from the Syrian people in Damascus, who despite having almost nothing, shared their goods with their brothers and sisters in Aleppo and Kafroun. This meant that international funds lasted even longer and that joint efforts had a bigger impact in reaching more victims.

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Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Syria – A crisis within a crisis: Salesian Emergency Response after the Earthquake in Syria

Salesian Missions – Syria

*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) Salesian missionaries remain committed to providing for those impacted by war in Lebanon* even after the truce agreement made on Nov. 27. Father Alejandro León, one of the Salesian missionaries working on the coordination of Salesian operations for the emergency in the Middle East, says there is reason for hope and joy but still much work to be done.

He explained, “Despite the declared 60-day ceasefire, the consequences of the war and the bombing will be with us for a long time. The south of the country is devastated by the bombing and most of the people who have had to leave their homes have no place to return. Villages, cities and even neighborhoods in Beirut no longer exist.”

Fr. León continued, “The impact of the war is also having an impact on the country’s economy, leaving many people in a very vulnerable position, especially those who were already in difficult situations. Lebanon is facing a very weak socio-economic scenario.”

Salesians will continue to take care of the more than 100 displaced people in the El Houssoun center and the 300 families in vulnerable situations. Fr. León added, “We cannot leave all these people who are suffering on their own. We must create safe spaces for children, continue to offer them support and assistance regarding what they need and, above all, maintain access to education, to avoid losing another generation on the way. Education, in fact, is also suffering because many families cannot afford to send their children to school.”

In view of the seriousness of the situation, the Salesian Mission Office in Madrid has opened its Middle East Emergency campaign to help Salesians in Lebanon continue to take care of the displaced and the most vulnerable families.

Salesians have been in the Middle East since 1926. In Egypt, Israel, Palestine*, Lebanon and Syria*, Salesians provide education and support for thousands of youth through schools and vocational training centers that offer future opportunities. There are also numerous initiatives and projects to welcome and support refugees and those displaced that have been suffering from armed conflicts for the past several years.

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

ANS – Lebanon – “Despite the ceasefire the consequences of the war will be with us for a long time”

UNHCR – Lebanon

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Lebanon

*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) Salesians are responding to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Lebanon*. About 1.2 million people have fled their homes in search of safety, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Homes and public infrastructure have been destroyed, further aggravating the suffering of the civilian population. The closure of  schools continues to threaten the lives and futures of millions of children.

Salesians are seeking support for their Angels of Peace School, which is attended by 250 Iraqi and Syrian refugee children between the ages of 6 and 15. All schools in the country had been closed for security reasons, including the Salesian school located on the outskirts of Beirut, where most of the refugee and asylum-seeker community lives. For now, teachers are able to reach it and use the equipment and stable internet connection to manage distance classes with students.

Since 2015, the Angels of Peace School has been providing education to refugee children, as well as a psycho-social support program carried out by psychotherapists and speech therapists to address some of the challenges of youth given the war and their displacement.

A Salesian noted, “Refugee children in Lebanon face several obstacles to accessing education. Until 2023, they could only attend school in the afternoon, exposed to risks and dangers. This has caused an increase in school dropouts. After the teachers’ strikes against the strong devaluation of their salaries, the afternoon shifts were suspended.”

He added, “Refugee children are de facto excluded from the formal school system and Angels of Peace is the only possibility for them to access quality education. The Salesians want to help cover the costs of buying computers, tablets and internet connection for refugee families who do not have them.”

Salesians hope to continue to guarantee lessons to 250 vulnerable children. This connection to school not only is an avenue for them to continue their education but also to share moments with their peers and have respite from war.

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

ANS – Lebanon – School support for refugee children

UNHCR – Lebanon

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Lebanon

*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) Salesians in Lebanon* are assisting more than 2,000 internally displaced people from the south of the country who have been affected by the war. More than 275 families are receiving food, medicine and gasoline due to serious situations of vulnerability and job losses.

The conflict in Lebanon has left more than 1.4 million displaced, more than 2,000 dead and more than 12,000 wounded as a result of the bombing, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Salesians warn that there are still many needs, and Salesians around the globe have been responding. The Salesian Mission Office in Madrid, for example, has launched a Middle East Emergency campaign to support the most vulnerable populations in the area.

Salesians living and working in the region are doing what they can for those displaced. The Salesian Center in El Houssoun continues to take care of the displaced. The youth center that normally sees hundreds of Christian and Muslim youth was due to begin soon but was postponed for safety reasons. Salesians are continuing to assess the situation to see when they can reopen the school, as well as the Don Bosco Technique Technical High School in Fidar and the Angels of Peace School for Iraqi refugees in Beirut.

The conflict in Lebanon also affects Syria*. The Salesian noted, “In Lebanon, there are many refugees from Syria. Today, they are returning to their country, but they have nothing. The basic necessities that are bought in Syria all come from Lebanon, therefore, life in Syria becomes more difficult every day.”

Father Alejandro León, a Salesian missionary in the Salesian Province of the Middle East, explained, “We cannot leave all these people who suffer from violence in the Middle East on their own. We must create safe spaces for them, especially for children, and continue to offer them support and assistance with everything they need, prepare for the arrival of winter and, above all, maintain access to education so as not to lose another generation.”

Salesians have been in the Middle East since 1926. In Egypt, Israel, Palestine*, Lebanon and Syria, Salesians provide education and support for thousands of youth through schools and vocational training centers that offer future opportunities. There are also numerous initiatives and projects to welcome and support refugees and those displaced that have been suffering from armed conflicts for the past several years.

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

ANS – Lebanon – Middle East Emergency: “We cannot leave them on their own”

UNHCR – Lebanon

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Lebanon

*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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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian centers in Syria* are providing youth a safe haven and a place where they can continue to cultivate their dreams and their faith through education and support. Salesian centers are located in Aleppo, Damascus and Kafroun.

A Salesian said, “In a country devastated by years of war, young Syrians stand as symbols of resilience and hope. Despite the countless difficulties that surround them, they show a surprising skill and intelligence and an ability to face daily challenges with determination and a spirit of sacrifice. Syria, with its destroyed political and social landscape, may seem a place where the future is uncertain and prospects are scarce, but young people, despite living in physical and emotional ruins, manage to build spaces of hope and give value to the present.”

The path for these youth has been fraught with challenges. The war, which began in 2011, was followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The earthquake in February 2023 left behind a long trail of destruction. It collapsed houses and left areas with no infrastructure and an economic crisis. Economic difficulties are one of the most serious challenges for young Syrians, who often have to choose between working to contribute to family sustenance or continuing to study. High costs, a lack of job opportunities and an unstable political context make it almost impossible to plan for a peaceful future.

The Salesian noted, “Young Syrians show a great capacity for adaptation and an extraordinary desire to get involved. Several of them excel in their studies, despite the precarious conditions in which they find themselves living. Others try to find a way to earn a living. They are finding creative solutions to complex problems, from managing daily life to surviving in extremely difficult conditions. Many of these boys and girls see education as a way to build a better future, and, despite the economic difficulties, they invest every resource to continue their education.”

The Salesian added, “Despite the ambiguity of the future and the uncertainty that surrounds them, young Syrians try to give quality to today’s experience. They know that while they have no control over what happens tomorrow, they can positively influence the present. Through small daily actions — mutual help, study, commitment to work and community — they seek to build a better today for themselves and for others.”

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

ANS – Syria – Young Syrians: talent, difficulties and hope in a war-torn land

Salesian Missions – Syria

*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.

The post SYRIA: Youth focus on education as path toward future first appeared on MissionNewswire.

(MissionNewswire) Salesians in Nazareth are responding to the unique challenges faced by Arab communities in Israel, exacerbated by the ongoing conflict since Oct. 7, 2023, which has led to increasing levels of fear, anxiety and depression among youth. To focus on these urgent needs, the Salesians have launched two key programs.

A Salesian explained, “Although in principle, legal rights are the same for all Israeli citizens, almost all cities and villages inhabited by Arabs offer significantly poorer living conditions. These communities face numerous challenges, including lower levels of formal education and a range of socio-economic problems. The Christian population is mainly concentrated in the northern district and in Haifa and Nazareth where the Salesian community is located, which has a population of almost 30,000 inhabitants.”

The first initiative is a scholarship program designed to assist 105 disadvantaged students, offering tuition deductions. This program directly addresses the economic hardships faced by many families in war-affected Arab communities. By alleviating financial burdens, the initiative aims to reduce dropout rates and ensure that students can continue their education despite the hardships of their families.

The second initiative focuses on improving psycho-social support within educational settings during the conflict. This includes training 50 school staff and teachers on effective strategies to support students during the war, as well as the involvement of 100 children and adolescents in psycho-social activities such as psychological workshops and expert-led sessions on religious and spiritual guidance. This program will provide psychological support for 655 school students, tackling the significant repercussions on mental health in prolonged conflict including anxiety, depression, anger and sadness.

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ANS – Israel – Nazareth Salesians launch initiatives to support children and young people during the ongoing conflict

Salesian Missions

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(MissionNewswire) With the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon*, Salesian missionaries in El Houssoun, located in the Jbeil-Biblo district, have taken in more than 100 displaced people. The Salesian center has an elementary and middle school that is now closed. Other Salesian activities have been suspended, such as the Salesian Youth Movement gathering in the Middle East, which was to take place at the Salesian center in El Houssoun in September.

A Salesian noted that the displaced people arrive without anything. He said, “We try to offer them the essentials to live ― a place to sleep, warm clothes, food, a safe place to stay, child care. Psychological assistance for the youngest, who have had their education interrupted, will be very important. More than 9,000 displaced people have arrived in the city and at the Salesian house. We are already taking in more than 100, half of whom are children. We are assisting more than 4,000 in Salesian programs in addition.”

In September, Israel increased attacks on Hezbollah inside Lebanon. Attacks and counter offenses have caused more than 600 deaths and injured more than 2,000 people. There are currently more than 1.2 million people displaced, and there is massive destruction in the south of the country on the border with Israel.

A Salesian explained, “All this is causing the Lebanese population a lot of fear and concern, especially young people, who once again face an insidious and dangerous future. Families are also experiencing this crisis with a deep sense of bewilderment and unease. At the present time there is uncertainty. Opening of schools has been postponed and there has been a massive influx of displaced people from the south.”

The Salesian youth center in El Houssoun, which normally sees hundreds of Christians and Muslims youth, was due to begin soon but has now been postponed for safety reasons. Salesians are continuing to assess the situation to see when they can reopen the school, as well as the Don Bosco Technique Technical High School in Fidar and the Angels of Peace School for Iraqi refugees in Beirut.

Lebanon is in the middle of a deepening economic crisis that has pushed more than 80% percent of the population into conditions of poverty. Marginalized communities, including seniors, children and refugees, have been disproportionately impacted by the worsening economic conditions that are affecting public services, including education and health care.

Lebanon is also dealing with more than 1.5 million refugees who have fled the Syrian civil war, according to U.N. High Comissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Close to 90% of those are living in extreme poverty and don’t even have enough to meet their basic needs. Salesian missionaries have been working in Lebanon since 1952 and currently have two centers. The one center in Fidar has Don Bosco Technique and a youth center. The Salesian community in El Houssoun has an oratory and a reception house that has been housing Catholic refugees since the start of the war in Syria.

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

ANS – Lebanon – Salesians in a context of war

ANS – Lebanon – The emergency in the Middle East and the situation of displaced persons and refugees in Lebanon: a double exodus fleeing from one war to another

UNHCR – Lebanon

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Lebanon

*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) Don Bosco Technique Technical High School, located in Fidar, Lebanon*, handed out diplomas to 135 students, with 83 students completing technical studies and 52 obtaining their postgraduate specialization diploma. Graduate specializations were in sports-physical education, hotel school (culinary arts and management), car mechanics, computer-accounting, theatrical arts and fine arts.

School staff, as well as the graduates and their families, attended the graduation. A Salesian noted, “For the families it was a really exciting moment and they did not fail to applaud warmly every time the names were announced. The two best students of the year, in addition to the recognition, also received an award.”

Father Simon Zakerian, superior of the Jesus the Adolescent Province of the Middle East, which includes Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel and Egypt, urged the graduates to continue to develop their skills so they could accomplish great things in life.

He also announced that Joe Atallah, a Salesian cooperator, will lead the board of directors and become executive director to all three Salesian organizations in Lebanon, which are Don Bosco Technique, a Salesian reception center and oratory in El Houssoun and the Angels of Peace school for Iraqi refugees in Beirut.

Lebanon is in the middle of a deepening economic crisis that has pushed more than 80% percent of the population into conditions of poverty. Marginalized communities, including seniors, children and refugees, have been disproportionately impacted by the worsening economic conditions that are affecting public services, including education and health care.

Lebanon is also dealing with more than 1.5 million refugees who have fled the Syrian civil war, according to U.N. High Comissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Close to 90% of those are living in extreme poverty and don’t even have enough to meet their basic needs. Salesian missionaries have been working in Lebanon since 1952 and currently have two centers. The one center in Fidar has Don Bosco Technique and a youth center. The Salesian community in El Houssoun has an oratory and a reception house that has been housing Catholic refugees since the start of the war in Syria.

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

ANS – Lebanon – Distribution of diplomas to Don Bosco Technique in Al Fidar

UNHCR – Lebanon

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Lebanon

*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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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian centers in Aleppo, Damascus and Kafroun, Syria*, are offering summer camp for more than 3,400 youth, aged 9-17. The camps run for a month and a half with the theme “Don Bosco World.” The camps are a much-needed respite for youth during the midst of the difficult economic and social situation in the country, due to war and the devastating earthquake that occurred last year.

During the camps, youth will participate in recreation, sports, excursions, theater and educational lessons. The camps are led by young university students who have been involved in Salesian youth centers, as well as parents. These volunteers have spent months preparing the activities for this year’s camps.

“Children and young people have the opportunity to have fun, learn and even overcome their traumas. It is a great source of hope for all of them,” said Rania, one of the students responsible for summer activities in Aleppo.

Due to the high temperatures, the camps begin in the later afternoon and continue until the evening. The recreational activities take place every week, including trips to the pool and excursions in the mountains.

“These summer camps provide hope that goes straight to the heart and is reflected on their faces, which is needed because their family situations are unsustainable with very low salaries and inflation that does not allow you to buy much,” explained Joseph, one of the head of activities in Damascus.

The biggest expenses for these camps are those related to transport. Salesians have five buses in Aleppo, three buses in Damascus and eight minibuses in Kafroun that pick up most of the participants every day from the areas farthest from the city.

Mateo, a volunteer, said, “If we did not offer the transportation, they would not come. The distances are too great and the costs too high, but that is why we do everything so that they do not lack anything and are able to enjoy the oasis of peace in the summer.”

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

ANS – Syria – A carefree summer for Syrian children, thanks to the Don Bosco World Salesian camp

Salesian Missions – Syria

*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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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Close to 220 people in Aleppo, Syria,* were provided critical cardiovascular medical care thanks to support provided by Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. These patients were impacted by the February 2023 earthquake in Syria and Turkey.

The patients who were supported needed life-saving surgeries and medical care. This project enabled 20 patients to access the surgery they needed. Other patients were able to access follow-up medical appointments, testing and medications.

Edwar Nakouz, the father of two children, received surgery and necessary medical care. He was in desperate need of surgery and was dealing with pain and illness every day, which impacted his quality of life. The financial cost of those surgeries was prohibitive. He said, “Since the onset of the illness I dealt with immense physical and psychological pain. I found myself trapped between the walls of the disease and a constant state of disability. I drew strength from within to face challenges and move forward steadfastly, I always lived in pain and hardship, but I never lost hope.”

Before the earthquake, Syria’s health care system was already overwhelmed due to the prolonged conflict in the country, which caused more than 230,000 civilian deaths, including 30,007 children between March 2011-2023. After the earthquake, it risked a complete collapse in some impacted areas. The World Health Organization’s 2022 Health Emergency Appeal reported that Syria recorded close to 45% of all deaths as being related to non-communicable diseases, which include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory disease. Cardiovascular disease alone accounts for 25% of all deaths.

Widad Zalkaba was another beneficiary of the project. She faced significant physical challenges with pain in her eyes. She had to continuously take medication and undergo regular surgical procedures to preserve her vision.

Zalkaba described the situation for many families in Aleppo. “Today, we are facing significant challenges in bearing the costs of living in these difficult conditions. Many people find it difficult to secure food and provide basic health care and medications. Families also struggle to afford necessities such as clothing and housing. The cost of medical care, in particular, can be extremely difficult, even impossible, to bear. Unfortunately, there are families in Aleppo who cannot even afford the consultation fees to see a doctor, despite their pain, as they need to save every bit of money for food.”

Zalkaba’s family faced similar financial difficulties. She added, “My family has been struggling with difficult financial circumstances like many families in Aleppo, making it impossible for us to afford the expenses of these surgical procedures and the purchase of necessary medication. However, with the presence of the Salesian fathers, everything changed. They are second family for us and did not hesitate to assist us in any possible way.”

Salesians have been in Syria since 1948. They work in Damascus, Aleppo, and Kafroun and have remained through the war. Since the outbreak of the war, Salesian centers have played an important role in providing monthly assistance and emergency financial assistance to about 300 families, of which about half were displaced. At the same time, the three centers have continued and gradually expanded socio-recreational, spiritual, and educational activities. Their centers have seen a rise of about 500 children to over 1,200 currently attending the centers.

While the Salesians in the country do not manage any formal schools or training centers, they offer a structured remedial education and school support program for youth in need through scholarships, after-school activities, tutoring classes and related activities. To offer youth livelihood opportunities going beyond financial assistance, an employment and youth entrepreneurship support program was launched in 2019.

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Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Salesian Missions – Syria

*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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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) More than 3,500 youth are being supported by Salesians in Aleppo, Damascus and Kafroun, Syria*. Almost 13 years after the start of the war and 11 months after the earthquake that hit Aleppo, the devaluation of the currency, poverty, unemployment and despair has increased among adults and children.

“In October 2023, we started the new pastoral year and winter activities, and in Aleppo alone we have more than 1,500 children. They participate in oratory, formation and catechesis activities,” explained Mateo Colmenares, a volunteer in Aleppo. “We are also providing economic aid to families in need, including vouchers for solar panels, food and help with reconstruction after the earthquake.”

Syria is undergoing a severe economic devaluation. The Syrian lira has devalued by more than 100% in the last year, salaries are not enough to buy the basics to live and houses do not have electricity.

Colmenares said, “We’re bringing light in times of darkness and difficulty. Salesians never stop supporting young people despite very complicated situations, and together we try to open up new perspectives to reach more and more people.”

However, youth are still facing the realities of war with the conflict in Gaza seen in everyday life. In the early days of the war, those attending the Salesian oratory could see bursts of gunfire streak across the sky toward Gaza.

“Younger children were crying and scared. The older ones, aged 16 to 17, who remember the worst part of the war in Syria, went about their normal lives and didn’t notice anything. When these things happen, we began saying the rosary in the courtyard,” said Colmenares.

Salesian missionaries operate three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high-conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Throughout the ongoing war and struggles in the country, Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling.

Colmenares added, “So much has been destroyed by the war and the earthquake. Children are still recovering but many see little hope for the future. As we start a new year, Salesians are asking for an end to the violence and for help from all over the world to continue supporting the victims.”

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

ANS – Syria – Salesians in the country: hope in the midst of difficulties for the little ones and their families

Salesian Missions – Syria

*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.

The post SYRIA: 3,500 youth supported by Salesian centers first appeared on MissionNewswire.

SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in Aleppo, Syria,* continue to support local youth after the country’s 12 years of civil war and in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria in February 2023.

In the immediate aftermath, Salesians opened the doors to Don Bosco House, and hundreds of people found security, companionship and relief. Five months after the earthquake, Father Alejandro León, superior of the Salesian Adolescent Jesus Province of the Middle East, reflected on what he experienced and what the country continues to need, as well as extended his gratitude for all those who have provided support.

Fr. León said, “One sentence I heard made me think. I entered a formation meeting with a group of teenagers aged 15-16. I don’t know what topic they were discussing, but one girl said, ‘Here we were taught to see the glass half full, rather than half empty, but the problem is that our glass is not only empty, it’s really broken.’ The sentence may seem to be exaggerated, or an outburst after the experience of the earthquake. However, I  do not share this, but there is something in it that makes me reflect and empathize with the existential situation of these young people.”

Fr. León noted everything these youth have been through in their young lives. “They are young people who have no recollection of life without war. They have lived for years without electricity, without water, with scarcity of food and fuel. They have lived in a besieged city and have feared attacks with chemical weapons or missiles. They all mourn a family member who died during the war and live in constant economic depression. They have experienced cholera epidemics and the COVID-19 epidemic. What now? A large earthquake and other earthquakes, at least four, that exceeded 6 on the Richter scale.”

It was 4:17 a.m. on Feb. 6 when the earth shook. Immediately, the courtyard of Don Boco House filled with people seeking safety. There was anxiety and uncertainty. Father Mario Murru, rector, assured them from the outset that the Salesian house would be open for all those who needed it. At lunchtime, there were already 50 people in the house, and by dinner, there were 300. This number grew steadily in the following days to reach 500 people. On Feb. 21 another strong earthquake renewed fear, and 800 people found shelter at Don Bosco House.

