Don Bosco Society donates medical supplies to newly established COVID-19 Center

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in Nepal have been working to help mitigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic for hundreds of families living in communities near the seven Salesian centers across the country. Salesians have also been helping children in Salesian schools.

COVID-19 is worsening in Nepal and the virus is spreading faster than the first wave. Salesians report that in the last 15 days of May, there was an increase of 102,104 cases and 2,271 deaths. The country has been on an extended lockdown with all malls and grocery shops closed for a week. Although all were advised to gather groceries and provisions for a week in advance, daily laborers couldn’t afford to buy provisions for a whole week.

Father Augusty Pulickal, the coordinator of the Nepal Mission, has assured the mayor of Kathmandu Valley that Salesians are working to make provisions available to those in need during this trying time. In addition, Salesians with Don Bosco Society are donating supplies to a newly established COVID19 Center in the Kathmandu Valley.

Through the help of a donor, Salesians have provided medical equipment and accessories including an oxygen concentrator, oximeters, PPE kits, masks, and sanitizer to the newly opened COVID-19 Center, which currently has 19 patients. Several people have already returned home after getting over the virus.

“Salesians in Nepal and around the globe have been stepping up in their communities to help families in need and provide support to local medical care facilities,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Living within the communities they serve, Salesians know the local landscape and are able to access and provide support to those who need it most.”

Nepal is among the least developed countries in the world, with about one-quarter of its population living below the poverty line. Salesian missionaries are still hard at work with long-term reconstruction efforts after a devastating 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, 2015 with a second striking on May 12, 2015.

More than 8,000 people died and close to 20,000 were injured as a result of the earthquakes and their aftermath. Forty of Nepal’s 75 districts were affected, 16 of them severely, with homes, schools, buildings, cattle, fields ready for harvest and other property destroyed. More than 500,000 people were displaced and in need of shelter and other assistance. The United Nations reported that more than 1,300 schools were destroyed during the earthquakes.

The construction of schools that can withstand earthquakes and provide access to education for the youngest and most vulnerable children is the daily commitment of Salesian missionaries in the country. The goal is to help equip youth to have the education and skills necessary to change their lives and become agents of development in their country.

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Sources:

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ANS – Nepal – Don Bosco Society donates Medical equipment to a newly established Covid Centre in Kathmandu valley for providing better and effective care

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Salesian Missions – Nepal