(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions Madrid and the Spanish Salesian Jóvenes y Desarrollo Foundation (Youth and Development) in Spain are helping Salesian organizations in countries around the globe respond to COVID-19. To date, the two organizations have sent more than 200,000 euros to the 12 countries of Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Angola, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Togo, Sierra Leone and South Sudan to assist with efforts to fight the pandemic.

In many countries, not only are essential foods lacking, but also resources for hygiene. There are millions of people who cannot meet their primary needs. Mandatory confinement means families are unable to earn an income and to buy food, just as prices are rising.

“Access to water and hygiene products is very difficult. A bar of soap, clean water and a plate of food every day are a luxury for many families around the world,” said Father José Antonio San Martín, head of Salesian Missions Madrid. “For this reason, our organization and many other Salesian organizations are working to bring food to those who need it most and to distribute hygiene products because the lack of food and soap facilitates contagion.”

Salesian organizations are focused on the most vulnerable including children, migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as families with scarce resources. In addition to sending money, Salesian Missions Madrid and the Jóvenes y Desarrollo Foundation have launched the campaign “The essential should not be a luxury” to highlight the needs of at-risk groups. The goal is to provide basic food products and hygiene products to thousands of people who cannot access them to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Salesian missionaries have been working for many years to provide educational and workforce development opportunities for poor youth and women in Spain through residential and technical and vocational training programs.

Close to 37 percent of young Spanish workers under the age of 25 are unemployed and a growing number of them can’t afford to buy enough food to live. Poor youth with few employable skills struggle the most to find and retain stable employment. Women in Spain face inequality in the workforce. They earn up to 14 percent less than men and represent only 34.5 percent of those listed as the highest earners in Spain.

###

Sources:

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

ANS – Spain – “Essentials should not be a luxury”: food and soap to fight coronavirus in Africa and the Americas

Salesian Missions – Spain

World Bank – Spain