Youth in the region had been attending programs at Don Bosco House for years. They were involved in youth camps and were familiar with the Salesians. Through their own training, they were natural leaders in the emergency, helping their families and neighbors. Fr. Murru said, “It was moving to see the respect that the adults paid to young people. Not because they were designated authorities, but because of the moral authority acquired through their generous service.”

He added, “Love has made us overcome barriers that none of us could have imagined. For the love of children, for the love of parents, for the love of friends, for the love of God. At a time when there was no reason to hope for anything, they found people to fight for with hope and everyone, rich and poor, became needy and shared what they had.”

Almost 2.4 million euro was raised by Salesians around the globe for emergency projects in the aftermath of the earthquake. In June, most of those emergency projects concluded to make room for reconstruction, educational projects, and summer camps for children and older youth affected by the earthquake.

Salesian missionaries operate three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high-conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Throughout the ongoing war and struggles in the country, Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling.

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

ANS – Syria – Ongoing humanitarian emergency five months after the earthquake

Salesian Missions – Syria

*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.

The post SYRIA: Youth find support through war, earthquakes first appeared on MissionNewswire.

SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries with the Don Bosco House in Aleppo opened their doors to those in need after the devastating earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria* four months ago. Today, thousands of people are still living on the streets. Buildings that once might have been strong enough to withstand the quake had previously suffered decay due to 12 years of civil war in the country.

Funding of almost 2.4 million euro was raised by Salesians around the globe for emergency projects in the aftermath of the earthquake. In June, most of those emergency projects concluded to make room for reconstruction, educational projects, and summer camps for children and older youth affected by the earthquake.

One Salesian missionary in Aleppo said, “The situation is calmer now. The need is still great, but in these months we have helped many people. Emergency projects will end this month to make room for reconstruction and other educational and care projects for children and young people. We continue to work on providing psychological assistance and helping them overcome trauma.”

People’s suffering has been compounded by the earthquake and the devastating consequences of the war. Mateo Colmenares, a young Salesian volunteer stationed in Aleppo, explained, “In Syria we find ourselves in a situation of critical poverty due to the war and the earthquake. The basic salary in the country is 150,000 lira (55 euro), but two hours of light a day for a week costs 100,000 Syrian lira.”

The emergency aid projects included hosting nearly 800 people at the Salesian Center in Aleppo and the distribution of daily food in remote villages during Ramadan.

Salesian funding also repaired damaged houses and provided academic assistance to youth, as well as supported people with vouchers for food, electricity and basic necessities. More than 220 families received a monthly economic voucher, 116 families received a single voucher for electricity and another 220 families received vouchers for other purchases. Engineers and laborers helped 40 families with reconstruction of their homes.

Colmenares detailed additional health and education support,“We helped 300 families with the purchase of medicines and another 100 people with health advice from cardiologists and ophthalmologists. We have also provided school assistance to children between 10 and 16 years of age thanks to our youth centers, helped 900 children and university students to pay school fees, and supported 600 children in obtaining school supplies.”

Thanks to an agreement with a shoe factory, Salesians also distributed 800 pairs of shoes through a voucher for people in need. The aid extended beyond Aleppo. Salesians provided food to 300 people in Kafroun and are currently distributing 450 vouchers for the local market.

In the coming months, Salesians will be facilitating summer camps for more than 1,000 children. The camps are designed to help youth overcome psychological trauma, and Salesians will provide free transport, food, snacks and teaching materials.

Even after all these efforts, Salesians have no intention of slowing down. They reported, “We will continue with educational projects and give priority to teaching languages, because 90% of young people leave the country — boys, to avoid military service, which can be indefinite and take them to war and girls because they do not have professional opportunities in Syria.”

Salesian missionaries operate three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high-conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Throughout the ongoing war and struggles in the country, Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling.

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

ANS – Syria – Salesian aid in Syria since the earthquake last February has reached thousands of families

Salesian Missions – Syria

*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.

The post SYRIA: Salesians highlight emergency aid after earthquake first appeared on MissionNewswire.

SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in Damascus are preparing summer activities to help nearly 2,000 youth overcome the trauma caused by the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake that impacted Turkey and Syria. More than three months later, the situation has not improved significantly. The war’s aftermath, along with the economic and social crisis the country is experiencing, has greatly impacted all. Many children see no hope for the future.

The earthquake worsened the health situation in the country, which was already dire due to the war. Cases of cholera, scabies, diarrhea, hepatitis and measles have been detected. Due to a shortage of doctors and infrastructure, the only solution is care at private hospitals, which is inaccessible to most. According to the United Nations, more than 9,000 buildings collapsed in Syria, and as many are uninhabitable. It has been estimated that 8.8 million people need emergency assistance.

On the front lines in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, Salesians provided shelter, food and emergency aid. Salesian solidarity worldwide has raised more than 2 million euros for the emergency. All the projects for which these funds were raised are currently running successfully and benefiting hundreds of youth and their families.

Now, Salesians are turning their efforts to more long-term recovery, including helping youth overcome stress and trauma through sports and recreational activities. One of these activities is holding summer camps for youth between the ages of 8 and 18. The camps will take place at Salesian centers in Damascus and Kafroun and include transportation, food and all materials.

A study by Mariam Ghosn, a psychologist working with the Salesians in Aleppo, shows that 85% of youth need psychological support and that by participating in group activities and therapy, they can heal the trauma caused by the earthquake.

Salesian missionaries operate three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high-conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Throughout the ongoing war and struggles in the country, Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling. Their work continues now even in the face of additional tragedy.

Sources:

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

ANS – Syria – To overcome earthquake trauma, Salesians take action with summer camps

Salesian Missions – Syria

*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.

The post SYRIA: Camps help youth impacted by earthquake first appeared on MissionNewswire.

(MissionNewswire) Five students received scholarships to attend Don Bosco Technique, located in Fidar, Lebanon,* thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The school is one of the area’s few professional institutes and welcomes many youth who have difficulties attending school. The goal is to provide them with an education and social supports so they remain in school and gain the skills needed for employment.

Don Bosco Technique offers several different programs for youth, including mechanics, electrical installation, hairdressing and computer science. One of the school’s most sought-after programs is focused on training in catering and hotel services. There is a large employment sector across the world for graduates in these areas.

“We are grateful to our donors who have provided scholarship funding for students in need,” said Father Timothy Ploch, interim director of Salesian Missions. “The educational programs at Don Bosco Technique are created to help youth have a smooth school to work transition. Because Salesian missionaries live in the communities in which they work, they are knowledgeable of market conditions and what employment sectors are the most advantageous for employment.”

Lebanon is in the middle of a deepening economic crisis that has pushed more than 80% percent of the population into conditions of poverty. Marginalized communities, including seniors, children and refugees, have been disproportionately impacted by the worsening economic conditions that are affecting public services, including education and health care.

Lebanon is also dealing with more than 1.5 million refugees who have fled the Syrian civil war, according to UNHCR – the United Nations Refugee Agency. Close to 90% of those are living in extreme poverty and don’t even have enough to meet their basic needs. Salesian missionaries have been working in Lebanon since 1952 and currently have two centers. The one center in Fidar has Don Bosco Technique and a youth center. The Salesian community in El Houssoun has an oratory and a reception house that has been housing Catholic refugees since the start of the war in Syria.

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Photo courtesy of Don Bosco Technique

UNHCR – Lebanon

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Lebanon

*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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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries have been working in Aleppo, Syria*, long before the war started 12 years ago. They have continued their support even in the face of difficulties, challenged even more by the recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey.

Salesians have resumed activities for 1,100 youth at the Salesian youth center and stepped up to help those impacted by the earthquake. One Salesian said, “We are trying to return to normalcy, but we are still in waiting mode. People fear another big earthquake and there are thousands of people who still cannot return to their homes.” Salesians are dealing with the emergency, distributing food and fuel vouchers, and offering free technical assistance to monitor structural damage to buildings.

Jamil was sleeping on the 11th floor of his building with his parents and siblings when the earthquake struck. He recounted, “I don’t know how we made it down all the floors, but we made it to safety. It took weeks before we could return home and we stayed with the Salesians. Now, even though we have returned, my father cannot sleep. He had trouble breathing and his heart was pounding, so now he sleeps in a small store where he works.”

The earthquake worsened the health situation in the country, which was already dire due to the war. Cases of cholera, scabies, diarrhea, hepatitis and measles have been detected. Due to a shortage of doctors and infrastructure, the only solution is care at private hospitals, which is inaccessible to most. According to the United Nations, more than 9,000 buildings have collapsed in Syria, and as many are uninhabitable. It has been estimated that 8.8 million people need emergency assistance.

To cope with the trauma, Salesians in Damascus have provided psychosocial support and training for young Salesian volunteers. Mateo Colmenares, a Salesian volunteer in Aleppo, explained, “The initiative has been wonderful for the young people. This was the first time we were all well rested and had slept well after the earthquake. It was also a time for us to recharge our batteries to continue helping those in need during the Holy Week.”

Colmenares noted even though people have left the Salesian center and returned home, Salesians are still supporting them. “In the first weeks of March, all the people hosted by us returned to their homes or to temporary rented housing. Every 20 days, we continue to help by distributing vouchers for food, hygiene products and fuel to 200 families. For those who fear their homes are still unsafe, we have offered qualified engineers to assess the damage so they can receive financial assistance for rehabilitation.”

Salesians also installed solar panels at the Don Bosco House in Aleppo so that they are not dependent on fuel and generators during the 22 hours a day when there is no power. Salesians will initiate another project to provide medical care and support to more than 200 people whose cardiovascular health has deteriorated due to the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks.

These initiatives are being supported by Salesian organizations around the globe. So far, 1.8 million euros have been donated. The Salesian Mission Office in Madrid has provided 400,000 euros earmarked for emergency aid and education in Aleppo, shelter at the Salesian house in Kafroun, installation of solar panels, and reconstruction projects to be implemented in the coming months.

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

ANS – Syria – Two months after earthquake, thousands of people in Aleppo are living Holy Week unable to re-enter their homes

Salesian Missions – Syria

*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.

The post SYRIA: Earthquake victims in Aleppo receive continued support first appeared on MissionNewswire.

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian Bakery is a historical institution in Bethlehem, located in the West Bank just south of Jerusalem, that has been in operation for 120 years. The bakery provides food assistance to those most in need through the free distribution of bread to the poorest families while also selling bread to those who can pay for it. During Ramadan, the bakery opens at 1:30 a.m. for Muslims who observe a strict daily fast from dawn until sunset.

“This loaf of bread is called ‘hamam,’ which means pigeon, because of its shape. Here in Bethlehem, we’re the only ones who have always made it,” said Ibrahim Matta, who serves customers and kneads bread throughout the night. “The bread comes in 14 different sizes in white and whole wheat. There is never sugar added to the bread so it is safe for those with blood disorders. It’s made with flour, salt, yeast and water.”

Matta is proud of his work, which he learned from bakers who came from Italy to Bethlehem. The local Salesian vocational school has been hosting baking workshops to help carry this work forward with a new generation.

Since 1891, Salesian missionaries have been living and working in Bethlehem, initially establishing an orphanage for boys and then later expanding programs to meet growing local needs. Today, Salesian missionaries provide a range of educational and social activities to support the local community. Salesians offer a technical and vocational training center, the bakery, a youth center, and a scouts group.

“The bakery was initially used to feed the boys, who soon numbered almost a hundred,” explained Father Gianni Caputa. “A few years later, Salesians decided to sell the bread to the public. There is a little green card someone can put in if they cannot pay for it, so they receive it for free.”

This initiative has helped to launch others including a new project with 18 Italian non-governmental agencies working in Bethlehem to help the economic crisis in the region. The “Start your business” three-year project was launched by the Italian organizations with the support of the Salesian Italian Agency for Development Cooperation to create new micro-enterprises.

“One hundred businesses have already been incubated and eventually there will be 120 start-ups,” said Gigi Bisceglia, coordinator of the project. “These include small businesses and individuals who have started work in tourism, handicrafts (soap and cosmetics production), and service providers, such as a call center for finding doctors and booking blood tests where there is no public health support. These micro-enterprises have come out of vocational courses for women and youth.”

Luigi Bisceglia, who is a part of the project and teaches at Bethlehem University’s School of Business and Economics, explained, “What we are trying to do is an attempt to provide business in a sustainable way. The Salesian bakery, with its ability to redistribute bread to the neediest, has been a form of social enterprise since its inception and an example of what we are trying to accomplish.”

Bethlehem has a population close to 25,000 people and an economy that is primarily tourist driven. According to UNICEF, poverty in Palestinian territories including the West Bank, Gaza and Bethlehem varies district to district. Along the Gaza Strip, poverty rates have risen as high as 60% with residents relying on food assistance from the United Nations. Over half of the population is under the age of 18, and children in the region grow up amid frequent outbreaks of street violence sparked by ongoing political turmoil.

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ANS – Palestine – Salesian bakery in Bethlehem: bread, love and development

Salesians in Bethlehem

UNICEF – Bethlehem Poverty

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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) March 15 marked 12 years since the war in Syria* began. The conflict has killed at least 580,000 people with 13 million Syrians displaced and 6.7 million refugees forced to flee the country, according to UNHCR – the United Nations Refugee Agency. More than 11 million people in the country urgently need humanitarian assistance to survive, including 6.5 million minors.

“There is no work, no electricity, fuel is very expensive and money is worthless,” said Father Alejandro León, provincial superior of the Salesians of the Middle East. “The population is discouraged. There is a generation of minors who know only war, and many young people who have lived most of their lives amid violence are thinking of leaving the country.”

Fr. León added, “Adolescents in our Salesian centers have been educated in the culture of peace and hope, to always see the glass half full. However, many of them openly say that the problem now is that the glass is broken and they do not see a future for themselves and their families.”

In Syria today, every family has a loved one to mourn because of the war. Fr. León explained, “Even in our oratories and youth centers we have suffered from the deaths of minors, youth leaders, and their families due to the bombs on Damascus and Aleppo. Youth are left with a decision — to leave the country in search of a future away from Syria or to stay with their parents and wait for peace to contribute to reconstruction.”

Moreover, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6 has complicated an already dangerous situation for people. Buildings had been weakened from the bombings and more than 100,000 collapsed. There are 1.5 million people homeless and 5.4 million individuals dependent on emergency aid. More than 6,000 Syrians died in the quake.

The Salesian center in Kafroun took in more than 370 people during the worst years of the war and is now also welcoming those displaced by the earthquake. In Aleppo, the city hardest hit by the war and now the earthquake, Salesians are running an educational project. In recent weeks, nearly 800 people have been housed at the city’s Don Bosco House after the earthquake.

In Damascus, close to 1,200 youth are benefiting from Salesian work. In the Jaramana neighborhood, apartments have been rented to give lessons to children so that they do not have to move too far to pursue their studies. Salesians are also planning a large youth center in the area.

Through the years, Salesians have kept their doors open to meet the needs of youth in their local communities. From 2012 to 2018, 250 families in Aleppo, 120 in Damascus and 30 in Kafroun received monthly financial assistance. From 2012 to 2014, Salesian housed 70 people from Aleppo who were displaced by the war in Kafroun. In addition, from 2019 to 2022, close to 200 youth received business promotion courses and some of them were helped with the initial investment of their businesses. Youth were also provided with refresher and remedial courses.

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

ANS – Syria – The country experiences another sad anniversary of the outbreak of war, with added devastation from the earthquake

Salesian Missions – Syria

*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.

The post SYRIA: Salesians highlight ongoing efforts first appeared on MissionNewswire.

SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Two weeks after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria*, killing more than 47,000 people, another powerful 6.4 magnitude quake triggered panic in the impacted areas. Thousands of people took to the streets, seeking shelter. More than 750 sought shelter at the Don Bosco Center in Aleppo.

“In Aleppo, we felt the earthquake very strongly. All the people took to the streets with so many nightmares still in their heads and so much fear,” said Father Pier Jabloyan, delegate of social communication of the Salesian Middle East Adolescent Jesus Province.

Many people have nowhere to go and nowhere to sleep in Aleppo. Salesian missionaries, who have been serving those in Syria since the beginning of the war, are doing their best to help earthquake victims with shelter, food, warm clothes, blankets and more. Focused first on providing shelter and immediate support, the goal was to turn their attention to long-term need. With this new quake, it’s like starting over again.

Fr. Jabloyan added, “The difficulty is that now the Salesian center is overloaded with people. We have difficulty getting mattresses, blankets and food. We were not prepared for so many and we were only equipped for 400 people.”

Father Alejandro León, provincial superior of the province, explained that people felt added trauma with this new quake. “When the first earthquake happened, the one in the early morning hours, the families were together and sleeping, but with this aftershock, the fear and uncertainty were compounded by not knowing the location of children, parents, or the rest of the family.”

The goal is to help people not only with immediate needs but also support the psychological trauma people have faced. Fr. Jabloyan explained, “We see great fear in the eyes of children, youth and their families. It is felt even more strongly now with the aftershock.”

Even though supplies are stretched thin, Salesian will continue to serve people in Aleppo. Fr. León said, “Amid pain, panic and uncertainty, everyone wants to help those who are worse off, everyone asks what they can do. They have incredible patience and faith, and many recognize that they come to us because they feel safer in church.”

Salesian missionaries operate three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high-conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Throughout the ongoing war and struggles in the country, Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling. Their work continues now even in the face of additional tragedy.

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

ANS – Syria – A new earthquake tremor, a fresh start. Salesian house in Aleppo is struggling

Salesian Missions – Syria

*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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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, has launched an emergency appeal to provide disaster relief for those impacted by the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck in Kahramanmaraş province in southern Turkey, very close to Syria’s* northwestern border, on Feb. 6. The earthquake was felt in 14 countries, including Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus and Jordan.

The Turkey/Syria Earthquake Disaster Relief Fund will bring critical medical supplies, food, water and support to survivors, helping them to heal and rebuild their lives. Salesian missionaries living and working in Turkey and Syria were among those first at the scene of the impact. The Salesian center in Aleppo sustained some minor damage and people rushed to the center for support.

“The earthquake was very strongly felt and for a long time,” explained Father Alejandro León, superior of the Salesian Province of the Middle East, from Kafroun, near Homs and the Lebanese border. “Initial information received from Aleppo is that our center there suffered some minor damage due to cracks and some broken glass, but Salesians and the people we assist nearby are fine despite the earthquake.”

Fr. León added, “Some families took refuge in our house in Aleppo. They arrived with only the clothes they had on. Their homes are not in good condition because of the war and they feel safer with us. We know that there are many dead and that many buildings have collapsed, so we will offer shelter, food and emergency aid with all the basic necessities we can offer in these first moments.”

More than 37,000 people have been reported dead and tens of thousands have been injured. Many more are still missing. Thousands of homes and buildings have collapsed, burying people who were asleep at the time the earthquake happened. Aid relief to impacted rebel-held areas of northwest Syria has been complicated amid a long-running civil war. While the Syrian government approved sending aid to those territories, they provided no timeline or plan for delivering the aid.

In Aleppo and other areas where Salesians serve, people have nowhere to go and nowhere to sleep. Salesian missionaries who have been serving those in Syria since the beginning of the war are doing their best to help those victims reaching out to them and providing shelter, food, warm clothes, blankets and more.

Father Pier Jabloyan, provincial delegate for social communication, said, “More than 300 people have been welcomed and helped by the Salesians, collaborators, and the entire Salesian family in Aleppo. We are trying to do what we can, despite the challenges and difficulties. It is snowing in Syria and there is a lack of power and a lack of fuel. The population is really having a difficult time.”

Salesian missionaries operate three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high-conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Throughout the ongoing war and struggles in the country, Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling.

Salesians around the globe are working to provide the financial and material resources needed to help those who have been impacted by the earthquake. To provide support, donate to the Salesian Missions Turkey/Syria Earthquake Disaster Relief Fund.

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Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

ANS – Syria – Salesians’ testimonies on terrible earthquake

ANS – Syria – Aleppo Salesians, at front, open doors to support earthquake victims

Salesian Missions – Syria

*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) Salesian missionaries with the Salesian Mary Help of Christians Province, in Seville, Spain, have launched a project to help support Salesian centers in Lebanon*. The centers include the Salesian technical school in Fidar, the youth spirituality house and camps in El Houssoun, and the primary and secondary school in Beirut.

“Our province, with the support of the provincial coordinator of missionary animation and Bosco Global and in constant dialogue with the Provincial Office of Planning and Development of the Middle East, has drawn up a three-year cooperation project (2023-2026) that was approved by the provincial council and was welcomed with joy by the Salesian community in Lebanon,” said Father José Luis Navarro Santotomás in the message launching the project.

This project will launch several initiatives. In June 2023, a course will be held in El Houssoun for youth volunteers. Coordinated by Jordi Garcia, a teacher at Don Bosco School of Youth Animation in Valencia, Spain, an international group of volunteer teachers will design the subjects that will be taught during the course.

