Don Bosco Foundation provides support to 40,500 youth and their families

(MissionNewswire) The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have hit youth and families hard in Peru. While Salesian missionaries are working to provide emergency relief for families in need, they are still running educational and social development programs to help youth and families.

Don Bosco Foundation in Piura, Arequipa, Cusco, Misiones de la Selva, Lima, Chosica and Callao is providing 40,500 families with nutritional support as well as other services with the support from the Salesian Missions Office in Turin, Italy.

Don Bosco Foundation is working with families in need like Vania’s, a 9-year-old girl who lives in a poor area of ​​San Juan de Miraflores, in the district of Lima. Vania lives with her parents and two brothers in a wooden house that does not have electricity, drinking water or proper sewage. Despite the difficulties, her parents have always done everything for their children but are now losing all hope.

In addition, the Don Bosco Center, supported by the Don Bosco Foundation, is providing a home for street children like Carlos. He was born in the Cusco region and until a few years ago, his situation was like Vania’s. His father, who held a job, died, and his mother could not support the family. His youngest brother Alex was born with a serious disability and passed away at a young age.

The situation was challenging for Carlos, but then he found the Don Bosco Center. Carlos is now in the fifth semester of an electronics course with a clear goal to become a professional in the field. During the pandemic lockdown, he worried his dreams might be dashed. He was eager to do practical work and learn the trade. He is slowly readjusting and reengaging in his education even in challenging circumstances.

“We want to help all the children of the 40,500 families that the Don Bosco Foundation provides services for in order to allow girls like Vania to dream like Carlos,” said a representative from the Salesian Missions Office in Turin. “Scholarships are an important tool to help children continue their education. Ongoing support is also needed to ensure youth have the financial access to school clothes and books for ongoing education.”

Peru faces high levels of income inequality and has more than a quarter of its population living in poverty, according to the World Bank. Poverty levels are significantly higher in rural areas but urban areas struggle most with inequality, most notably metropolitan Lima. Poverty in the country is made worse by a shortage of productive farmland and a lack of job skills among women entering the workforce, as well as a lack of adequate housing, nutrition and education.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Peru – Commitment of “Missioni Don Bosco” for Peruvian families

Salesian Missions – Peru

World Bank – Peru