8 Salesian vocational training centers make incubators for premature babies in Ukraine

(MissionNewswire) Salesian vocational training centers in Pamplona, Spain have made 10 incubators for premature babies and provided them to Ukraine SOS Cluster, which is a group of associations and organizations helping provide support to the Ukrainian people. Five of the incubators are being sent to the Kyiv region, three to Zaporizhzhia and two to Mykolaiv.

The ongoing war in Ukraine is contributing to premature births and not everywhere is medically equipped to deal with them. The incubators, designed by Medicina Abierta al Mundo (Medicine Open to the World), were built by students in mechanical and electrical courses at eight Salesian vocational training centers. This is an ongoing project for the centers known as the “Incubators Saving Lives” project.

Ukraine SOS Cluster contacted the Salesians in Pamplona after hearing about the project. It ordered 50 incubators, and this 10 is the first shipment. One student said, “For us, it’s a pleasure to work on the construction of these incubators for premature babies. We learn to work with new materials and feel useful. It’s very inspiring for all of us.”

Lily Shyshkovska, a representative of the association Alas de Ucrania (Ukrainian Wings), which is part of the Ukraine SOS Cluster, said, “Thank you to all the people who participate in this project. You are incredible. Even among so much evil in this world, thanks to you, trust in the goodness of human beings is returning.”

The “Incubators Saving Lives” project began last year, and incubators have already been sent to locations in Africa and America. Pablo Sánchez, a young engineer who participated in the design of the incubators, said that the demand is high and comes from different places, so they will continue to produce them during the next academic year.

Many companies have been interested in contributing materials or manufacturing small parts of the incubators on a larger scale. M Torres provides 3D printing of small parts to complete the device and Moshy donated the liners for the incubator mats. The banking company La Caixa is also involved through the FPDualiza initiative.

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

Close to 32 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 – Salesian Vocational Training creates 10 incubators for at-risk children in Ukraine

Salesian Missions – Spain

Salesians in Spain

World Bank – Spain