Under the motto “Walking with a New Outlook,” Bosco Global will offer international volunteer placements during the summer to support Salesian efforts in Lebanon. Bosco Global will work to address a number of needs at Salesian schools in Lebanon including covering salaries for teachers at the Don Bosco Technical School, scholarships for 100 of the most vulnerable students, activities for winter oratories and youth centers for Lebanese, Iraqi and Syrian children, emergency assistance for 100 vulnerable families, and support for the construction of a photovoltaic energy system for the El Houssoun oratory.

Salesian missionaries have been working in Lebanon since 1952 and currently have two main centers. The one located in Fidar has Don Bosco Technique and a youth center. The Salesian community in El Houssoun has an oratory and a reception house that has been housing Catholic refugees since the start of the war in Syria.

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

ANS – Spain – Salesians “find what unites” through Lebanon Project

Bosco Global

Lebanon project website

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Lebanon

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.

The post LEBANON: New initiatives support schools and youth centers first appeared on MissionNewswire.

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian Youth South Camp, held at a mountain house in El Houssoun, Lebanon, is an oasis of peace and serenity in a time of social, political and economic challenges in the country. Close to 800 youth, including youth from Lebanon and refugees from Syria and Iraq, are coming together to bond with their peers.

The children, who are a mix of Muslims and Christians, enjoy sports and recreation together. A Salesian missionary from the local youth oratory said, “It’s impressive to see the joy that shines on the faces of children and adolescents and the enthusiasm they put into participating in the various activities offered.”

This summer break is in sharp contrast to the daily lives of those living in Lebanon. According to the World Bank, there is a severe, prolonged economic depression in the country where now more than half the population is likely living below the poverty line.

Unemployment, especially among youth, is already high and could rise sharply. Children from poor families are less likely to be able to complete their education and have limited employment opportunities as they get older. Many end up stuck in low-wage, seasonal and high turnover positions.

Don Bosco Technique, located in Fidar, is one of the area’s few professional institutes and welcomes a large number of youth who have difficulties attending school. The goal is to provide them education and social support so they remain in school and gain the skills needed for employment.

The institute, which currently trains more than 200 youth, offers several different programs for youth including mechanics, electrical installation, hairdressing and computer science. One of the institute’s most praised and sought-after programs is focused on training catering and hotel staff students. There is a large employment sector across the world for graduates who want this kind of employment.

Salesian missionaries have been working in Lebanon since 1952 and currently have two centers. The one located in Fidar has Don Bosco Technique and a youth center. The Salesian community in El Houssoun has an oratory and a reception house that has been housing Catholic refugees since the start of the war in Syria.

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

ANS – Lebanon – Salesian oratory is an oasis of peace in context of crisis

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Lebanon

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.

The post LEBANON: Nearly 800 youth bond with peers at camp first appeared on MissionNewswire.

SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) With 10 years of war, an ongoing pandemic, inflation and unemployment, Syria is faced with many challenges and difficulties, but Salesian missionaries recently saw a ray of hope when the community came together to support a young woman from the Salesian oratory in Aleppo.

Pamela is a fifth-year student attending the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Aleppo. Over the last two months, she had alarming medical challenges and underwent tests. Her health condition required a large supply of blood plasma—an average of 13 bags per session. This required a considerable number of donors to come forward.

News and phone calls for donations spread first in Aleppo and then throughout Syria. Through social networks and shared messages, there was an urgent call for Type O donors to help out. On March 21, the doors to the blood bank overflowed with people—old and young, men and women, Muslims and Christians all came together to help a young girl none of them had ever met. The blood bank remained open for every donor.

Father Pier Jabloyan, a Salesian from Aleppo, said, “People didn’t leave until the blood bank closed. We want to share this to show that there is always hope despite the brutality of the war and the heavy economic hardship that Syria is experiencing. Faced with a request for help, we found solidarity and closeness among Syrian citizens, and today we are witnessing a sincere love and an unparalleled response for Pamela.”

Salesian missionaries operate three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Throughout the ongoing war and struggles in the country, Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling. Salesian missionaries are even launching new educational initiatives to help support poor and at-risk youth.

The population in Syria has shrunk from 21 million to 17 million as a result of many leaving the country as refugees and the more than a quarter million deaths from the war. Today, more than 13 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian support, including the more than 6 million internally displaced people—28 percent of whom are living in the capital city of Damascus. More than 3 million live in hard-to-reach areas.

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

ANS – Syria – When love lights up in the form of a 0+

Salesian Missions – Syria

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.

The post SYRIA: Blood drive for young woman is ray of hope first appeared on MissionNewswire.

SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Since the outbreak of civil war began in March 2011, Salesian missionaries have operated three centers in Syria. The centers are located in Kafroun and in the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Each of the centers is staffed by three Salesian priests and a deacon.

The war has left a wake of destruction and death. More than 1.5 million people have been wounded and 5.7 million Syrians are refugees. Another 6.7 million people are displaced within the country, according to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Despite ongoing conflict and instability, Salesian missionaries continue their work with youth.

“In Syria, we all cry for a family member or a friend killed by bombs,” said Father Pier Jabloyan, director of the Salesian Center in Aleppo. “However, hope has always been stronger than war, and the culture of peace has transformed the Salesian environments.”

There are many children under the age of 10 who do not know life other than the war. Salesian missionaries are committed to continuing education and nutritional, psychological and economic support to them and their families. Currently, Salesian missionaries in Damascus provide support and education to 1,200 youth. In Aleppo, there are close to 1,000 youth of different Christian backgrounds who have come together in need of services.

To address the new challenges brought about by the pandemic, Salesian missionaries have set up two support programs for those in academic difficulty. One will benefit 200 children and another will support 180 students in their last years of high school and university. Along with school support projects, economic support will be provided to 200 vulnerable families.

Fr. Jabloyan said in a recent statement, “It is important that we remain supporting people in dire need in Syria. Even in the face of the global pandemic, we will remain focused on our mission of helping poor youth and their families.”

Thanks to the economic support of many Salesian organizations, Salesians in Aleppo, Damascus and Kafroun continue to help poor and at-risk youth and their families.

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

ANS – Syria – 10 years of war: a decade of pain and suffering, but also of “Salesian” hope and peace

Salesian Missions – Syria

UNHCR – Syria

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) Salesian Mission Office (Missioni Don Bosco) in Turin, Italy, has been instrumental in helping to support families in Beirut, Lebanon, who were impacted by the explosion on Aug. 4, 2020. To date, Salesians have helped 189 families with basic necessities, food and medicine, hospitality, and economic assistance. These families were among those whose homes or workplaces suffered considerable damage.

Lebanon, already devastated by a long socio-political and economic crisis, suffered a huge catastrophe. The explosion, possibly caused by a fire inside an abandoned ammonium nitrate deposit in the port of Beirut, destroyed the entire surrounding area and most of the adjacent neighborhoods.

During the first two days after the explosion, the flow of ambulances was constant, and the capital’s hospitals were in crisis. The health system, already strained by the COVID-19 pandemic, struggled with a lack of electricity and medical supplies. The support sent by the Salesian Mission Office in the immediate aftermath aimed to alleviate and mitigate the socio-economic impact, sense of loss, and upheaval following everything that happened.

In addition to the basic supplies and shelter, Salesians provided scholarships for 41 Lebanese students to attend Don Bosco Technique Institute in Al Fidar. The institute is one of the area’s few professional institutes in the region and welcomes youth who have difficulties attending school. The goal is to provide them education and social support so they remain in school and gain the skills needed for employment.

Don Bosco Technique Institute offers many programs for youth including mechanics, electrical installations, hairdressing and computer science. One of the institute’s most praised and sought-after programs is focused on training students for catering and hotel work. There is a large employment sector across the world for graduates who want this kind of employment.

“Technical education helps ensure youth have an opportunity to gain an education and graduate with employable skills,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Because Salesian missionaries live in the communities in which they work, they are knowledgeable of market conditions and what employment sectors are the most advantageous for employment. The scholarships provided will go a long way to ensure youth that have overcome challenges are able to gain an education”

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ANS – Lebanon – Huge mobilization to help Beirut’s displaced people produces concrete results

Don Bosco Technique Institute

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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) The Salesian Bakery is a historical institution in Bethlehem, located in the West Bank just south of Jerusalem. The bakery provides food assistance to those most in need through the free distribution of bread to the poorest families. The bakery produces close to 3,000 loaves of bread every day.

Since 1891, Salesian missionaries have been living and working in Bethlehem, initially established as an orphanage for boys and then later expanding programs to meet growing local needs. Today, Salesian missionaries provide a range of educational and social activities to support the local community. Salesians offer a technical and vocational training center, the bakery, a youth center and a scouts group.

Salesians are working with other local groups to help identify those most in need of support. They provide 450 loaves a bread each day to people identified through The Union of Women and Lifegate for Rehabilitation, which is committed to assisting about 250 people with disabilities from 3 to 25 years old, and to Effetà, which guarantees schooling to 190 children who are deaf.

Muhammad, who has five people in his family, has mental health issues as does one of his children. He is unable to work and the bread helps the family save their meager amount of money for other necessities.

Another recipient is Hala Jarayseh, who is the mother of five children. Her husband died 16 years ago and she has to provide for her family alone. She explained, “I work for The Union of Women at a center for people with disabilities, but due to the economic crisis after the start of the pandemic and the blockades that have led to lower wages, I cannot cover all the expenses. I was included among the beneficiaries of free bread from the Salesians. It’s been a great help for our family. It allows us basic food coverage. I would like to thank all those who work for this precious support, which is so useful for women like me who have to manage a family.”

Bethlehem has a population close to 25,000 people and an economy that is primarily tourist driven. According to UNICEF, poverty in Palestinian territories including the West Bank, Gaza and Bethlehem varies district to district. Along the Gaza strip, poverty rates have risen as high as 60 percent with residents relying on food assistance from the United Nations. Over half of the population is under the age of 18, and children in the region grow up amid frequent outbreaks of street violence sparked by ongoing political turmoil.

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Salesians in Bethlehem

UNICEF – Bethlehem Poverty

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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in Syria are launching new initiatives to help support families in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Already working to address the humanitarian crisis brought about by Syria’s civil war, Salesian missionaries have remained steadfast in their support of people living in the country.

The population in Syria has shrunk from 21 million to 17 million as a result of many leaving the country as refugees and the more than a quarter million deaths from the war. Today, more than 13 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian support, including the more than 6 million internally displaced people—28 percent of whom are living in the capital city of Damascus. More than 3 million live in hard-to-reach areas.

Activities across the country have been impacted by curfews, movement restrictions, market closures and commercial freezes. The costs of primary goods continue to exceed purchasing power, and Syrian families are experiencing unimaginable economic stress.

Children are also facing challenges with school, many which have opened and closed and opened again during the pandemic. From primary school children to university students, students are not equipped to follow lessons from home and are falling further behind in their studies.

Reaching Syria and navigating around the country is not easy. As in the case of most pandemics, many international organizations and non-government organizations left the country a long time ago. However, Salesian missionaries have remained and continue to stand alongside the population.

Salesian missionaries operate three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling.

To address the new challenges brought about by the pandemic, Salesian missionaries have set up two support programs for those in academic difficulty. One will benefit 200 children and another will support 180 students in their last years of high school and university. Along with these school support projects, economic support will be provided to 200 vulnerable families.

Father Pier Jabloyan, director of the Salesian Center in Aleppo, said in a recent statement, “It is important that we remain supporting the people in dire need in Syria. Even in the face of the global pandemic, we will remain focused on our mission of helping poor youth and their families.”

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ANS –  Syria – Country increasingly in difficulty. New initiatives to support young people and families

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“Salesians in these regions are used to challenging circumstances, but with the spread of the virus and more challenging economic conditions, Salesians are working to address added needs of youth and families who access their programs,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Families in these countries have faced ongoing difficulties that Salesian programs have worked to address. Salesians are stepping up and addressing unique local needs with support from around the globe.”

In Lebanon, there was already socio-economic instability before the explosion in Beirut, which only served to exacerbate the situation. Due to this and the ongoing spread of COVID-19, Salesians have decided to postpone traditional activities until the government allows the normal course of social meetings and gatherings to resume.

Salesians have provided concrete help to the most vulnerable people through the donation of food and basic necessities and by establishing a scholarship for the children of the families most affected by the pandemic. It was also decided that for the 2020-2021 school year, the Salesian School of Technical and Vocational Training will mainly provide online lessons to minimize the risk of infection for both students and teachers.

Salesians distribute food and hygiene kits for needy families in Egypt.

Support for the neediest families has continued in Egypt, where the Salesians have responded with distributions of food and hygiene kits. Close to 30 families received additional support through small direct financial donations to cover basic expenses such as rent, electricity and water. Salesian Institutes in Cairo and Alexandria responded to the needs of the most disadvantaged families of enrolled students by offering scholarships and reduced school fees for the 2020-2021 school year.

Similar measures have also been taken in Israel. Bethlehem and Nazareth have been hit hard by the lockdown imposed to counter the spread of the virus. In Bethlehem, students facing economic difficulties are being helped with partial and full scholarships at the Salesian Technical School. Teachers have been attending course on the methodologies and tools for digital teaching. The situation in Nazareth is more difficult for both students and staff because all educational activities must be carried out remotely.

At the end of June in Syria, there was a decrease in the virus infection rate, so Salesians reopened their centers in Aleppo and Damascus to provide the psycho-social support for families and children. Unfortunately, during the month of August, a new wave of infections hit the country and many people were affected, leading to a new closure of the centers. The Salesians, however, remained focused on the needs of Syrian families and developed new interventions, including helping those who have lost their sources of income. They also added educational support for children with learning problems.

Because Salesian missionaries live in the communities they serve, they are perfectly positioned to understand the local needs and ensure that relief materials and support are provided efficiently and to those most impacted. Salesians will continue to monitor situations in the Middle East and around the globe to provide ongoing support to youth and families in need.

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In a video message right after the explosion, Salesian Father Simon Zakerian said, “We are here where this explosion took place in the port of Beirut where so many people have left this world. There are still so many people missing, many are injured, and there is so much damage to the whole of Beirut and the whole country. It’s a very sad thing, a thing that makes you cry.”

Fr. Zakerian added, “Despite this destruction and these difficulties, our young Salesian animators have joined youth groups of the diocese of Jbeil, and with them also the young Muslims, all the young people of Lebanon, have decided to voluntarily put themselves at the service of people most in need. Young people give hope, joy and take to the streets to help and to reaffirm that we must build our city together, remaining united.”

With the emergency funding, Salesians have provided direct financial support to 19 Syrian families who are refugees in Lebanon and were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut port explosion. In addition, 10 youth and three Lebanese families have received financial aid to help with property loss from the explosion.

Providing for the nutritional needs of those impacted has also been critical. Salesian missionaries have provided food and basic non-food boxes to families in need. There were three separate distributions impacting 120 families, 175 families and 100 families in the final distribution.

Salesian missionaries at Don Bosco Hossoun provided emergency shelter to Iraqi and Syrian families.

Salesian missionaries at Don Bosco Hossoun also provided emergency shelter to Iraqi and Syrian families. Families are staying at guesthouses while they work to repair their damaged homes. Families are able to receive some respite and children who have been deeply traumatized by the explosion have some downtime and recuperate. Children have had access to recreation activities and have been offered counseling from educators and a psychologist.

Finally, scholarship funding was provided to Lebanese students who were unable to continue their education because of the coronavirus pandemic. Because the 2020 school year has been uncertain, many students have not enrolled or were late seeking funding for school. This funding will help these students continue their education.

Salesians have been working in Lebanon long before this disaster providing education and social supports for youth and families in poverty, and they will be there long after to help rebuild the community and people’s lives.

More than 25 percent of Lebanese citizens live in poverty. Poverty drops to 16 percent in urban areas like the capital city of Beirut, but climbs to 36 percent in some rural areas, according to the World Bank. Children from poor families are less likely to be able to complete their education and have limited employment opportunities as they get older. Many end up stuck in low-wage, seasonal and high turnover positions. As many as 20 percent of Lebanese citizens live with unimproved sanitation facilities and 10 percent of poor households have no access to clean drinking water.

Lebanon is also dealing with more than 1 million refugees who have fled the Syrian civil war, according to UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency. Salesian missionaries have been working in Lebanon since 1952 and currently have two centers. The center in Fidar has Don Bosco Technique and a youth center. The Salesian community in Hossoun has an oratory and a reception house that has been housing Catholic refugees since the start of the war in Syria.

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In a video message, Salesian Father Simon Zakerian said, “We are here where this explosion took place in the port of Beirut where so many people have left this world. There are still so many people missing, many are injured, and there is so much damage to the whole of Beirut and the whole country. It’s a very sad thing, a thing that makes you cry.”

Fr. Zakerian added, “Despite this destruction and these difficulties, our young Salesian animators have joined youth groups of the diocese of Jbeil, and with them also the young Muslims, all the young people of Lebanon, have decided to voluntarily put themselves at the service of people most in need. Young people give hope, joy and take to the streets to help and to reaffirm that we must build our city together, remaining united.”

Salesians have been working in Lebanon long before this disaster providing education and social supports for youth and families in poverty, and they will be there long after to help rebuild the community and people’s lives. Salesians have focused their relief efforts on the victims of the powerful explosion, including Syrian refugees and Lebanese residents who suffered the loss of family members, homes and jobs. Fr. Zakerian said, “We’re visiting the houses to see how they are and how they are dealing with these difficulties and to give help.”

The Salesian Mission Office in Turin, Italy, has sent help to respond to immediate needs while also launching a fundraiser for further relief efforts. To date, 80 families have already received relief support from Salesians.

More than 25 percent of Lebanese citizens live in poverty. Poverty drops to 16 percent in urban areas like the capital city of Beirut, but climbs to 36 percent in some rural areas, according to the World Bank. Children from poor families are less likely to be able to complete their education and have limited employment opportunities as they get older. Many end up stuck in low-wage, seasonal and high turnover positions. As many as 20 percent of Lebanese citizens live with unimproved sanitation facilities and 10 percent of poor households have no access to clean drinking water.

Lebanon is also dealing with more than 1 million refugees who have fled the Syrian civil war, according to UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency. Salesian missionaries have been working in Lebanon since 1952 and currently have two centers. The center in Fidar has Don Bosco Technique and a youth center. The Salesian community in El Houssoun has an oratory and a reception house that has been housing Catholic refugees since the start of the war in Syria.

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ANS – Lebanon – The Beirut tragedy and the prompt Salesian response

BBC – Beirut explosion: Death toll rises to 200 as third minister resigns

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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) There are have been 372 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed and 14 people have died to date in Syria, but as in other countries the data is not completely transparent, and the virus has been increasing in recent weeks. According to the World Health Organization, a large-scale outbreak could be catastrophic for the population because half of the hospitals were destroyed by the war, and more than 50 percent of medical personnel were killed during the conflict or have left the country.

If the virus were to spread to refugee camps, it would be impossible to contain it because physical distancing is unattainable. For this reason, more than 200,000 people are leaving the camps to look for other temporary shelters or to return to their old houses, almost all completely destroyed by the bombings. The drastic economic deterioration is increasing. The main concern for the whole population is economic instability and the lack of basic necessities.

Samar is a 51-year-old woman who lives in the Alidan area in Aleppo with three children aged 20, 18 and 15 years. Her husband passed away in 2016. She doesn’t work, and the family’s only source of income is money her sons earn. All three were working in a restaurant, but lost their jobs when the restaurant closed at the beginning of the pandemic.

At the beginning of June, the government allowed activities to resume, but the country is now collapsing. The devaluation of the currency has caused a rise in the prices of all goods. This impacts all families—but especially families like Samar’s who have almost no income to survive.

Rashad, who owns a small dairy products distribution shop, is a beneficiary of the youth entrepreneurship support project created by the Salesians in Aleppo and Damascus. He was a student at the Don Bosco Center in Damascus. Rashad is married and has two children. Thanks to the entrepreneurial support project, he had managed to start his small business, which yielded fair earnings until all shops were forced to close.

The closure of his business was a serious challenge and recovery has not been easy. The drastic change in prices has become a huge problem because it means that customers ultimately have low purchasing power. Rashad cannot keep prices constant because with a day’s earnings he cannot buy products from suppliers for the next day.

Lockdown restrictions have brought vulnerable Syrian households closer to the brink of financial ruin. Tens of thousands of jobs have been eliminated. Meanwhile, the foreign support that sustained many Syrian households is drying up. Significant wage loss, currency devaluation, rising unemployment and a permissive environment for cross-border smuggling are all likely to amplify needs and place Syrian households under greater economic stress, especially as costs of goods continue to outstrip purchasing power.

Salesian missionaries operate three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling, but there have been some interruptions as a result of the pandemic and lockdown. Salesians are resuming work as they are allowed in the country.

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ANS – Syria – The lives of Samar, Rashad … And millions of Syrians are still in danger

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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in Damascus, Syria, are working to help vulnerable populations as much as they can during the lockdown from the coronavirus pandemic. Since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Syria was announced on March 22, major military operations in the country have stopped, local clashes have mostly ceased, and large-scale population movements, including returns and transfers, have halted. Syria’s economic deterioration has continued.

Lockdown restrictions have brought vulnerable Syrian households closer to the brink of financial ruin. Tens of thousands of jobs have been eliminated. Meanwhile, the foreign support that sustained many Syrian households is drying up. Alongside significant wage loss, currency devaluation, rising unemployment, and a permissive environment for cross-border smuggling, these conditions are likely to amplify needs and place Syrian households under greater economic stress, especially as costs of goods continue to outstrip purchasing power.

Salesian missionaries operate three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling, but there have been some interruptions as a result of the pandemic and lockdown. Salesians hope to resume this work as soon as they can.

Johnny Azar, from the Salesian Oratory in Aleppo, is 28 years old, loves theater and dance, and has always dreamed of having an art space of his own. He applied for and won a Don Bosco of Syria project grant to support youth entrepreneurship. He had already identified the right space to cultivate his dream and developed the initiative’s marketing plan, but then COVID-19 arrived.

Azar said, “The financing of the project by the Salesians was the light at the end of the tunnel for me, and I followed it with passion. Unfortunately, we had to pause everything for two months and wait until the situation improves.”

With the help of some friends, Azar has started some small jobs such as repainting the premises. But considering that his dream is focused on putting on shows for the public, Azar knows that the restart is not around the corner.

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Syria – Country needs help enormously. “Waiting for good news to start over again”

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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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) After nine years of the ongoing civil war in Syria, more than 5.6 million Syrians are refugees and another 6.2 million people are displaced within the country, according to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. Despite ongoing conflict and instability, Salesian missionaries continue their work with youth in Syria.

Since the outbreak of civil war began in March 2011, Salesian missionaries have operated three centers in Kafroun and in the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Each of the centers is staffed by three Salesian priests and a deacon.

Maher Al Saloom, now 24 years old and living in Damascus, is one young man who was impacted by the Salesians. He is the second of three brothers and was supposed to perform military service, but a heart problem exonerated him.

His life changed on April 17, 2013. Al Saloom said, “I was getting ready for the final high school exam, which was a few days away, and my father said I wouldn’t pass it. At seven in the morning, I was going over physics when the phone rang. They told me that my father had had an accident, but when I arrived at my uncles’ house, I knew the truth, that he was dead.”

That day Al Saloom did not have the strength to return home and instead went to the Salesian Youth Center. He recalled, “When I entered the church all the Salesians were there and, from that moment on, I found another father in them because they have always helped me to continue to study and overcome the difficulties that have arisen.”

After the burial of his father, Al Saloom continued to study as a gift to his father. Thinking about his past exams, Al Saloom noted, “I even obtained a good mark, even if the difficulties at home arrived all the same because we no longer had an income. It was then that the internal war began for me, which is stronger than the bombing. There was a fee to pay for the funeral and for the university. The Salesians helped us a lot as well as many other families. All that I am, I owe to them.”

The most difficult episode for Al Saloom was when he was handed the bullet that killed his father. Looking at it in his hand, he said, “This bullet costs 15 Lire. I’ll give you all the money you want if you give me back my father alive.” From that moment on, Al Saloom has never stopped studying.

Al Saloom added, “The Salesian Youth Center is my home. It gave me everything when I lost what I wanted most. It helped me overcome the difficulties.”

Salesian centers in Syria continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling.

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ANS – Syria – Maher Al Saloom: “Internal war is stronger than bombs”

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Salesian missionaries living and working in Lebanon report that the country is virtually paralyzed due to the closure of the main arteries, public offices, banks, universities and schools. This weighs heavily on the current precarious social and economic difficulties. The World Bank notes more than a third of the people in Lebanon live in poverty and that could rise sharply to 50 percent if economic troubles persist.

Unemployment, especially among youth, is already high and could further rise sharply. Children from poor families are less likely to be able to complete their education and have limited employment opportunities as they get older. Many end up stuck in low-wage, seasonal and high turnover positions. As many as 20 percent of Lebanese citizens live with unimproved sanitation facilities and 10 percent of poor households have no access to clean drinking water.

Lebanon is also dealing with more than one million refugees who have fled the Syrian civil war, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Salesian missionaries have been working in Lebanon since 1952 and currently have two centers. The one located in Fidar has Don Bosco Technique and a youth center. The Salesian community in El Houssoun has an oratory and a reception house that has been housing Catholic refugees since the start of the war in Syria.

Don Bosco Technique is one of the area’s few professional institutes and welcomes a large number of youth who have difficulties attending school. The goal is to provide them education and social supports so they remain in school and gain the skills needed for employment.

The institute, which currently trains more than 200 youth, offers several different programs for youth including mechanics, electrical installations, hairdressing, computer science and much more. One of the institute’s most praised and sought-after programs is focused on training catering and hotel staff students. There is a large employment sector across the world for graduates who want this kind of employment.

“Technical education, such as the catering and hotel program, helps ensure youth have an opportunity to gain an education and graduate with employable skills,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Because Salesian missionaries live in the communities in which they work, they are knowledgeable of market conditions and what employment sectors are the most advantageous for employment. Training programs are created in these areas to help youth have a smooth school to work transition.”

Deeply united with the people who are suffering, Salesian missionaries will continue their work with those who are facing economic difficulties in need of education and social development services.

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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries working in Syria are starting construction projects to open programs for youth and their families in the remote district of Jaramana, which is located an hour away from the current Salesian youth center in Damascus. Many families, even during the most dangerous heights of the war, traveled by bus to attend programs in Damascus. Now, Salesian missionaries are launching new programs locally.

Despite ongoing conflict and instability, Salesian missionaries and nuns have continued their work with youth in Syria. Since the outbreak of civil war in March 2011, Salesian missionaries have operated three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Opened well before the start of the war, the centers have been providing educational classes, meeting space, and social development and sporting activities for youth and their families. They also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

For years, bullets and the blast of bombs have marred Jaramana. The war destroyed this part of the city and its traces are visible. Most of the youth who participate in the activities at the Salesian Youth Center in Damascus come from this area. Now that the war seems to have calmed down, Salesian missionaries are constructing a new youth center, a church and a vocational training center.

The Salesians are working to hold activities for youth as close as possible to these remote and needy populations. At the height of the war, families with young children and older youth alone would get on the buses, in the middle of the bombings, and run a terrible risk to get to Salesian programs.

“On many occasions, we had to suspend the bus lines. We had to communicate with the educators and then to inform the families,” said Father Alejandro León, superior of the Salesian Province of the Middle East. “The objective of the Salesians is to move to this area, which has a Muslim majority, so that youth have programs in these difficult times.”

Fr León also noted a great lesson he received from some of the children in this district. He recalled, “One day when, due to the bombing, we suspended the route of the buses that took the kids to the youth center. I saw that at two o’clock in the afternoon an educator and several children from that neighborhood showed up at Mass. They had walked in the middle of the bombardments for more than two hours. At the end of the Mass, I told them that I was very angry because they had disobeyed and had put their lives in jeopardy. The educator, very serene, gave me a lesson in theology and faith at the same time when he asked me who I was to forbid them from going to Mass on Sunday.”

Now, with the help of many benefactors, the new Salesian youth center, church and vocational training center will be established to educate and support thousands of young Syrians affected by the war.

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ANS – Syria – Syria transformation continues: from Damascus battlefield to new Salesian youth center

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The Don Bosco institute offers several different programs for youth including mechanics, electrical installations, hairdressing, computer science and much more. One of the institute’s most praised and sought-after programs is focused on training catering and hotel staff students. There is a large employment sector across the world for graduates who want this kind of employment.

In order to implement the restaurant and catering program effectively, Salesian missionaries in Fidar asked for help from highly-qualified Italian chefs. The chefs’ primary objective is to refine the skills of the institute’s teachers in the field of Italian cuisine and gastronomy—much in demand in Lebanese restaurants.

The Italian chefs are also holding seminars and workshops for the preparation of bakery products, pastries and fresh pasta. These bakery courses provide specialized training for students. The ultimate goal is to equip students with highly employable skills in the workplace.

Ninety youth, sponsored by the Salesian Missions Office in Turin, Italy, will be attending the courses. Supporting future Lebanese chefs is one of many ways Don Bosco institutes are helping youth become productive members of their communities.

“Technical education, such as the catering and hotel program, helps ensure youth have an opportunity to gain an education and graduate with employable skills,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Because Salesian missionaries live in the communities in which they work, they are knowledgeable of market conditions and what employment sectors are the most advantageous for employment. Training programs are created in these areas to help youth have a smooth school to work transition.”

More than 25 percent of Lebanese citizens live in poverty. Poverty drops to 16 percent in urban areas like the capital city of Beirut, but climbs to 36 percent in some rural areas, according to the World Bank. Children from poor families are less likely to be able to complete their education and have limited employment opportunities as they get older. Many end up stuck in low-wage, seasonal and high turnover positions. As many as 20 percent of Lebanese citizens live with unimproved sanitation facilities and 10 percent of poor households have no access to clean drinking water.

Lebanon is also dealing with more than one million refugees who have fled the Syrian civil war, according to UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency. Salesian missionaries have been working in Lebanon since 1952 and currently have two centers. The one center in Fidar has Don Bosco Technique and a youth center. The Salesian community in El Houssoun has an oratory and a reception house that has been housing Catholic refugees since the start of the war in Syria.

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

ANS – Lebanon – Let’s help future chefs!

World Bank – Lebanon

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Given the number of refugees fleeing to European cities, youth in Salesian programs are working to help those who have remained in Syria and need assistance. The goal of the Suriya Project is to promote awareness and collect material aid for those still in conflict regions. From the start, youth involved in the project have held various awareness-raising, support and fundraising activities.

They have also organized the potential needs of youth in Syria into several categories: basic necessities; materials for education and psychological training for Salesian teams; and materials for recreational activities at the Syrian Salesian youth center. The project is carried out in collaboration with the National Commission of the Youth Centers of Spain, the Delegates for Youth Ministry of the Salesians and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Syria.

The Suriya Project also focuses on exchange experiences for youth. Participants from Aleppo and Damascus in Syria are engaging in a number of summer activities at Salesian youth centers in Spain. The aim for this exchange experience is to help youth in Syria and Spain share experiences in a tangible way. Syrian youth will visit Salesian youth centers in Seville, La Rioja, Madrid and Santiago de Compostela.

Benjamín Morales, one of the youth working with the Salesian Francisco Míguez Youth Center in Malaga, Spain, will take a trip to Damascus in August. There, he will meet with friends he befriended during a gathering of Salesian volunteers from Europe and the Middle East. Benjamin explains, “The impatient desire to go there and see things directly with my eyes was born in me.”

“This project, which started three years ago with a vigil for peace, is more than a solidarity initiative because it seeks to unite children and young people from both countries,” explains Father Santiago Domínguez, the project’s promoter. “Through festivals, street markets and solidarity parties, the Spanish youth centers have collected around 20,000 euros in three years which have been earmarked for the needs of young people in Syria – money with which the Syrian Salesians have been able to buy school supplies and organize various activities.”

In the coming months, the Don Bosco Confederation of Spain intends to expand the project. Father Domínguez notes, “We want to reorganize the project to support a youth business plan developed by the local Salesians. In this way, every center in Spain would commit itself to financing the business plan of a young person in Syria and with this procedure we could have a direct contact between the centers and the young people we will help.”

Despite ongoing conflict and instability, Salesian missionaries have continued their work with youth in Syria. Over the course of the last eight years since the outbreak of civil war began in March 2011, Salesian missionaries have operated three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus.

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

ANS – Spain – “Suriya Project” unites children and young people from Aleppo and Spain

Salesian Missions – Syria

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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In operation since well before the start of the war, the centers have been providing educational classes, meeting space and social development and sporting activities for youth and their families. They also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

“At the beginning of the war they did not understand that we would remain,” recalls Father Alejandro León, Salesian provincial in the Middle East. “But the answer was always the same. ‘If the community to which God has sent me is my family, how can I abandon it when it needs me most?’”

Many people in Syria have lost what they had and most people have been forced to change residence or leave the country. Reaching Syria and navigating around the country is not easy. As in the case of most pandemics, many international organizations and non-government organizations left the country a long time ago. However, Salesian missionaries have remained and continue to stand alongside the population.

The war has ended in the big cities, but there are still small pockets of conflict. The countless military checkpoints on roads and highways and the roar of aircraft and distant explosions continue to coexist with the thousands of cartridges and war relics that populate the fields and buildings in ruins.

During these years of war, every young person can narrate dozens of anecdotes of situations of risk, tension and uncertainty. Biso Aghas, a young woman from Aleppo, says, “When we would say goodbye to our parents in the morning, they tried to memorize how we were dressed in case of recognition or they write their cell phone numbers on their children’s arms in case something happened and we had to warn them.”

Majdoleen Alzukimi is 23 years old and has been attending the Salesian Youth Center in Damascus since she was 7 years old. Her story is yet another example of those that contain the pain and trauma of war, but also the hope for peace in the future. Her father, like many others, was recruited for compulsory military service and sent to the war front. She says, “We saw him one day a week. In theory, he was in a safe and close area, but the fear and concern for him always accompanied us.”

Neither she nor her family can forget March 21, 2018 which was Mother’s Day in Syria. A bomb that fell on Damascus killed her father. Majdoleen says, “I wish the war in Damascus would never had ended because its end meant that my father is dead. If the war had continued, today my father would still be alive.”

Salesian centers in Syria continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling.

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

ANS – Syria – Syrian girl who “wanted” the war to continue

Salesian Missions – Syria

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Despite ongoing conflict and instability, Salesian missionaries continue their work with youth in Syria. Over the course of the last eight years since the outbreak of civil war began in March 2011, Salesian missionaries have operated three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Each of the centers is staffed by three Salesian priests and a deacon.

In operation since well before the start of the war, the centers have been providing educational classes, meeting space and social development and sporting activities for youth and their families. They also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

During a recent meeting with the participating Italian youth, Father Pier Jabloyan, director of the Salesian Center in Aleppo, described the situation in Syria. He then asked, “How many things do we take for granted, for the simple fact of always having them there, at our disposal? When we press a switch or open the tap, have we ever wondered if there is electricity or if water will come out?”

The Salesian Center in Aleppo is a point of reference and hope for many youth who remain in the city. Those that engage in after-school activities, catechism, children’s summer camp, sports teams and social groups are able to experience moments of normality. Among the many activities still happening at the center is an after-school program for 70 children coordinated by a dozen university students.

“There are enormous educational needs here in Syria, especially because many of the schools have been destroyed or transformed into shelters,” says Fr. Jabloyan. “Moreover, if one has no water in the house, no electricity and has difficulty feeding himself, it is hard to tell anybody to study. But Don Bosco teaches us that education means the future. This is why we have continued offering children what we have available.”

He adds, “In everyone, the war has created psychological problems. The threshold of sensitivity has risen a lot. The news of one or two dead is in danger of not having any more effect. Often boys express themselves harshly and sometimes a football match can become a pretext for aggression to explode. Here, too, we try to help them remember that they are better than what surrounds them.”

Salesian centers in Syria also continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling.

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

ANS – Italy – Youth from CNOS-FAP of Valdocco start twinning with Aleppo

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Despite ongoing conflict and instability, Salesian missionaries have continued their work with youth in Syria. Over the course of the last eight years since the outbreak of civil war began in March 2011, Salesian missionaries have operated three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Each of the centers is staffed by three Salesian priests and a deacon.

The centers have been in operation since well before the start of the war providing educational classes, meeting space, and social development and sporting activities for youth and their families. The centers also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

“Living in a state of war is something that is not learned during initial formation. You learn it by living in these areas, day after day,” says Father Mounir Hanachi, director of the Salesian Damascus community, which is operated by four Salesian priests from different backgrounds.

Nearly 1,300 boys attend the Salesian oratory in Damascus. Most of the boys have faced painful and difficult situations. They come together at the oratory to share a journey of faith, but also to be together and share moments of leisure.

In addition, the Salesian oratory in Aleppo has remained open even when the war raged on. Thousands of young Christians and youth from other religious backgrounds gather together for catechism, sports, summer activities and after-school activities. “When we realized that this war would last a long time, we felt it was our duty to look even more closely after the young children of Aleppo,” says Father Pier Jabloyan, director of the Salesian oratory.

In Kafroun, where the rebels have never arrived, the climate is decidedly quieter than in cities like Damascus or Aleppo. Here Salesian missionaries have been providing programs since 2009. The work is carried out by volunteers, mostly parents of the children, who have been welcoming in families displaced by war.

The situation in Lebanon, where Salesian missionaries have been providing poor youth education and programs for 65 years, is more calm. The Al Fidar Vocational Training Center ensures that youth have the skills training they need to find and retain stable work.

In El Hessoun, there is a Catholic church, a reception center and the oratory, where young people are involved in games and educational activities. Educator Hanan Kandalaft explains, “The main mission is not just to let the children play, but to bring them to safety. As Don Bosco used to say, ‘the salvation of souls is the most important thing.’”

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

Syria ‒ “When we realized that the war would last a long time, we felt the duty to look after the young”

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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Over the course of the last eight years since the outbreak of civil war in March 2011, Salesian missionaries have operated three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Opened well before the start of the war, the centers have been providing educational classes, meeting space and social development and sporting activities for youth and their families. They also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

Salesian nuns have been in Syria for over a century and have remained in the country during even the most violent phases of conflict, according to the article. Many have moved to safer areas, including the hospital in Damascus which is one of the top healthcare institutions that has remained open. Run by Salesian Sisters, it has 55 beds and employs 26 physicians and 54 nurses.

“When traveling through Syria you see more trucks full of weapons than food along dusty roads,” said Sister Vilma Tallone in the ANSA Med article.

In describing the current situation in Syria, Sr. Tallone noted in the article, “Aleppo has gone from 4 million inhabitants to 800. The Catholic presence has also gone from 150,000 worshippers to 40,000. But we have reopened a nursery school in Aleppo for 50 children in a structure of the Order of Malta with a courtyard that belongs to a Jewish settlement and where everybody is welcome.”

She added, “After this huge tragedy, we must rebuild and this is why we are raising funds to support the three structures already functioning in the country and to build two new schools in Aleppo and Damascus for children and pre-teens.”

In order to support initiatives in Syria and offer refugees in hosting centers the possibility of going back to their country, the nuns have organized an inter-cultural initiative on Mar. 14 in Rome at the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.

Salesian centers in Syria continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling.

In addition to Salesian centers within Syria, Salesian missionaries have been helping Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt since early 2012. At these refugee sites, missionaries provide emergency relief by meeting basic needs and providing shelter, safety and medical assistance. Missionaries also offer technical skills training to assist refugees in the task of finding stable employment in their new host countries, which for many is particularly challenging due to labor laws and a lack of established social and professional networks.

Salesian missionaries seek to assist the most disadvantaged and vulnerable refugees, particularly those living outside of protected camps who take risks in order to support elderly parents, wives and children. Offering skills training, advocacy and counseling programs, Salesian centers provide safe spaces for vulnerable refugee families to find a sense of community and peace.

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Sources:

ANSA Med – Syria: Salesian nuns launch reconstruction projects

UNHCR – Syrian Refugee Response

Crux – Extending aid to persecuted Christians, Hungary funds Syrian hospitals

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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The “Open Hospitals” project provides medical care for those living in poverty and is currently supporting the activities of three Catholic nonprofit hospitals in Syria. The hospital, run by the Salesian Sisters, has 55 beds and employs 26 physicians and 54 nurses. According to the article, the St. Louis Hospital in Aleppo, managed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, and a French hospital in Damascus, managed by the Company of Daughters of St Vincent de Paul, are also supported. The three Catholic hospitals offer free medical care to the poor no matter their religious affiliation, allowing some 400 impoverished people a week to receive care.

The Crux article notes that the project, which will run from 2017-2020, aims to “offer the poorest populations in Aleppo and Damascus with quality medical care, to establish a social office dedicated to evaluating patients’ financial needs, to upgrade hospitals with modern, up-to-date equipment and to offer training to medical, administrative and managerial staff.”

Since the start of the Syrian war in 2011, more than 13.5 million people, including 6 million children, have suffered from a dire humanitarian crisis, with the bulk of the population lacking basic food and supplies, according to the Crux article. Further, the U.N has indicated some 11.5 million people, 40 percent of whom are children, lack proper medical care, as hospitals have been a consistent target in the war. This has prompted close to two-thirds of Syria’s medical staff to flee the country.

According to Crux, many healthcare institutions still in operation in Syria are forced to operate beyond their means. They lack supplies, infrastructure and trained medical staff, making it difficult to provide proper patient care.

To date, three offices have been established to evaluate treatment requests and identify those most in need, according to Crux. The article indicates more than 15,700 patients have been accepted and treated free of charge. Hospitals have received updated equipment and a new IT system has been installed for future training. Crux notes that as of December 2018, 5,457 patients have been cared for at the French hospital in Damascus, 7,065 at the Italian hospital in Damascus and 3,236 at the Aleppo hospital, most of whom are between the ages of 50 and 70.

Recently, the Hungarian government has announced that it will provide nearly $1.7 million to the project, according to the Crux article. Hungarian Ambassador to the Holy See, Eduard Habsburg, told Crux he’s happy with the initiative because it, “finally makes much more visible what Hungary has been doing for years behind the scenes. Hungary has been doing this all the time.”

Hungary is the first public donor to support the project through its “Hungary Helps” humanitarian assistance program. According to Crux, Habsburg said the Hungarian government “took this call with lots of joy.” He also noted that for him, one of the most important aspects of the project is that while the bulk of hospital staff are Christian, Muslims will be the primary beneficiaries of their support, “so it is a project that will help peace in the region between different religions.”

Despite ongoing conflict and instability, Salesian missionaries have continued their work with youth in Syria. Over the course of the last eight years since the outbreak of civil war in March 2011, Salesian missionaries have operated three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Each of the centers is staffed by three Salesian priests and a deacon.

The centers have been in operation since well before the start of the war providing educational classes, meeting space and social development and sporting activities for youth and their families. The centers also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

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Sources:

Crux – Extending aid to persecuted Christians, Hungary funds Syrian hospitals

Photo: iStock/Getty Images

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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The plot of land is located near Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus where the majority of the population is Christian. It is also just one kilometer from Imbleha, a small satellite city totally destroyed by the recent war. The announcement of the purchase of the land was made at the end of the Catholic Mass celebrated Sunday, Feb. 3 at the church of the Salesian house in Damascus. Father Munir Hanachi, director of the house, read an official statement sent by the Provincial of the Middle East, Father Alejandro León.

Part of the statement read, “After much dreaming of how to develop the Salesian work in Damascus, with the great effort of the current community, the Rector Major decided to buy a piece of land between Imbleha and Jaramana to slowly build a Don Bosco Center that is larger and closer to many children and young people living in Jaramana. We have already bought this land. Now a few years will pass and slowly the new center will be built, but the important thing is to feel from now on that this new structure is home to everyone. And we must all help ourselves so that the realization of this dream takes place in the best possible way.”

Despite ongoing conflict and instability, Salesian missionaries have continued their work with youth in Syria. Over the course of the last eight years since the outbreak of civil war began in March 2011, Salesian missionaries have operated three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Each of the centers is staffed by three Salesian priests and a deacon.

The centers have been in operation since well before the start of the war providing educational classes, meeting space and social development and sporting activities for youth and their families. The centers also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

“At the beginning of the war, we were forced to close the center in Aleppo for six months,” says Father Pier Jabloyan, director of the Salesian center in Aleppo. “When we realized that the conflict would last a long time, we decided to reopen. There was no other way. Staying closed up in their houses, it would have been incredibly difficult for the children.”

Salesian centers in Syria also continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling.

In addition to Salesian centers within Syria, Salesian missionaries have been helping Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt since early 2012. At these refugee sites, missionaries provide emergency relief by meeting basic needs and providing shelter, safety and medical assistance. Missionaries also offer technical skills training to assist refugees in the task of finding stable employment in their new host countries, which for many is particularly challenging due to labor laws and a lack of established social and professional networks.

Salesian missionaries seek to assist the most disadvantaged and vulnerable refugees, particularly those living outside of protected camps who take risks in order to support elderly parents, wives and children. Offering skills training, advocacy and counseling programs, Salesian centers provide safe spaces for vulnerable refugee families to find a sense of community and peace.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Syria – New ground for new “Don Bosco Center”: Salesian work in Damascus is growing

UNHCR – Syrian Refugee Response

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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The centers have been in operation since well before the start of the war providing educational classes, meeting space, and social development and sporting activities for youth and their families. The centers also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

“At the beginning of the war, we were forced to close the center in Aleppo for six months,” says Father Pier Jabloyan, director of the Salesian center in Aleppo. “When we realized that the conflict would last a long time, we decided to reopen. There was no other way. Staying closed up in their houses, it would have been incredibly difficult for the children.”

Among the many activities still happening at the center, the after-school program is popular and 70 children still attend. The activities are coordinated by a dozen university students.

“There are enormous educational needs here in Syria, especially because many of the schools have been destroyed or transformed into shelters,” says Fr. Jabloyan. “Moreover, if one has no water in the house, no electricity and has difficulty feeding himself, it is hard to tell anybody to study. But Don Bosco teaches us that education means the future. This is why we have continued offering children what we have available.”

The war has also caused numerous injuries for those who have survived the violence. Fr Jabloyan adds, “In everyone, the war has created psychological problems. The threshold of sensitivity has risen a lot. The news of one or two dead is in danger of not having any more effect. Often boys express themselves harshly and sometimes a football match can become a pretext for aggression to explode. Here, too, we try to help them remember that they are better than what surrounds them.”

Salesian centers in Syria also continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling.

Since the outbreak of civil war, 7.3 million Syrians have been internally displaced within the country and more than 5.6 million registered Syrian refugees are in the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, with a recent flood of refugees now seeking asylum in Europe, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Refugee camps in bordering countries are overflowing with families in need of basic supplies, adequate shelter and safety, as well as technical skills training so they can begin to earn a living in their new host countries. More than 6 million of those affected are children who have been put at risk of violence and are subject to a lack of essential supplies and destroyed infrastructure that has closed schools and hospitals.

In addition to Salesian centers within Syria, Salesian missionaries have been helping Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt since early 2012. At these refugee sites, missionaries provide emergency relief by meeting basic needs and providing shelter, safety and medical assistance. Missionaries also offer technical skills training to assist refugees in the task of finding stable employment in their new host countries, which for many is particularly challenging due to labor laws and a lack of established social and professional networks.

Salesian missionaries seek to assist the most disadvantaged and vulnerable refugees, particularly those living outside of protected camps who take risks in order to support elderly parents, wives and children. Offering skills training, advocacy and counseling programs, Salesian centers provide safe spaces for vulnerable refugee families to find a sense of community and peace.

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Sources:

ANS – Syria – The commitment of Salesians during the war: to remind the young that they are better than what they have around them

UNHCR – Syrian Refugee Response

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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Sharing a 500-mile-long border with Syria, southeastern Turkey has more than 3 million Syrian refugees, as reported by the United Nations. Salesian missionaries are providing services at three sites within Syria while also providing for Syrian refugees in Turkey. While many Syrian refugees stay in towns on the Turkey-Syrian border, many find their way to big cities like Istanbul where Salesian missionaries operate the Don Bosco Center.

The Don Bosco Center opened its doors more than 20 years ago as a temporary response to a wave of refugees from Iraq. With conflict continuing in the region today, new refugees and asylum seekers arrive every day. The center is sustained by donations and allows families to send their children there for free. More than 120 students, 90 percent of whom are Iraqi Christians, are currently attending programs there. Students have access to sports and dance programs intended to help them connect with their peers and find enjoyment and comfort in their new surroundings. In addition, the program provides counseling both for youth and their families to help them overcome the challenges and traumas they may have faced.

“Salesian missionary work in Istanbul serves a critical purpose providing refugees links to service providers and comprehensive assistance as they transition, for an unknown period of time, into local society,” says Neill Holland, program officer at the Salesian Missions Office for International Programs. “Without a doubt, the biggest Salesian success is the safe space created for youth who have experienced trauma in their home countries. At the Don Bosco School and community center, refugee youth take part in recreation activities with Turkish youth which allows them to move beyond their hardships while giving them a chance to forget their worries and be children once again.”

Don Bosco Center is the only Salesian presence in the country. Salesian missionaries have had to adapt to local laws and customs. In Turkey, Catholics represent only 0.02 percent of the population and number less than 15,000.

“We have five Salesian missionaries in Turkey, two of whom are quite old, and the others almost newly-arrived, but we have made the effort to speak Turkish and to cultivate Turkish vocations. We work at the Catholic cathedral, which was entrusted to us 25 years ago. There, we celebrate mass in four languages: Aramaic, English, French and Turkish,” explains Fr. Calleja, who has been a Salesian missionary for 35 years, 25 of which has been spent in Turkey.

Salesian missionaries primarily focus on the Christian families from Syria and Iraq, but there are also Pakistani, Nigerian, Kazakh and Iranian families that seek services from the Don Bosco Center. Salesian missionaries never refuse anyone knocking at their door, but they cannot directly seek out those in need to avoid accusations of proselytizing.

“Refugee families arrive with nothing. Everyone goes through the UN High Commission for Refugees’ office to obtain the status as political refugees, and they also have to look for a means to survive and where to work,” explains Fr. Calleja. “We welcome the children in the parishes with Salesian activities and want them to speak English because it is their hope for the future when they then go to Australia or Canada. They stay with us for a year or two, and we have been able to create a welcoming atmosphere in which they feel at ease and comfortable, despite the traumas they bring with them and the violence they have seen.”

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Sources:

ANS – Turkey – Warm welcome of Salesians to refugees

CRUX – In Turkey, most Iraqi refugees miss school as families await resettlement

UNHCR – Syria Refugees

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Salouji’s family has faced much hardship in the city. Her husband was held captive for two months by an extremist group who specialized in abductions for ransom. “He went out to buy something but never came back,” she said. To find out what happened, she tried every channel, even traveling to Damascus.

“I do not know what it means to sit and wait. When my husband was abducted, I felt I had to move, act, work, do something. I did not want to show my children fear and anxiety about his fate. I felt I had to be strong for them,” explained Salouji.

She also faced great difficulty when a child who was attending catechism class was killed when a rocket landed a short distance from a group of young people who had just finished their lesson. “Sometimes when I look at the ground in front of the center, I still see the kid playing without a care in the world,” said Salouji.

Salouji is responsible for a group of catechists at the Salesian Center in Aleppo, which has recently resumed its activities after a long interruption due to the war. The Salesian Center has close to 900 children in its programs.

“When we reopened, I felt a strong emotion, mixed with fear,” said Salouji “There was concern for the health and safety of children, especially when they came to the center by car or when they went home after the activities. It was nice seeing them play together. Their life is full of stress, difficulties and in their homes, they certainly have no chance of playing freely.”

After years as a main battleground, Aleppo was liberated last December. Faced with the city’s tragedy, the Salesian church in Aleppo has launched a number of projects in the past few months, many of which successfully continue today. Salesian missionaries have been cleaning the city and helping young couples, providing food and money for electrical supplies as well as hosting summer camps for hundreds of children. Missionaries are also providing financial help for healthcare expenses and medicines, visits, exams and treatment. All these steps are for poor families in the region who might otherwise go without such assistance.

Since the outbreak of civil war, 7.3 million Syrians have been internally displaced within the country and more than 5.2 million registered Syrian refugees are in the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq with a recent flood of refugees now seeking asylum in Europe, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Refugee camps in these bordering countries are overflowing with families in need of basic supplies, adequate shelter and safety, as well as technical skills training so they can begin to earn a living in their new host countries. More than 6 million of those affected are children who have been put at risk of violence. They are also subject to a lack of essential supplies and destroyed infrastructure that has closed schools and hospitals.

Salesian missionaries operate three centers in Syria. They are located in Kafroun and in the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Each of the centers is staffed by three Salesian priests and a deacon. The centers have been in operation since well before the start of the war providing educational classes, meeting space, and social development and sporting activities for youth and their families. The centers also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

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Sources

ANS – Syria – “Faith gets stronger when faced with difficulties.” Testimony of Rania

UNHCR – Syrian Refugee Response

The post SYRIA: Salesian teacher faces own hardship as she helps Salesian community rebuild in Aleppo first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“Here in Bethlehem, where Christians make up 33 percent of the population (about 12,000 people), our centers are attended by young Christians and Muslims (in the majority) and people of both religions work there. Coexistence has always been good and relationships of sincere friendship have been born,” said Father Piergiorgio Gianazza, vice-provincial of the Salesian Province of the Middle East in a recent Vatican Insider World News article.

The Salesian Bakery is a historical institution in Bethlehem. The bakery, staffed by both Muslims and Christians working in harmony, produces food for the children in the orphanage, teaches baking as a profession and provides food assistance to those most in need through the free distribution of bread to the poorest families. The bakery employs six people and produces close to 3,000 loaves of bread every day. During the Second Intifada the bakery became very well known to the citizens in need during the crises.

“Our bread oven managed to provide bread to everyone, sometimes even for free. I remember that it would work uninterruptedly day and night,” added Fr. Piergiorgio in the article. “Since then, most of the population buys bread here and about 120 needy families (which we take care of) receive our products at a symbolic monthly price. I am pleased that in Bethlehem, which in Hebrew means “bread house”, there is a bakery that feeds the population and helps the most vulnerable people. It nourishes the bonds between Christians and Muslims.”

Salesian missionaries also offer a Salesian Technical School. The school has 150 boys aged 15 to 18 who are working toward three-year technical and professional degrees in subjects including mechanics, electricity, electronics, mechatronics and industrial electronics. After graduates successfully complete a program, they are provided assistance finding meaningful employment.

The Salesian Professional Training Center offers 12 intensive courses each lasting one year. Currently, there are 160 young men aged 18 to 30 years attending the training center. The center’s goal is to meet the training needs of a large number of youth who for various reasons have left school prematurely. For young professionals who need to update their specialization, the center offers continuing education classes. Courses include carpentry, auto mechanics, mechatronics, electricity, industrial electronics and ceramics.

“Faculty and staff at the professional and technical schools are open and sensitive to the variety of religions represented in the area and encourage professional training for even the most disadvantaged populations,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Education has proven to be an effective means to break the cycle of poverty while giving the most vulnerable youth a sense of personal dignity and self-worth.”

The Salesian Artistic Center of Bethlehem is the only school in Palestine that offers formal training in the traditional handicrafts of olive wood, mother of pearl and ceramics. Students are urged to invent new and creative crafts and iconography to be produced with traditional materials and instruments. The art center works to create job opportunities for young craftsmen. To help art center graduates enter the job market, Salesian missionaries help with the donation of tools and machinery and the setting up of small workshops and microcredit facilities. For many students, this support has allowed them to overcome traditional obstacles faced when setting up a small business.

Bethlehem, a Palestinian city located in the central West Bank just south of Jerusalem, has a population close to 25,000 people and an economy that is primarily tourist driven. According to UNICEF, poverty in Palestinian territories including the West Bank, Gaza and Bethlehem varies district to district. Along the Gaza strip, poverty rates have risen as high as 60 percent with residents relying on food assistance from the United Nations. Over half of the population of Palestine is under the age of 18 and children in the region grow up amid frequent outbreaks of street violence sparked by ongoing political turmoil.

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Sources:

ANS –  Israel – Bethlehem and that bread oven that brings Christians and Muslims together

Salesians in Bethlehem

UNICEF – Bethlehem Poverty

Vatican Insider World News – Bethlehem and that bread oven that brings Christians and Muslims together

The post ISRAEL: Salesian missionaries provide educational programming and bakery bringing Muslims and Christians together first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Since the end of 2014, Europe has been experiencing a maritime refugee crisis of historic proportions, according to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. In 2015 alone, more than 300,000 refugees and migrants crossed the Mediterranean Sea on their way to Europe. At the end of 2014, 59.5 million people worldwide, the highest level on record, were forcibly displaced as a result of persecution, conflict and human rights violations. Of those documented, 19.5 million were refugees.

In 2014, European Union countries hosted a relatively small share of refugees. At the end of 2014, the world’s top refugee host was Turkey followed by Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, Ethiopia and Jordan. Lebanon hosted by far the largest number of refugees by population. By the first six months of 2015, 137,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe by sea under profoundly difficult and unsafe conditions as compared to the 75,000 that arrived during the same time period the previous year. The numbers have continued to rise since that time.

In Belgium, like in many countries across Europe, Salesian missionaries have been assisting these refugees with programs and helping them to integrate into their new communities. For more than a year, the Don Bosco Institute of Tournai has been hosting five young boys and providing them education, shelter and ongoing support.

“The boys are attending courses in all subjects including French and English language, mathematics, science, religion, physical education, drawing and music,” says Professor Flore Dubois who conducts a French course for foreign students. “There is a spirit of cooperation among them. If someone does not understand an exercise, another helps. The older ones are motivated by the desire for a job. For most of them, their priority is to be allowed to stay in Belgium when they are of age.”

There are challenges though for young refugees settling in to new programs and new routines. The director of the Don Bosco School, Annie Michel, points out the difficulties encountered by these youth and Salesian staff.

“Our two classes are largely composed of Afghans and Syrians, and it’s not easy for these young people to integrate into our rules,” says Michel. “I learned that children in their countries obey school rules, but from the age of 12 to 18, teachers are no longer involved. It is important to work hard on training, to integrate their code and avoid misunderstandings. Despite the difficulties, these young people have an amazing thirst for learning.”

Saïdi, who is at the Don Bosco School is a 14-year-old Afghan. He escaped from the Taliban in Kabul and was welcomed for six months at the Don Bosco work in Hornu. Initially he had difficulty accepting the rules and schedules and wanted to change the structure. But when he knew it would not be possible, he changed his attitude and now thinks of the program as his home. But for many like Saïdi, he will have to find another program after he turns 16 because he will age out of the Salesian school. Salesian missionaries are working with other Salesian programs and local programs in Belgian communities in the hopes of helping youth make an easier transition once they reach their later teens and need to seek assistance elsewhere.

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Sources:

ANS – Belgium – The Salesian Network Welcomes Migrant Minors

UNHCR – The sea route to Europe: The Mediterranean passage in the age of refugees

The post BELGIUM: Salesian Missionaries Provide Education and Hope to Young Refugees first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“Most families try to survive despite thousands of economic difficulties. They maneuver in the black market to find the daily necessities. The aqueducts of the city are blocked because of the war and a lack of water is causing many problems,” says Fr. Jabloyan. “At the Don Bosco Oratory, activities continue with great joy and less fatigue than before, but there are still a few problems, which Salesian missionaries and youth in the program face with a smile and with greater hope for the future.”

Over the course of the last six years since the outbreak of civil war began in March 2011, Salesian missionaries have operated three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Each of the centers is staffed by three Salesian priests and a deacon. The centers have been in operation since well before the start of the war providing educational classes, meeting space and social development and sporting activities for youth and their families. The centers also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

“Salesian missionaries are trying to help youth and their families focus on normal life amid situations that are very challenging,” says Fr. Jabloyan. “In such a situation, youth have even greater need for socialization, entertainment and fraternity. They need a quiet place where they can play and talk with their peers and supportive adults. We try to provide that safe space where youth feel safe so they can learn, process their feelings and relax with their friends.”

Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling. Salesian missionaries have noted the absence of youth in the area as many have fled to safety in other areas of Syria and in neighboring countries.

Since the outbreak of civil war, 7.3 million Syrians have been internally displaced within the country and more than 4.9 million registered Syrian refugees are in the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq with a recent flood of refugees now seeking asylum in Europe, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Refugee camps in these bordering countries are overflowing with families in need of basic supplies, adequate shelter and safety, as well as technical skills training so they can begin to earn a living in their new host countries. More than 6 million of those affected are children who have been put at risk of violence and are subject to a lack of essential supplies and destroyed infrastructure that has closed schools and hospitals.

In addition to Salesian centers within Syria, Salesian missionaries have been helping Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt since early 2012, assisting between 400 and 800 refugees each day, many of whom are women and children. At these refugee sites, missionaries provide emergency relief by meeting basic needs and providing shelter, safety and medical assistance. Missionaries also offer technical skills training to assist refugees in the task of finding stable employment in their new host countries, which for many is particularly challenging due to labor laws and a lack of established social and professional networks.

Salesian missionaries seek to assist the most disadvantaged and vulnerable refugees, particularly those living outside of protected camps who take risks in order to support elderly parents, wives and children. Offering skills training, advocacy and counseling programs, Salesian centers provide safe spaces for vulnerable refugee families to find a sense of community and peace.

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Sources:

ANS – Italy – Aleppo: Is the emergency about to end?

Interview with Father Pier Jabloyan

UNHCR – Syrian Refugee Response

The post SYRIA: Salesian Missionaries Provide Programs and a Safe Space for Youth in Aleppo first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“Despite the war and the darkness deriving from it, we try to light a small lamp of hope in the hearts of the youth of Aleppo,” says Father Pier Jabloyan, assistant pastor at the Salesian center in Aleppo. “With great prudence and care we try to bring the children by bus to the oratory so that they may spend a few hours in joy and serenity.”

Since the outbreak of civil war, 7.3 million Syrians have been internally displaced within the country and 4.8 million registered Syrian refugees are in the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq with a recent flood of refugees now seeking asylum in Europe, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Refugee camps in these bordering countries are overflowing with families in need of basic supplies, adequate shelter and safety as well as technical skills training so they can begin to earn a living in their new host countries. More than 6 million of those affected are children who have been put at risk of violence and are subject to a lack of essential supplies and destroyed infrastructure that has closed schools and hospitals.

Over the last five years since the outbreak of civil war began in March 2011, Salesian missionaries have operated three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high-conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Each of the centers is staffed by three Salesian priests and a deacon and have been in operation since well before the start of the war providing educational classes, meeting space and social development and sporting activities for youth and their families. The centers also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

“Salesian missionaries are trying to help youth and their families focus on normal life amid situations that are very challenging,” adds Fr. Jabloyan, “In such a situation youth have even greater need for socialization, entertainment and fraternity. They need a quiet place where they can play and talk with their peers and supportive adults. We try to provide that safe space where youth feel safe so they can learn, process their feelings and relax with their friends.”

In addition to Salesian centers within Syria, Salesian missionaries have been helping Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt since early 2012 assisting between 400 and 800 refugees each day, many of whom are women and children. At these refugee sites, missionaries provide emergency relief by meeting basic needs and providing shelter, safety and medical assistance. Missionaries also offer technical skills training to assist refugees in the task of finding stable employment in their new host countries which for many is particularly challenging due to labor laws and a lack of established social and professional networks.

Salesian missionaries seek to assist the most disadvantaged and vulnerable refugees, particularly those living outside of protected camps who take risks in order to support elderly parents, wives and children. Offering skills training, advocacy and counseling programs, Salesian centers provide safe spaces for vulnerable refugee families to find a sense of community and peace.

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Sources:

ANS – Syria – The War continues, but the Salesian Summer Activities are back

UNHCR – Syrian Refugee Response

The post SYRIA: Summer Programs Offer Safe Space and Play for 800 Youth first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Each of the centers is staffed by three Salesian priests and a deacon and have been in operation since well before the start of the war providing educational classes, meeting space and social development and sporting activities for youth and their families. The centers also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

“Salesian missionaries are trying to help youth and their families focus on normal life amid situations that are very challenging,” says Father Pier Jabloyan, Assistant Pastor at the Salesian center in Aleppo. “In such a situation youth have even greater need for socialization, entertainment and fraternity. They need a quiet place where they can play and talk with their peers and supportive adults. We try to provide that safe space where youth feel safe so they can learn, process their feelings and relax with their friends.”

Despite the ongoing violence, Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling. Salesian missionaries have noted the absence of youth in the area as many have fled to safety in other areas of Syria and in neighboring countries.

“The country is increasingly exhausted and impoverished by the war and the consequences on the living conditions of the population have been devastating,” says Father Munir El Rai, Provincial of the Middle East who visited his home city of Aleppo in July 2015. “People are getting tired and exhausted at the moral, spiritual and material level. As well as the tragedy of death and destruction, every family is now faced with the drama of emigration, with people fleeing the country in search of a better life outside Syria. I have seen the suffering of the people who remain and the loneliness they feel for those who are gone.”

Since the outbreak of civil war, 7.3 million Syrians have been internally displaced within the country and 4.7 million registered Syrian refugees are in the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq with a recent flood of refugees now seeking asylum in Europe, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Refugee camps in these bordering countries are overflowing with families in need of basic supplies, adequate shelter and safety as well as technical skills training so they can begin to earn a living in their new host countries. More than 6 million of those affected are children who have been put at risk of violence and are subject to a lack of essential supplies and destroyed infrastructure that has closed schools and hospitals.

In addition to Salesian centers within Syria, Salesian missionaries have been helping Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt since early 2012 assisting between 400 and 800 refugees each day, many of whom are women and children. At these refugee sites, missionaries provide emergency relief by meeting basic needs and providing shelter, safety and medical assistance. Missionaries also offer technical skills training to assist refugees in the task of finding stable employment in their new host countries which for many is particularly challenging due to labor laws and a lack of established social and professional networks.

Salesian missionaries seek to assist the most disadvantaged and vulnerable refugees, particularly those living outside of protected camps who take risks in order to support elderly parents, wives and children. Offering skills training, advocacy and counseling programs, Salesian centers provide safe spaces for vulnerable refugee families to find a sense of community and peace.

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Sources:

ANS – Syria – In Aleppo something terrible is happening, but many people either ignore or do not want to see it

ANS – Syria – “We try to do the normal things, in times that are not normal”

UNHCR – Syrian Refugee Response

The post SYRIA: Salesian Programs Continue Providing Shelter and Education for Youth Despite Ongoing Violence first appeared on MissionNewswire.

In 2014, European Union countries hosted a relatively small share of refugees. At the end of 2014, the world’s top refugee host was Turkey followed by Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, Ethiopia and Jordan. Lebanon hosted by far the largest number of refugees by population. By the first six months of 2015, 137,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe by sea under profoundly difficult and unsafe conditions as compared to the 75,000 that arrived during the same time period last year. The numbers are expected to continue to rise throughout the rest of 2015.

Syrian refugees make up the single largest group followed by refugees from Eritrea and Afghanistan. High numbers of refugees from Somalia, Iraq and Sudan who are in need of international protection are also arriving in Europe. According to UNHCR, the majority of those arriving in Europe in the first six months of 2015 were men searching for a safe place to live and work before attempting to reunite later with their families. However, this total also included large numbers of women and children, including thousands of unaccompanied and separated children.

Often the lack of legal routes to safety leaves no choice for many men, women and children other than to turn to smugglers at enormous cost and danger to their lives. Before arriving in Europe, many have suffered high levels of abuse, exploitation and human rights violations.

In countries around the globe, Salesian missionaries are assisting close to 400,000 refugees and internally displaced persons whose lives have been affected by war, persecution, famine and natural disasters such as floods, droughts and earthquakes. Salesian programs provide refugees much needed education and technical skills training, workforce development, healthcare and nutrition.

Salesian missionaries are working across Europe helping to provide needed services for the new wave of refugees arriving in these countries.

ITALY

In Sicily, Salesian missionaries have revamped a reception center for children who come to Italy looking for a better life. The reception center provides the first emergency point of contact for unaccompanied migrant and refugee minors. By creating two new sections within the existing center, missionaries have been able to add an extra bedroom and bathroom as well as a new bathroom for staff. The center also includes a living room and balcony that serves as a communal area to encourage sharing and relaxation.

All the fittings and interior doors of the premises have been replaced and new furniture has been acquired including a television set, DVD player, computer, cookware and plates. Currently, the house can accommodate up to 12 youth. The center offers an immediate welcome and safe space and is prepared to offer accommodation for as long as necessary until youth find a suitable, more permanent solution. The new structure also offers educational initiatives including language skills training and legal assistance to help youth begin a new life in Italy.

In addition to the center in Sicily, the Salesians of the Special Circumscription of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta are active in welcoming refugees to their new reception center at the Don Bosco Institute in Alessandria, a city in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. And in Turin, Italy, Salesian missionaries are working with the local government to actively plan a new center for refugees while assessing what assistance might be needed to help unaccompanied youth long-term.

GERMANY

The German Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco has been strengthening its commitment to young refugees. To meet the large and growing need in Germany in recent weeks, Salesian missionaries have been continually increasing the number of houses where they give assistance to youth in need.

In addition to new houses, missionaries are now offering temporary housing. Today, 11 Salesian programs across Germany are caring for 448 refugee youth and more accommodations are being prepared to accept additional refugees as the need increases. Most of the refugees are young males between 16 and 18 years of age who have come to Germany from African countries, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The boys are provided shelter in Salesian houses that can accommodate up to 12 people with four social workers available 24 hours a day.

SPAIN

In Madrid, Salesian missionaries are developing programs across the country in preparation for additional refugees seeking services. Missionaries are working with local governments and other social programs to respond to the refugee crisis.

Salesian missionaries who have previous experience working with young refugees and their families are helping to start additional Salesian programs that will address the needs of today’s refugee youth. Many of the new programs focus on meeting the immediate needs of newly-arrived refugees and go on to address the need for education and employment. Missionaries are also working with local schools to help assimilate children from refugee families into classrooms.

Salesian Sisters with the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians are working with the local government and diocese in Madrid to determine the most appropriate course of action to respond to and assist refugees from Syria. Currently, the Salesian Sisters operate six socio-educational projects that offer services for children at risk of social exclusion (many of them immigrants) and a social work project that was created to provide education and workforce development services to help decrease youth unemployment and educational inequality for those in poverty, especially girls.

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Sources:

ANS – Italy Reception Centre for unaccompanied minors

ANS – Germany Welcoming Refugees: Salesians of Don Bosco in Germany give increased aid

ANS – Spain Welcoming Refugees: the Salesians in Spain are ready

UNHCR – The sea route to Europe: The Mediterranean passage in the age of refugees

The post EUROPE: Salesian Missionaries Providing Shelter and Education to Refugees Arriving in Europe first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Sharing a 500-mile-long border with Syria, southeastern Turkey has more than 1.7 million Syrian refugees, as reported by the United Nations. Salesian missionaries are providing services at three sites within Syria while also providing for Syrian refugees in Turkey. While many Syrian refugees stay in towns on the Turkey-Syrian border, many find their way to big cities like Istanbul where Salesian missionaries operate a program that currently serves close to 400 Syrian refugees.

The Don Bosco Center opened its doors 20 years ago as a temporary response to a wave of refugees from Iraq. With conflict continuing in the region today, new refugees and asylum seekers arrive every day. Currently, there are 350 children enrolled in the center, mostly from Iraq and Syria, who are being taught English as well as other traditional school subjects such as mathematics, geography and music. Students have access to sports and dance programs intended to help them connect with their peers and find enjoyment and comfort in their new surroundings. In addition, the program provides counseling both for youth and their families to help them overcome the challenges and traumas they may have faced.

“Salesian missionary work in Istanbul serves a critical purpose providing refugees links to service providers and comprehensive assistance as they transition, for an unknown period of time, into local society,” says Neill Holland, program officer at the Salesian Missions Office for International Programs. “Without a doubt, the biggest Salesian success is the safe space created for youth who have experienced trauma in their home countries. At the Don Bosco School and community center, refugee youth take part in recreation activities with Turkish youth which allows them to move beyond their hardships while giving them a chance to forget their worries and be children once again.”

Basima Toma, one of the center’s teachers, provides English language lessons to approximately 40 students. Toma, her husband and their four children are adherents of the Chaldean Catholic religion and lived in Baghdad, Iraq, until a Christian-owned business near them was attacked and destroyed, leaving them concerned for their safety. In 2013, the family moved to Turkey where they have found a renewed sense of security.

“Now I do not fear for my children,” said Toma, in a recent Catholic News Service article about the Don Bosco Center. “I put my head on my pillow and am not afraid when they are not with me.”

Like Toma, most of the teachers at the center are refugees or asylum seekers. Father Andres Calleja Ruiz reports that students relate better to and feel more comfortable with teachers that have gone through some of the same experiences and understand the suffering they may have endured. The teachers also speak Arabic, the native language of most of the refugee students, which is helpful in the classroom.

“Here we do not ask anyone what religion they are or to what political movement they belong,” says Fr. Calleja.

In addition to educating refugees, the center provides a safe space where they can sing and play. Many young refugees had never been to school or attended only sporadically because of war in their countries. Salesian missionaries at the center work to provide youth a sense of regularity and opportunities to catch up on their missed school years and childhoods. For one student, Sarah Mohammed, the Don Bosco Center is the only place where she and her sister are able to gain an education and learn both English and Turkish. The sisters and their family were forced to flee from Aleppo, Syria more than a year ago after an explosion near the girls’ school.

An estimated 9 million Syrians have fled their homes since the outbreak of civil war in March 2011, taking refuge in neighboring countries or within Syria itself. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 3 million have fled to Syria’s immediate neighbors Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Another 6.5 million are internally displaced within Syria. Refugee camps in these bordering countries are overflowing with families in need of basic supplies, adequate shelter and safety as well as technical skills training so they can begin to earn a living in their new host countries.

Recently, close to 150,000 Syrians have declared asylum in the European Union, while member states have pledged to resettle a further 33,000 Syrians. The vast majority of these resettlement locations, 28,500 or 85 percent, have been pledged by Germany.

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Sources:

ANS – Turkey – Studying, singing and playing, after fleeing their homes due to war

CNS – Salesian center offers haven for Iraqi, Syrian children in Istanbul

UNHCR – 2015 UNHCR country operations profile – Turkey

The post TURKEY: Don Bosco Center Provides English Language Classes and Education to More Than 350 Refugee Children first appeared on MissionNewswire.

For the first time in four years, Salesian missionaries held five-day summer camps to give young Syrians the opportunity to leave Aleppo and take refuge in the mountains near the Salesian center in Kafroun. More than 180 junior high school students and 140 senior high school students, accompanied by several Salesian staff and youth leaders, enjoyed the retreat from the violence and war in their home communities. For many, it was the first time in years they were able to sleep soundly without hearing sounds of war on the streets outside their homes.

“Every time I visit Aleppo, I see a city increasingly destroyed, and until a few years ago this great city, one of the oldest in the world, had about 3 million inhabitants. Now it is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world,” says Father Munir El Rai, Provincial of the Middle East who visited his home city of Aleppo in July. “The number of young people connecting with Salesian centers is increasing. One of the reasons is our youth centers have been relatively safe so far compared to other parish youth centers.”

During his visit to Aleppo, Fr. El Rai was able to take part in some of the summer camp activities at the Salesian center in Kafroun. He was impressed with the organization and management of the center. Through the use of a shuttle service, the center is able to provide programs and social activities in a peaceful, family-like atmosphere to more than 700 young people from various parts of the city.

Father El Rai also visited other areas of Syria and found much devastation and destruction. The lack of running water has forced people to survive on reduced amounts of water, especially drinking water, with serious health consequences while a shortage of electricity makes the most basic daily activities difficult.

“The country is increasingly exhausted and impoverished by the war and the consequences on the living conditions of the population have been devastating,” says Fr. El Rai. “People are getting tired and exhausted at the moral, spiritual and material level. As well as the tragedy of death and destruction, every family is now faced with the drama of emigration, with people fleeing the country in search of a better life outside Syria. I have seen the suffering of the people who remain and the loneliness they feel for those who are gone.”

Despite the ongoing violence, Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling. Salesian missionaries have noted the absence of youth in the area as many have fled to safety in other areas of Syria and in neighboring countries.

Since the March 2011 outbreak of civil war, 7.3 million Syrians have been internally displaced within the country and 4.1 million registered Syrian refugees are in the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq and a recent flood of refugees are now seeking asylum in Europe, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Refugee camps in these bordering countries are overflowing with families in need of basic supplies, adequate shelter and safety as well as technical skills training so they can begin to earn a living in their new host countries. More than 6 million of those affected are children who have been put at risk of violence and are subject to a lack of essential supplies and destroyed infrastructure that has closed schools and hospitals.

In addition to Salesian centers within Syria, Salesian missionaries have been helping Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt since early 2012 assisting between 400 and 800 refugees each day, many of whom are women and children. At these refugee sites, missionaries provide emergency relief by meeting basic needs and providing shelter, safety and medical assistance. Missionaries also offer technical skills training to assist refugees in the task of finding stable employment in their new host countries which for many is particularly challenging due to labor laws and a lack of established social and professional networks.

Salesian missionaries seek to assist the most disadvantaged and vulnerable refugees, particularly those living outside of protected camps who take risks in order to support elderly parents, wives and children. Offering skills training, advocacy and counseling programs, Salesian centers provide safe spaces for vulnerable refugee families to find a sense of community and peace.

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Sources:

ANS – Syria – “Ghèr ‘alam”: “Another World” for the Youth of Aleppo

UNHCR – Syrian Refugee Response

*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.

The post SYRIA: Salesian Missionaries in War-Torn Syria Provide Shelter, Youth Programs and Education first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The United Nations has been pushing for a halt to airstrikes and fighting that have killed close to 3,000 people in the country since March when a Saudi-led coalition intervened against Iranian-backed Houthi forces to try to restore exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power. According to reports from international organizations, almost 80 percent of the country’s population, more than 20 million people, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Salesian missionaries in the country are working with poor youth and their families in need of assistance despite a host of challenges.

“There is a shortage of electricity, medicines, water and food and the infrastructure has been destroyed by bombing,” says a Salesian priest in Yemen. “Millions of people are living in real misery, constantly in fear of the bombing. There are many who are maimed and others with serious wounds. The psychological damage to children and young people is impossible to calculate.”

Cities such as Aden and Taiz have been devastated. In Aden, two of the three churches served by the Salesian missionaries were looted and partially destroyed. Missionaries reported that things within the church were broken and the few items of value were taken. Although the churches were damaged, Salesian missionaries remain more concerned about the local people who are just trying to survive.

“In Aden, there is heavy fighting taking place and there is a great shortage of the most basic goods,” adds the Salesian priest. “Life is really miserable and to make things worse, there seems to be an epidemic of dengue fever and about 5,000 people are affected. Some have already died and the most likely causes are the lack of cleaning, the stagnant water that lies everywhere and the dead bodies that remain for days in the streets.”

Despite international efforts to resolve the situation, peace talks in Geneva have failed and the bombing continues. While the situation in Yemen has always been difficult for Salesian missionaries, the current fighting in the country, and in particular within Aden, has made it more difficult than ever. With assistance from the Salesian priests, the Sisters of Charity, the only Catholic religious congregation present in the country other than the Salesians, focus their work on humanitarian activities in hospitals, centers for the aged and the infirm and homes for poor and disadvantaged youth. In Sana’a, Salesian missionaries also serve the Catholics attached to the diplomatic missions of various countries.

The Salesian priests and Sisters of Charity are planning to remain in Yemen and assess the situation and their own safety day to day with their primary focus continuing to be on helping those most in need.

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Sources:

ANS – Yemen – “The country is a hell, running short of almost everything”

The post YEMEN: Salesian Missionaries are Assisting Those Struggling to Survive Amid Violence and Civil War first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Each year, June 20 marks World Refugee Day, a day that honors the plight of millions of refugees and internally displaced people around the globe. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, noted that at the end of 2014, more than 50 million people had been forced from their homes worldwide. Almost 80 percent of those displaced are women and children.

Established in 2001, World Refugee Day is coordinated by UNHRC and focuses on honoring the courage, strength and determination of men, women and children forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence. Each year, the day focuses on a particular theme that highlights specific circumstances faced by refugees. This year’s theme, “Get to know a refugee – Ordinary people living through extraordinary times,” aims to bring the public closer to the human side of the refugee story.

“All around the world we are seeing families fleeing violence,” said High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres in a recent statement about World Refugee Day. “The numbers are massive – but we must not forget that these are mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. People who led ordinary lives before war forced them to flee. On this World Refugee Day, everyone should remember the things that connect all of us – our common humanity.”

To mark World Refugee Day 2015, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight programs around the globe that provide life-changing education and support for refugees and internally displaced people in need that were developed by Salesian Missions and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Salesian Missions, headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, is the U.S. Development Arm of the international Salesians of Don Bosco.

COLOMBIAN REFUGEES

In recent years, more than 450,000 people have fled the violence of Colombia to neighboring Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama and Costa Rica. Salesian Missions’ New Beginnings initiative, which started in 2011, has provided more than 1,000 Colombian refugees in these four countries vocational and human development training as well as job placement services.

Many of the Colombian refugees began the program with no marketable skills. Without the prospect of a job, it was hard for them to create stability for their families and build new lives. The New Beginnings program grants each refugee 260 hours of technical training as well as 40 hours of human development workshops. The training programs, coupled with the job placement services, allowed these victims of violence and chaos to start over and build a stable, hopeful future for themselves, their families and their new communities.

SRI LANKAN REFUGEES IN INDIA

For the fifth year, Salesian Missions has received funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration to conduct its New Beginnings program for Sri Lankan Refugees in Tamil Nadu, India. To date, close to 2,500 refugees have received vocational training scholarships through the program. Since 1983, ethnic violence in Sri Lanka has forced tens of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils from their homeland in search of safety and a new life in Tamil Nadu, India. According to UNHCR, there are close to 140,000 Sri Lankan refugees in 65 countries, with almost 70,000 in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu.

Refugees face many challenges as they begin to make a new life in their host countries. Sri Lankan Tamils are unique in that their host population in Tamil Nadu is also ethnically Tamil. While Sri Lankan refugees share a common language and customs with their host community, they still struggle to gain marketable skills and find livable wage employment.

Since 2010, Salesian Missions has been providing its New Beginnings program for young male and female Sri Lankan refugees who have been living in refugee camps in 15 target districts in India. In 2015, Salesian missionaries are serving 550 individuals by providing vocational training through a network of nine Salesian-run Don Bosco schools spread across Southeast India. In addition, 550 women are benefiting from refugee camp-based small business incubator programs. The New Beginnings program provides market-conscious vocational and technical skills training that results in livable wage employment, allowing trainees to better support themselves and their families. Many refugees enter the program with few, if any, job prospects or with a history of low paid part-time work experience which is typically unskilled and often dangerous and exploitative.

REFUGEES IN KENYA

Kakuma was established in 1992 near Kenya’s border with South Sudan and was a place of refuge for unaccompanied minors fleeing warring factions in what was then southern Sudan. Today, the Kakuma refugee camp has more than 180,000 refugees, well over the 120,000 person capacity for which it was built. More than 44 percent of the refugees at the camp are from South Sudan and arrived after fleeing the country to escape conflict and violence.

Kakuma is operated by UNHCR in collaboration with Salesian missionaries in the country as well as several other humanitarian organizations. The camp offers refugees safety, security and life-saving services such as housing, healthcare, clean water and sanitation. Salesian missionaries at Kakuma refugee camp operate the Holy Cross Parish and the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center where 1,044 young men and women are receiving critical employment and life skills. There are many courses available and those studying welding, carpentry and bricklaying often utilize their new skills helping to build infrastructure within the camp. Salesian missionaries are currently seeking funding to build a new school on a donated plot of land at the refugee camp in order to meet the growing demand.

Salesian missionaries at the camp also operate the Helping Children to be Children program which gathers refugee children and leads them in games, songs and classes held outdoors on the camp grounds. As part of the program, children are offered the opportunity to draw and learn to speak English. Close to 3,000 children benefit from this Salesian program which currently has no steady funding and is run primarily by refugee volunteers.

SYRIAN REFUGEES IN TURKEY

Sharing a 500-mile-long border with Syria, Southeastern Turkey has more than 1.6 million Syrian refugees, as reported by the United Nations. Salesian missionaries are providing services at three sites within Syria while also providing for Syrian refugees in Turkey. While many Syrian refugees stay in towns on the Turkey-Syrian border, many find their way to big cities like Istanbul where Salesian missionaries operate a program that currently serves close to 400 Syrian refugees.

At the Don Bosco Center in Istanbul, Salesian Father Andres Calleja Ruiz leads special programs for refugee children and youth from Syria as well as for a growing number of families fleeing ISIS persecution in Iraq. Because most refugees do not speak the local language it is difficult for children to attend school and adults to find work. At the Center, Salesian missionaries provide a school for more than 350 refugee children where they learn English language skills and traditional school subjects such as mathematics, geography and music. Students have access to sports and dance programs intended to help them connect with their peers and find enjoyment and comfort in their new surroundings. In addition, the program provides counseling both for youth and their families to help them overcome the challenges and traumas they have faced.

Technical skills training is a critical component of Salesian work in Istanbul. Many refugees leave the country’s border towns and refugee camps and make their way to Istanbul hoping to find employment and a more stable life. If they fail to find work, refugees are often left in dire circumstances. The Don Bosco Center’s technical skills training program is a critical safety net for those in need.

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Sources:

World Refugee Day 2015

The post WORLD REFUGEE DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Educational Programs Assisting Refugees around the Globe first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“At a time of such change and turmoil, this region simply cannot afford to let 21 million children fall by the wayside,” said Maria Calivis, regional director for UNICEF MENA (Middle East and North Africa), said in a statement from Beirut.

“These children must be given the opportunity to acquire the skills they need through education in order to play their part in the region’s transformation,” she added. According to a joint report released by UNICEF and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a 40 per cent reduction in the number of out-of-school children in the MENA region over the past decade provided hope and opportunities for millions.

According to the report, 12.3 million children and young adolescents in the Middle East and North Africa are out of school. In addition, according to recent calculations, more six million children and young adolescents are at risk of dropping out.

An additional three million children are out of school in Syria and Iraq, where conflict has destroyed large parts of the education system. As the violence expands, millions more are at risk of becoming a ‘lost generation’ deprived of the knowledge and skills needed to be successful adults.

Working to provide a safety net for youth in situations like this is the focus of the Salesians of Don Bosco, which operates schools, youth centers and humanitarian aid programs in some of the countries outlined in the report (as part of the more than 130 countries they serve).

“All youth deserve a chance at a better life,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian schools help youth overcome barriers to success while teaching them how to take responsibility for their own lives. By providing youth an education and the necessary skills to find and retain employment, they are able to support themselves and help their communities.”

SYRIA

In Syria, Salesian missionaries continue to provide for Syrian youth and families in need at three centers. Each of the three centers is staffed by three Salesian priests and a deacon and have been in operation since well before the start of the war providing educational classes, meeting space and social development and sporting activities to youth and their families. The centers also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

Several other countries around the region are experiencing armed conflicts or political turmoil that prevents children from learning, according to the join report.

Full regional recommendations and country-specific recommendations outlined in the report can be found at www.oosci-mena.org.

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PHOTO CREDITS:

Main photo: Getty Images © austinmann – child in a Unicef tent in Sudan

Other photos courtesy of the Don Bosco Vocational Training Centre – El Obeid

SOURCES:

Original press release on the release of the report from the UN Press Centre

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Out-of-School Children Initiative (OOSCI)

UNESCO: Education for All Global Monitoring Report (PDF of full report, available here

MissionNewswire: SYRIA: Salesian Missionaries Continue to Provide for Syrian Youth and Families in Need at Three Centers within Syria

MissionNewswire: SUDAN: More than 1,200 Youth Receive Education, Employment Opportunities at Salesian Technical School

MissionNewswire: SUDAN: Degree Training Programs Help Youth Find Stable Employment

The post MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA: Protecting Education for Children in Conflict first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Two of the Salesian priests live and work in Sana’a and there is one priest working at each of the other three centers in the country. They oversee the three recognized Catholic churches in Aden and care for the expatriate Catholics hailing from different parts of the world, particularly from the Philippines and India, who work as nurses in the country.

In addition, the Salesian priests assist the Sisters of Charity, the only Catholic religious congregation present in Yemen other than the Salesians. The Sisters of Charity focus their work on humanitarian activities in hospitals, centers for the aged and the infirm and homes for poor and disadvantaged youth. In Sana’a, Salesian missionaries also serve the Catholics attached to the diplomatic missions of various countries.

While the Salesian priests and Sisters of Charity remain safe, the situation is precarious. The fighting intensified weeks ago in the southern port city of Aden, where forces loyal to Yemen’s President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is now exiled, clashed with allies of the Houthis, a well-organized and influential Shiite group in a majority Sunni population, who now control the capital and forced President Hadi from power.

Aden is at the center of the conflict and was President Hadi’s last seat of power before he fled to Saudi Arabia last week. On April 2, Houthi rebels and their allies in Yemen stormed the presidential palace in Aden following heavy clashes. Despite air strikes led by Saudi Arabia, the rebels pushed through Aden using tanks and armored vehicles. They attacked several government buildings including the central prison, where they freed hundreds of inmates, according to a BBC report. At least 44 people have been killed in the violence, including 18 civilians.

“As regards the situation here, so far I am safe. Of course there were frightening moments with rockets passing just above the taxi I was traveling in, shooting and yelling around our church, the sound of bombs and rocket explosions within a range of 5 to 10 kilometers,” says the Salesian priest remaining in the city of Aden.

The lack of an authoritative central power and the withdrawal of foreign missions has made the continued Salesian presence in the country all the more difficult and dangerous. India has asked its citizens, who number more than 4,000, to leave the country.

While the situation in Yemen has always been difficult for Salesian missionaries, the current fighting in Yemen, and in particular within Aden, has made it more difficult than ever.

“Even though there was a civil war here earlier, Aden was a safe place with the presence of many established embassies and their security guards and the army around. But now it is different. There are no embassies in Aden and the countries which were protecting and training the military here have pulled out. Many business firms, companies and wealthy families have left,” adds the Salesian priest in Aden.

Recently, a bomb fell on one of the nursing hostels that had just been blessed by the Salesian priest. Fortunately, none of the nurses were at the hostel during the time and there were no reported injuries. The Sisters of Charity have vowed to remain in Yemen to continue their humanitarian work. The Salesian priests remain as well assessing the situation day to day.

Sources

ANS – Yemen – The situation of the country and of the Salesians

ANS – Yemen – To leave or to stay, while war rages

BBC News – Yemen crisis: Rebels storm presidential palace in Aden

New York Times – Qaeda Militants Attack Port City in Yemen, Freeing Prisoners

The post YEMEN: Salesian Missionaries Situation in Yemen Precarious Due to Recent Fighting first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“We are carrying on with our regular activities and every Friday, close to 300 boys and girls from elementary school through high school attend catechism classes,” says Father Munir El Rai, Provincial of the Middle East. “The number of young people connecting with Salesian centers in Syria is increasing. One of the reasons is our youth center has been relatively safe so far compared to other parish youth centers.”

“However, in February our area was hit by five mortars, three of which fell within fifty meters of the school,” adds Fr. El Rai. “Nine civilians were killed, including four young people, and more than thirty-five people were injured. All citizens of Aleppo are at risk and no area is completely safe or far from war.”

Despite the ongoing violence, Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling. Salesian missionaries have noted the absence of youth in the area due to many fleeing to safety in other areas of Syria and in neighboring countries.

“Emigration continues to increase, and the absence of young people between 20 and 30 years is noticeable,” explains Fr. El Rai. “Young people leave the country to look for work, for safety and a life of dignity. It is a very sad, because a country cannot grow without the presence of its young people.”

Since the March 2011 outbreak of civil war, close to 9 million Syrians have fled their homes in search of safety, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). More than 6 million of those affected are children who have been put at risk of violence and are subject to a lack of essential supplies and destroyed infrastructure that has closed schools and hospitals.

Close to 6.5 million people are internally displaced within Syria. More than 2.5 million have fled to the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq and just under 100,000 have declared asylum in Europe. Refugee camps in these bordering countries are overflowing with families in need of basic supplies, adequate shelter and safety as well as technical skills training so they can begin to earn a living in their new host countries.

“With all these difficulties it might seem that we are losing hope, but not so,” adds Fr. El Rai. “The young people who are still here in Syria continue to live their lives with great strength, courage and will to live. They continue to go to college, to study and to come to the youth center, helping out in the various activities. Their presence gives us courage and strength to carry on.”

In addition to Salesian centers within Syria, Salesian missionaries have been helping Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt since early 2012 assisting between 400 and 800 refugees each day, many of whom are women and children. At these refugee sites, missionaries provide emergency relief by meeting basic needs and providing shelter, safety and medical assistance. Missionaries also offer technical skills training to assist refugees in the task of finding stable employment in their new host countries which for many is particularly challenging due to labor laws and a lack of established social and professional networks.

“Salesians are particularly focused on providing care and support services to urban refugees,” says Neill Holland, program officer at the Salesian Missions Office for International Programs. “Urban refugees, like those fleeing Syria and other areas, are particularly vulnerable to economic insecurity, subject to long-term unemployment and high costs for basic necessities like shelter and food. What’s more, urban refugees intent on joining host country commerce out of the need to support dependent family members, often despite host country labor laws, are significantly at risk of exploitation and compromising situations.”

Salesian missionaries seek to assist the most disadvantaged and vulnerable refugees, particularly those living outside of protected camps who take risks in order to support elderly parents, wives and children. Offering skills training, advocacy and counseling programs, Salesian centers provide safe spaces for vulnerable refugee families to find a sense of community and peace.

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Photo: (Getty Images © AhmadSabra) Beqaa, Lebanon – May 03, 2013: Syrian Refugee children in one of the tented camps in Beqaa Lebanon. One of the children showing signs of Leishmania.

Sources:

ANS –  Syria – “The young people gives us courage and strength”

UNHCR – Syria Regional Refugee Response

*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.

The post SYRIA: Salesian Missionaries Continue to Provide for Syrian Youth and Families in Need at Three Centers within Syria first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Hundreds of thousands fleeing war find humanitarian aid—and suffering—across the border.

At the Roman Catholic Holy Spirit Cathedral, Spanish-born Salesian Father Andres Calleja Ruiz leads special programs for refugee children and youth from Syria, as well as a growing number whose families are fleeing ISIS persecution in Iraq. Because the children don’t speak Turkish, it’s difficult for them to attend local schools.

“We teach them English, of course, but also mathematics, geography and sports, music, dancing. To make them to feel that they are children like any other children. And to liberate themselves a little bit from their traumas. And above all to open their eyes and their heart to a future.” – Father Andres Calleja Ruiz, Salesians of Don Bosco

See the full transcript at PBS.org >

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The post PBS STORY: Syrian Refugees in Turkey (VIDEO) first appeared on MissionNewswire.

At the Don Bosco Center in Istanbul, Salesian Father Andres Calleja Ruiz leads special programs for refugee children and youth from Syria as well as for a growing number of families fleeing ISIS persecution in Iraq. Because most refugees do not speak the local language it is difficult for children to attend school and adults to find work.

At the Center, Salesian missionaries provide a school for more than 350 refugee children where they learn English language skills as well as other traditional school subjects such as mathematics, geography and music. Students have access to sports and dance programs intended to help them connect with their peers and find enjoyment and comfort in their new surroundings. In addition, the program provides counseling both for youth and their families to help them overcome the challenges and traumas they have faced.

“Salesian missionary work in Istanbul serves a critical purpose providing refugees links to service providers and comprehensive assistance as they transition, for an unknown period of time, into local society,” says Neill Holland, program officer at the Salesian Missions Office for International Programs. “Without a doubt, the biggest Salesian success is the safe space created for youth who have experienced trauma in their home countries. At the Don Bosco School and community center, refugee youth take part in recreation activities with Turkish youth which allows them to move beyond their hardships while giving them a chance to forget their worries and be children once again.”

Technical skills training is a critical component of Salesian work in Istanbul. Many refugees leave the country’s border towns and refugee camps and make their way to Istanbul hoping to find employment and a more stable life. If they fail to find work, refugees are often left in dire circumstances. The Don Bosco Center’s technical skills training program is a critical safety net for those in need.

The skills training program trains refugee families in local trades and technical skills and assists them in finding stable employment in their new host country. As a result of evacuation and host country labor laws as well as a lack of established social and professional networks, many refugees urgently rely on the training program to locate long-term employment. In addition to skills training, Salesian missionaries provide needy refugees with emergency relief in the form of shelter, safety and medical assistance.

“Refugees, like those fleeing Syria and other areas, are particularly vulnerable to economic insecurity, subject to long-term unemployment and high costs for basic necessities like shelter and food,” adds Holland. “Refugees seeking local employment out of the need to support dependent family members are significantly at risk of exploitation and compromising situations.”

More than 200,000 people have been killed and millions more have fled their homes in search of safety since the outbreak of civil war in Syria in March 2011, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The conflict has taken its toll on young Syrians with U.N records indicating 2,165 recorded deaths of children under nine years old and 6,638 deaths of children aged 10 to 18 years. With often poor reporting, the numbers are suspected to be much higher.

Close to 6.5 million people are internally displaced within Syria. More than 2.5 million have fled to the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq and just under 100,000 have declared asylum in Europe. Others have taken refuge in Northern Africa. Refugee camps in these bordering countries are overflowing with families in need of basic supplies, adequate shelter and safety as well as technical skills training so they can begin to earn a living in their new host countries.

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Sources:

PBS – Syrian Refugees in Turkey

UNHCR – Syria Refugees

Wall Street Journal – U.N. Says Syria Deaths Near 200,000

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Since 1891, Salesian missionaries have been living and working in Bethlehem, initially establishing an orphanage for boys living in poverty and later expanding programs to meet growing local needs. Today, Salesian missionaries provide a range of educational and social activities to support the local community which includes both Christian and Muslim residents. In addition to the orphanage, Salesians now offer a technical school, a professional training center, a youth center, an art center and a bakery.

The Salesian Technical School offers three-year technical and professional degrees in subjects including mechanics, electricity, electronics, mechatronics and industrial electronics. After graduates successfully complete a program, they are provided assistance finding meaningful employment.

The Salesian Professional Training Center offers 12 intensive courses each lasting one year. The center’s goal is to meet the training needs of a large number of youth who for various reasons have left school prematurely. For young professionals who need to update their specialization, the center offers continuing education classes. Courses include carpentry, auto mechanics, mechatronics, electricity, industrial electronics and ceramics.

“Faculty and staff at the professional and technical schools are open and sensitive to the variety of religions represented in the area and encourage professional training for even the most disadvantaged populations,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Education has proven to be an effective means to break the cycle of poverty while giving the most vulnerable youth a sense of personal dignity and self-worth.”

The Salesian Artistic Center of Bethlehem is the only school in Palestine that offers formal training in the traditional handicrafts of olive wood, mother of pearl and ceramics. Students are urged to invent new and creative crafts and iconography to be produced with traditional materials and instruments. The art center works to create job opportunities for young craftsmen. To help art center graduates enter the job market, Salesian missionaries help with the donation of tools and machinery and the setting up of small workshops and microcredit facilities. For many students, this support has allowed them to overcome traditional obstacles faced when setting up a small business.

The Salesian Bakery is a historical institution in Bethlehem. The purpose of it being threefold; it produces food for the children in the orphanage, teaches baking as a profession and provides food assistance to those most in need through the free distribution of bread to the poorest families. The bakery employs six people and produces close to 3,000 loaves of bread every day.

“Starting as an orphanage for young boys, the Salesian program has grown substantially to meet the growing needs and demands of its local community,” adds Fr. Hyde. “Because Salesian missionaries live within the communities they serve, they are able to create programs to best meet the needs of the populations they are serving.”

Sources

Salesians in Bethlehem

UNICEF – Bethlehem Poverty

The post BETHLEHEM: Salesian Missionaries Provide Diverse Programs and Assistance Including Arts Center and Bakery first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Close to 6.5 million people are internally displaced within Syria. More than 2.5 million have fled to the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq and just under a 100,000 have declared asylum in Europe. Refugee camps in these bordering countries are overflowing with families in need of basic supplies, adequate shelter and safety as well as technical skills training so they can begin to earn a living in their new host countries.

Salesian missionaries were well established at three sites in Syria well before the civil war started and they continue to provide for those in need. Two of the sites are in Aleppo and Damascus, particularly high conflict areas, and the third is in Kafroun. Salesians still working within Syria assist with trauma counseling and emergency shelter as well as nutrition and medical referrals.

Salesians have been helping Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt since early 2012, where each day they assist between 400 and 800 refugees, many of whom are women and children. At these refugee sites, Salesians provide emergency relief by meeting basic needs and providing shelter, safety and medical assistance. Salesians also offer technical skills training to assist refugee families with finding stable employment in their new host countries. This is urgently needed as individuals find it challenging to locate long-term formal employment, or draw on established social and professional networks, as a result of evacuation and host country labor laws.

“Salesians are particularly focused on providing care and support services to urban refugees,” says Neill Holland, program officer at the Salesian Missions Office for International Programs. “Urban refugees, like those fleeing Syria and other areas, are particularly vulnerable to economic insecurity, subject to long-term unemployment and high costs for basic necessities like shelter and food. What’s more, urban refugees intent on joining host country commerce out of the need to support dependent family members, often despite host country labor laws, are significantly at risk of exploitation and compromising situations.”

Salesians seek to assist these most disadvantaged and vulnerable refugees, particularly those living outside of protected camps who take risks in order to support elderly parents, wives and their children. Salesian programs offer support though skills training, advocacy and counseling as well as by providing safe spaces where refugee families have a place to play and commune peacefully.

One of the biggest challenges Salesians face when providing assistance for Syrian refugees is managing the relationship between the refugees and the local community. Salesians work with community residents and refugees to provide support and empower the communities to care for their most vulnerable members.

“Although many refugee hosting situations are known to be fraught with discontent over competition for basic needs items such as housing, food, education and earnings, which increases in scarcity for both local residents and refugees during displacement, the Salesians are well positioned to counsel the host and refugee community alike,” says Holland.

“Salesians work to promote non-violent conflict resolution and mutual understanding through inter-community sports and learning exchanges,” adds Holland. “This central effort, to promote peace while improving quality of education and health, livelihood and life in general, is the reason that Salesian programming for refugees is so successful.”

Through this work, Salesians have had the opportunity to build capacity and strategic partnerships by collaborating with partners from the Egyptian government, Caritas, groups of private industry CEOs and others, all with the goal of improving quality of life, protection and livelihood opportunities for vulnerable refugees.

Due to their ongoing work and infrastructure supports, Salesians have been able to connect Syrian refugees in their programs with additional assistance provided by host governments and international organizations like UNHCR. The visibility and networking afforded by Salesians is critical to the design of a comprehensive response to the Syrian Refugee crisis by the global development community.

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PHOTO SHOWS SIMILAR PROGRAM IN EGYPT, A COUNTRY WHERE PROGRAMS WILL ALSO BE ASSISTING SYRIAN REFUGEES.

Sources:

UNHCR – Syrian Regional Refugee Response

*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.

The post SYRIA: Salesians Provide Emergency Relief, Shelter and Skills Training to Close to 800 Syrian Refugees Each Day first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Each year, June 20 marks World Refugee Day, a day that honors the plight of millions of refugees and internally displaced people around the globe. The UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, noted that at the end of 2013, 51.2 million people had been forced from their homes worldwide, the highest figure of displacement since the World War II era. Almost 80 percent of those displaced are women and children.

The day, first established in 2001, is held annually and is coordinated by the UNHRC. The focus of World Refugee Day is to honor the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.

Each year, World Refugee Day reflects on specific struggles faced by refugees. UNHCR noted that 2013 was an unprecedented year with conflicts in Syria, the Central African Republic and South Sudan, amongst others, that have pushed their organization and their partners to their limits. To honor those families torn apart by conflict, UNHCR is continuing their 2013 campaign theme, “1 family torn apart by war is too many.”

“We are seeing here the immense costs of not ending wars, of failing to resolve or prevent conflict,” said High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres in a recent statement about World Refugee Day. “Peace is today dangerously in deficit. Humanitarians can help as a palliative, but political solutions are vitally needed. Without this, the alarming levels of conflict and the mass suffering that is reflected in these figures will continue.”

Globally, Salesian missionaries are assisting close to the 400,000 refugees and internally displaced persons who lives have been affected by war, persecution, famine and natural disasters such as floods, droughts and earthquakes. Below are highlights of programs for refugees developed by Salesian Missions and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. Salesian Missions, headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, is the U.S. Development Arm of the international Salesians of Don Bosco.

AFGHAN REFUGEE SCHOOL CHILDREN IN PAKISTAN:

In Pakistan, a Salesian Missions program served Afghan refugee school children and their families in Quetta, the capital of the Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. The program, which began in 2012, centered on reinforcing primary education systems at six schools in highly volatile Quetta, Pakistan. The focus of the program included everything from teacher training and resource improvements for child learning, to infrastructure improvement and web-ready computer labs.

The goal of the Quetta program was to mainstream struggling Afghan refugee schools so they could become a part of the Pakistani education community and benefit from its shared institutional resources. Close to 2,200 students ages 4 to 13 benefited from Salesian Missions’ comprehensive approach to strengthening their education.

COLOMBIAN REFUGEES:

In recent years, more than 450,000 people have fled the violence of Colombia* to neighboring Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama and Costa Rica. Salesian Missions’ New Beginnings initiative, which started in 2011, worked with more than 1,000 Colombian refugees in these four countries and provided vocational and human development training as well as job placement services.

Many of the Colombian refugees that came to the program had no marketable skills. They couldn’t find jobs and the lack of training made it difficult to start their own business or join with others to form cooperatives. Without jobs, it was hard for them to find stability for their families and build new lives. The New Beginnings program allowed these victims of violence and chaos to start over and build a stable, hopeful future for themselves and their families.

Through the program, each refugee student received 260 hours of technical training as well as 40 hours of human development workshops. These training programs coupled with the job placement services worked to assist Colombian refugees to start over and build successful lives in their new communities.

DR CONGO REFUGEES

The Democratic Republic of the Congo* has been plagued by intense civil war and internal conflict since the outbreak of fighting in 1998. Close to 1.5 million people have been internally displaced or have become refugees in neighboring countries after having fled the country to escape the continued violence. Salesian missionaries have been working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for more than 100 years, ensuring that the most vulnerable children are not forgotten. At the Don Bosco Ngangi Center in Goma, located in the eastern part of the country on the Rwanda border, the missionaries run programs for more than 3,500 children and 1,500 refugees.

In addition to offering educational programs, the Don Bosco Ngangi Center has a medical clinic that consists of outpatient services and separate medical wards for general medical cases, pediatric care and cholera treatment. With two doctors and four nurses on staff, the clinic is able to treat a complex array of life threatening illnesses and injuries, although often with limited medical supplies and equipment.

The medical clinic also has a nutritional center for severe cases of pediatric starvation. Currently, this center provides intensive nutritional support to 150 severely malnourished infants, toddlers and children in the Goma area.

REFUGEES IN KENYA

As of the end of May, Kakuma refugee camp, located in northern Kenya near the Uganda and South Sudan borders, is caring for 155,477 refugees from 20 different countries, according to UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency. The majority of refugees at the camp, more than 44 percent, are from South Sudan and arrived after escaping conflict and violence.

Salesian missionaries at Kakuma refugee camp operate the Holy Cross Parish and the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center where 1,044 young men and women are receiving critical employment and life skills. There are many courses available and those studying welding, carpentry and bricklaying often utilize their new skills helping to build infrastructure within the camp.

Salesian missionaries at the camp also operate the Helping Children to be Children program, which gathers refugee children and leads them in games, songs and classes held outdoors on the camp grounds. Children are also offered the opportunity to draw and learn to speak English. Close to 3,000 children benefit from this Salesian program, which currently has no steady funding and is run primarily by refugee volunteers.

SRI LANKAN REFUGEES IN INDIA

Since 1983, ethnic violence in Sri Lanka has forced tens of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils from their homeland in search of safety and a new life in Tamil Nadu, India. According to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, there are close 140,000 Sri Lankan refugees in 65 countries, with almost 70,000 in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu. Since 2010, Salesian Missions has been providing their New Beginnings program for young male and female Sri Lankan refugees who have been living in refugee camps in 15 target districts in India. The program, created by Salesian Missions and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, has served more than 2,500 Sri Lankan refugees.

The New Beginnings program provides market-conscious vocational and technical skills training that results in livable wage employment with the goal that trainees are better able to support themselves and their families. After training, New Beginnings graduates have at least one market-demand technical skill, as well as have received workplace readiness training to enhance positive attitudes, hygiene and personal presentation as well as the importance of team work. Results-oriented job placement assistance helps graduates transition from the classroom to work in the local labor market.

Training provided through the New Beginnings program also serves no fewer than 40 percent women and young girls in order to promote gender equality and generate opportunities for women whether they prefer to seek work at a local company or join a women’s company collective that allows them to remain home with young children while still engaged in meaningful employment.

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Sources:

UNHCR – 2013 Global Trends Report

*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in these countries 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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“Violations must come to an end now,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in the report, which was released yesterday to the Security Council. “I therefore urge all parties to the conflict to take, without delay, all measures to protect and uphold the rights of all children in Syria.”

The report, covering the period from 1 March 2011 to 15 November 2013, lists a raft of horrors that Syria’s children have suffered since the opposition first sought to oust President Bashar al-Assad, ranging from direct commission of abuse, including sexual violence, to more general violation of their rights from school closures and denial of access to humanitarian aid.

“The present report highlights that use of weaponry and military tactics that are disproportionate and indiscriminate by Government forces and associated militias has resulted in countless killings and the maiming of children, and has obstructed children’s access to education and health services,” Mr. Ban writes.

“Government forces have also been responsible for the arrest, arbitrary detention, ill treatment and torture of children. Armed opposition groups have been responsible for the recruitment and use of children both in combat and support roles, as well as for conducting military operations, including using terror tactics, in civilian-populated areas, leading to civilian casualties, including children.”

The report spotlights the disappearance of many children, notes that all parties to the conflict have seriously hampered the delivery of humanitarian assistance in areas most affected by the fighting, and warns that children have experienced a high level of distress as a result of witnessing the killing and injuring of members of their families and peers, or of being separated from their family and/or displaced.

Detailing the detention of children as young as 11 years old for alleged association with armed groups by Government forces in large-scale arrest campaigns, the reports says they were ill-treated and tortured to extract confessions or humiliate them or pressure a relative to surrender or confess.

“Ill treatment and acts tantamount to torture reportedly included beatings with metal cables, whips and wooden and metal batons; electric shock, including to the genitals; the ripping out of fingernails and toenails; sexual violence, including rape or threats of rape; mock executions; cigarette burns; sleep deprivation; solitary confinement; and exposure to the torture of relatives,” the report says.

“Reports indicate that children were also suspended from walls or ceilings by their wrists or other limbs, were forced to put their head, neck and legs through a tire while being beaten, and were tied to a board and beaten.

The report cites a 16-year-old boy as saying he witnessed his 14-year-old male friend being sexually assaulted and then killed, and notes other allegations that boys and in a few instances girls were raped. The 16-year-old said children and adults were beaten with metal bars, their fingernails pulled out, their fingers cut. “Or they were beaten with a hammer in the back, sometimes until death,” he added.

Allegations of sexual violence by opposition groups were also received, but the UN was unable to further investigate them due to lack of access, the report says.

It adds that opposition forces recruited and used both in support roles and for combat, while Government forces used children as human shields. It notes that during the first two years of the conflict, most killings and maiming of children were attributed to Government forces, but mainly due to increased access to heavy weapons and the use of terror tactics opposition groups increasingly engaged in such acts in 2013.

“Armed opposition groups also engaged in the summary execution of children,” it says, reporting that lack of access, including for security reasons, prevented the UN from systematic documentation.

Schools and hospitals have been disproportionally targeted by all parties, with indications that Government forces were the main perpetrators of attacks against hospitals and other health-care infrastructure, mainly opposition-run makeshift health facilities and of threats and attacks against medical personnel, according to the report.

“Injured opposition fighters and civilians, including children, admitted to Government hospitals in perceived pro-opposition areas in Aleppo, Dar’a, Homs and Idlib governorates were reportedly exposed to arrest, detention, ill treatment and acts tantamount to torture by civilian doctors, and/or elements of Government forces,” it says.

The UN also received reports on instances where opposition groups denied medical treatment to injured pro-Government fighters, or misused ambulances, including to cross Government checkpoints.

In his list of recommendations, Mr. Ban calls on all sides to stop all grave violations against children cited in the report, end all indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on civilian areas, including terror tactics, airstrikes, chemical weapons and heavy artillery, allow unimpeded humanitarian access, and immediately release abducted women and children.

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Photo: Syrian children shelter in the doorway of a house, amid gunfire and shelling, in a city affected by the conflict. UNICEF/NYHQ2012-0218/Alessio Romenzi

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“The situation in Fallujah is particularly concerning as existing stocks of food, water and life-saving medicines begin to run out,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement in Baghdad.

“According to our preliminary assessment, over 5,000 families have fled the fighting and sought refuge in the neighbouring provinces of Karbala, Salahadine, Baghdad and elsewhere. The UN is working with the Ministry of Displacement and Migration to identify their needs and meet them immediately.”

Non-government organizations (NGOs) were quoted by media today as saying more than 13,000 families have fled Fallujah, where Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda are reported to have seized much of the city.

“There is a critical humanitarian situation in Anbar province which is likely to worsen as operations continue,” Mr. Mladenov said. “The UN agencies are working to identify the needs of the population and prepare medical supplies, food and non-food items for distribution if safe passage can be ensured. This remains a primary challenge.”

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See this United Nations article at its original location >

Photo: Nickolay Mladenov, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of Mission, UNAMI. UN Photo

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“We commemorate their sacrifice and reaffirm our commitment to the life-saving work that humanitarians carry out around the world, every day, often in difficult and dangerous circumstances where others cannot or do not want to go,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the memorial participants ahead of a minute of silence for the 22 people killed in Iraq on 19 August 2003, as well as the 30 other UN colleagues killed in the past 10 months.

“Our blue flag may be tattered at times. Already this year, more of our colleagues have been killed than in all of 2012,” Mr. Ban said, adding that the most meaningful tribute to the spirit of those killed is to carry on their work.

Earlier in the morning, Mr. Ban met with some families and friends of the UN colleagues and partners killed in Baghdad in 2003, including Special Representative Sergio Vieira de Mello, at a wreath laying ceremony in New York.

In Mr. de Mello’s home country of Brazil, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos participated in a series of events to mark the senior UN official’s legacy.

“Today is a day of mixed emotions for everyone involved in humanitarian work,” Ms. Amos said. “We remember those we lost in Baghdad, and we remember all aid workers who have lost their lives. But in their memory, we also celebrate the humanitarian spirit.”

To harness the worldwide expression of goodwill, the World Humanitarian Day campaign this year launched ‘The World Needs More ___’ campaign that seeks to turn people’s words into real support for communities affected by humanitarian crises.

‘The World Needs More__’ campaign enables leading international brands to sponsor a word they believe the world could use more of. Between 19 August and 24 September, people can “unlock” money pledged by these brands by sharing the sponsored words through social media, SMS or through the campaign website worldhumanitarianday.org.

Every time a sponsored word is shared, $1 will be unlocked and go towards aid efforts in the world’s most underfunded humanitarian crises. The campaign is a collaborative effort between the UN Foundation, the UN Development Program (UNDP), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), and advertising agency Leo Burnett New York.

Senior officials and celebrities are taking place in the campaign. Mr. Ban chose the word “teamwork” noting that “in a time of global challenges, people and countries need to work together in common cause for peace, justice, dignity and development.”

Ms. Amos said, “It is clear that the world needs more #Humanity.” She added that as humanitarian needs grow, if the UN and its partners are to meet those rising needs, it must keep engaging with new partners and supporters. “This campaign is a chance to do that.”

In a video interview launched for the campaign, singer Beyoncé, who last year filmed a World Humanitarian Day video in the General Assembly Hall, elaborated on what the Day means to her. She said the world needs more empowered men and women and so will be championing #TheWorldNeedsMore #Strength.

The UN and its partners are holding World Humanitarian Day events in more than 50 cities around the world.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) honoured today the seven colleagues killed in the past year in Afghanistan, Rwanda, South Sudan and Sudan.

“As we aim for a world free from hunger and poverty, we must support and enable the challenging work of those who spend their lives striving to make this goal a reality,” said WFP Executive Director, Ertharin Cousin, in a statement for the Day. “This means recognizing and respecting the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. It means allowing and facilitating safe passage for staff trying to reach the most vulnerable communities.”

In Myanmar, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ashok Nigam called on the people of the country to celebrate the “inspirational spirit” that is humanitarian work while also remembering the aid workers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

“Of particular concern to me on this World Humanitarian Day is the arbitrary arrest and detention of four Myanmar humanitarian workers employed by international non-government organizations who have now been in custody for over a year in connection with the inter-communal events in Rakhine State,” said Mr. Nigam. “The freedom of these four humanitarian workers is long overdue.”

In South Sudan, which has one of the largest aid operations in the world, Humanitarian Coordinator Toby Lanzer said the spirit and courage of aid workers in the field is an inspiration to him.

“Aid workers must be allowed to carry out their work for the benefit of communities unhindered and in safety,” he said, adding that his word in the humanitarian campaign is ‘solidarity’.

In Bangkok, Thailand, the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and partners are hosting the regional launch of “The World Needs More #______” campaign featuring dance performances, brief statements by local humanitarian workers and humanitarian journalists, and a concert by the Thailand-based rockabilly group, Trix ‘O’ Treat.

From Nepal, the athlete Gyanlal Maharjan is riding his bicycle from China to New Zealand as he says “The World Needs More #Peace”. Gyanlal is sponsored by the Nepal Olympic Committee, the Nepal Cyclist Association and National Sports Council.

In Kobe, Japan, a new smartphone app developed by the Bikers Emergency Response Team (BERT) to locate disaster survivors on a Google map is being launched.

In Bangladesh, OCHA and Islamic Relief are co-hosting WHD sporting events in the districts of Satkhira and Sylhet, while in the Philippines, a series of events will be held in Manila and Mindanao, including an exhibition hosted in the lobby of the RCBC building in Manila. Events (co-)hosted by national authorities will also be held in Australia, Fiji, and Sri Lanka, among others.

To hear what some aid workers from around the world think the world needs more of, click here.

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Each year, June 20 marks World Refugee Day, a day that honors the plight of millions of refugees and internally displaced people around the globe. The United Nations noted that at the end of 2012, there were 43.7 million refugees globally, almost 80 percent of whom are women and children.

The day, first established in 2001, is held annually and is coordinated by the UN Refugee Agency, UNHRC. The focus of World Refugee Day is to honor the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.

Each year, World Refugee Day reflects on specific struggles faced by refugees. This year’s theme is “1 family torn apart by conflict is too many.”

“On World Refugee Day, let us reaffirm the importance of solidarity and burden-sharing by the international community,” says U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a recent statement about World Refugee Day. “Refugees have been deprived of their homes, but they must not be deprived of their futures.”

Below are highlights of programs for refugees developed by Salesian Missions and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

SRI LANKAN REFUGEES IN INDIA:

Since 1983, ethnic violence in Sri Lanka has forced tens of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils from their homeland in search of safety and a new life in Tamil Nadu, India. Since 2010, Salesian Missions has been providing a program for young male and female Sri Lankan refugees who have been living in refugee camps in 15 target districts in India.

In June 2013, 860 refugees graduated from this vocational and entrepreneurial program. Half of these students attended a Salesian technical and vocational training center, learning job skills in electrical, woodworking, computer technology and similar trades.

However, half of the students—women living in refugee camps and caring for children—needed a less traditional opportunity. Unable to leave to attend school, Salesian Missions created a program to bring to them inside the refugee camps. The women received training for skills such as jewelry-making and sewing and also were provided entrepreneurial workshops. The program also helped the women created a business cooperative, and through a micro-credit program equipment was made available to them (such as sewing machines). As a group, they are able to provide their services and merchandise to local business, taking advantage of their news skills while still taking care of their families.

COLOMBIAN REFUGEES:

In recent years, more than 450,000 people have fled the violence of Colombia to neighboring Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama and Costa Rica.  Salesian Missions’ “New Beginnings” initiative, which started in 2011, is working with more than 1,000 Colombian refugees in these four countries providing vocational and human development training as well as job placement services.

Many of the Colombian refugees have no marketable skills. They can’t find jobs and the lack of training makes it difficult to start their own business or join with others to form cooperatives. Without jobs, it is hard to find stability for their families and build new lives. The “New Beginnings” program allows these victims of violence and chaos to start over and build a stable, hopeful future for themselves and their families.

Through the program, each refugee student receives 260 hours of technical training as well as 40 hours of human development workshops. These training programs coupled with the job placement services work to assist Colombian refugees to start over and build successful lives in their new communities.

AFGHAN REFUGEE SCHOOL CHILDREN IN PAKISTAN:

In Pakistan, a Salesian Missions program is serving Afghan refugee school children and their families in Quetta, the capital of the Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. The program—which began in 2012 and recently received continued funding—centers on reinforcing primary education systems at six schools in highly volatile Quetta, Pakistan. The focus of the program includes everything from teacher training and resource improvements for child learning, to infrastructure improvement and web-ready computer labs.

The goal of the Quetta program is to mainstream struggling Afghan refugee schools so they may become a part of the Pakistani education community and benefit from its shared institutional resources. Close to 2,200 students ages 4 to 13 are benefitting from Salesian Missions’ comprehensive approach to strengthening their education. More than 70 teachers have been professionally trained for their work with the refugee youth population and motivated to make a difference in their improved schools. Schools that once had walls in danger of falling have been repaired, providing a safe place for eager, bright-eyed children to receive an aducation.

Furthermore, the program administration has ensured through advocacy and policy dialogue with government and NGO partners that the education students receive in Pakistan will be recognized by the Government of Afghanistan, should their families return home.

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Sources

UNHCR – World Refugee Day 2013

Salesian Missions

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Wine production at the Cremisan Salesian Monastery and Winery provides work for close to 20 families in the area and sustains the education and social development activities of the Salesians in the Holy Land.

The new oil-press was made possible by a collaboration between VIS, Stefano Cimicchi, the former Mayor of Orvieto in Umbria, Italy, Paulo Morbidoni, Vice President of the “Oil City” Association, and the Farchioni family, owners of an important oil-mill in Umbria. Renato Rondina, the owner of a factory by the same name that operates in north Umbria, has been named a benefactor along with the Rapanelli Company Foligno, famous for olive-oil extraction expertise. These resources have provided technical and organizational support in setting up the oil-mill.

The Salesian community in Bethlehem can now rely on the modern mill which can crush the approximately five hundred quintals of olives produced each year at Cremisan. The new mill provides hope that olive culture activities will be at excellent performance levels and produce quality oil.

This initiative is part of the project to revive the Cremisan Winery, a project which began in 2008, thanks to the efforts of VIS together with Dr. Cimicchi and winemaker Riccardo Cotarella.

The proceeds from the sale of the Cremisan wines are used to provide scholarships for disadvantaged youth and to support the Salesian training school which has taken the place of an old orphanage. In Cremisan, the Salesian Sisters manage a kindergarten, a primary school and a youth center. The Salesians have been present in Cremisan, serving the local population since 1891.

“The oil-mill directly benefits the workers in the Cremisan Winery and local farmers, given the increased volume of production and sales,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Mission, the U.S. arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Revenue from the cellar will cover the cost of training activities and the production of bread, impacting students attending Salesian educational centers and poor families who receive free bread from the oven run by the Salesians in Bethlehem,” adds Fr. Hyde.

A recent YouTube video clip shows the Cremisan oil-mill already in operation.

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Sources:

ANS – Israel – A Cremisan oil-press

UNICEF – Israel statistics

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Inspired by the education he received at a Salesian-run school, Dr. Giacomi is donating his dental expertise, along with 11 other Italian volunteer dentists, to the Dental Clinic at “La Crèche” run by the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. These dentists work during their vacation time while funding the trip to and from the clinic in Bethlehem themselves.

“There is an enormous inner satisfaction which is hard to describe when looking after these young Palestinians,” explains Dr. Giacomi. “Often they don’t understand us; not even in English but they smile and thank us. They say it endlessly, invite you home, and in the most miserable of poor homes tell you this is your home too.”

The offering of free dental care has come about through a partnership between three groups. The dental office was built by the Sisters of Charity at La Crèche, the dental equipment was donated by UNITALSI (The National Italian Union for Transporting the Sick to Lourdes and International Sanctuaries), and the volunteer dentists were recruited from all over Italy under the leadership of Dr. Giacomi.

“There are currently some 1,700 patients who benefit annually,” says Dr. Giacomi. “It is quite a financial outlay for us volunteers but we manage brilliantly.”

According to the World Bank, poverty in this region varies by district and ranges from three to 55 percent of the local population. Poverty is highest in the Gaza districts and lowest in Jerusalem. Half of the Palestinian poor live in three districts – Khan Yunis, Gaza City, and Hebron. Three of the top five poorest localities are in the West Bank and all are from different districts – Al Jiftlik, Yatta, and Ya’bad, with poverty incidence rates ranging between 40 and 51 percent of the local population.

The Dental Clinic at “La Crèche” is housed in the Vincentian complex in Bethlehem and follows the best practices in dentistry standards. The complex also includes an orphanage that houses 55 children ages six and younger as well as a school with 120 day students. In addition there is a social center for the unemployed and a Pilgrim Hostel. Next to the complex is the only hospital in Palestine that offers free services. The hospital is an ultramodern building that provides obstetrics and gynecology services as well as a neo-natal unit that oversees around 300 births a month.

“The children at La Crèche are not just poor, but have never known a mother or a father. For them any man or woman who comes here could be a father or a mother,” concludes Dr. Giacomi.

Sources

ANS – Israel – Past Pupil helps Palestinian orphans

World Bank – Poverty in West Bank

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