BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Salesian centers in Sangradouro and Meruri, Brazil, were host to 41 medical students and doctors from the University Center Faculty of Medicine in Santos. This was the 14th expedition of the Academic Project of Assistance to Indigenous Peoples (PAAPI), which started in 2009. The project provided medical clinics for Xavante Indigenous people in Sangradouro and Bororo Indigenous people in Meruri.

In Sangradouro, volunteers organized a health clinic and administered medicines and treatments, while another group played with the children. On the second day, after a Catholic Mass, the volunteers split into groups to make home visits. They also finished seeing patients at the health clinic and spent more time with the children.

After lunch, the burití run took place, which is a Xavante tradition. Two groups of men compete by running 10 kilometers and taking turns carrying a burití plant on their shoulders. At the end, everyone danced in a festive atmosphere in the village.

In Meruri, students organized and sorted medicines to be dropped off at the Salesian health center, while project leaders did a sweep of the village grounds to map houses. Volunteers also organized various games for the children. The following day, volunteers washed the hair of youth who were suffering from parasites. More home visits also took place.

“While Salesians are primarily focused on education, they also provide feeding programs and help to meet needs like shelter and medical support,” said Father Timothy Ploch, interim director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesians aim to serve the whole person by making sure that basic needs are met and this is especially important in Indigenous communities where there are few resources.”

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development, and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty, and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people fell into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

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ANS – Brazil – Santos medical students launch Academic Project to Assist Indigenous Peoples in Sangradouro and Meruri

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Indigenous communities receive medical care first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Catholic University in Campo Grande, Brazil, was one of the winning institutions in the first edition of the Citizenship Award sponsored by the state government through the Secretariat of State for Citizenship and Culture in Brazil. The award acknowledged the work done during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The university was honored for hosting a drive-through vaccination and testing center, for lending high-level equipment to the government, and for implementing initiatives through its degree programs to help fight the virus and keep people safe.

Don Bosco Catholic University saw an average of 1,500 people per day at its COVID-19 vaccine clinic. The clinic was set up across three sports fields and was supported by 200 students, teachers and administrative employees who helped in the administration of vaccines.

The clinic, which operated under the responsibility of the Municipal Secretariat of Health, was launched on June 24, 2021, with eight vaccine locations. It was later expanded to 15 locations. It was set up as a drive-in so patients did not need to leave their cars to receive their dose. This setup ensured greater agility and minimized contact between people waiting to be vaccinated.

During the clinic’s operation, Salesian Brother Raffaele Lochi, the interim rector of Don Bosco Catholic University at the time, said, “With this drive-in service, Don Bosco Catholic University feels embraced by the people of Campo Grande and can even embrace them again in turn. We know that we are benefiting the population and this is gratifying. We are doing what Don Bosco would have done in his time, opening the doors and helping in difficult moments.”

Don Bosco Catholic University also lent one of its super freezers to the Municipality of Campo Grande to conserve vaccines, which must be stored at temperatures well below freezing. In addition, the university also provided use of high-tech machinery for the processing of swabs at the central laboratory of Mato Grosso do Sul.

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. The poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

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ANS – Brazil – “Dom Bosco” University of Campo Grande receives award for its work on behalf of population during pandemic

Don Bosco Catholic University

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Efforts to fight COVID-19 honored first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Brazil Network held the third annual Operation Maturacá project, in collaboration with the Armed Forces and several donors, to support Indigenous communities in need. Hundreds of garments were delivered to the most inaccessible areas of the Amazon thanks to the generous donation of Pluriforme, a company that manufactures and provides school and corporate uniforms. The logistics of the delivery was supported by the company Equilibrium.

“Since I became aware of the difficulties faced by the missionary communities of Alto Rio Negro, I have felt the call to look for strategies to strengthen the supportive actions carried out on the ground,” explained Sister Silvia Aparecida da Silva, executive director of the Salesian Brazil Network. “The collaboration with Pluriforme and the Armed Forces has helped us reach the community of Maturacá to deliver the donations we have obtained.”

In addition, 30 boxes of clothing were delivered to the Salesian mission in Maturacá. Students, educators and missionaries mobilized to distribute the goods.

“We are extremely grateful for this important gesture from the Salesian Brazil Network,” said Father Wellington Abreu, a local Salesian missionary. “The children can now have an extra shirt and shorts to go to school. Some families have eight or nine children and giving them new clothes is often a big challenge. Clothing is also crucial for hunters and fishermen who now have adequate clothing to do their work. We are very close to the Pico da Neblina and when it rains the temperature drops a lot. It was a great help for them to receive jackets, sweaters and long-sleeved shirts.”

Many in the Maturacá community said they were happy and relieved to have received this donation. “They are really very nice uniforms and it was a joy for the families to see their children in new uniforms,” said Maciel Figueiredo Mendonça, a teacher at the Immaculate Conception State Indigenous School in Maturacá.

Everton de Souza Maia, a student at Immaculate Conception School, added, “For me, receiving this donation really meant a lot. For parents who have many children, it is not easy to buy new clothes. But now we can have very good quality uniforms.”

Operation Maturacá was launched in 2018 and continued to 2020 when it was stopped because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was successfully resumed in 2022 with plans for it to continue each year.

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development, and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty, and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people fell into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

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ANS – Brazil – “Operation Maturacá” brings donations to indigenous villages

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Indigenous youth receive new school clothing first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Volunteers with the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians parish held a celebration for the children of many Salesian programs throughout Brazil. In Cuiabá, more than 500 children from poor neighborhoods on the outskirts of Mato Grosso received gifts, entertainment and a snack as part of the traditional service offered by Shrine of Mary Help of Christians. Parents received food baskets collected by parishioners.

Father Danilo Guedes, the parish coordinator, said, “We are enhancing and giving continuity to the assistance and support to families that the Shrine already offers, but we want to give a more continuous orientation.”

To make this initiative viable, the Shrine carried out a campaign to collect food, toys and financial resources among Catholics throughout the city.

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development, and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty, and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people fell into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

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

ANS – Brazil – “Projeto Valdocco” expands and strengthens its service to needy families in Cuiabà

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Volunteers hold celebration for children first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) UniSalesiano, the Salesian University in Araçatuba, Brazil, has developed a distance learning center in the village of Meruri, more than 900 km (approximately 560 miles) from the university’s main campus. This new center is part of a larger education extension project launched by Salesian missionaries in the Indigenous communities of Meruri and São Marcos in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. The new center will provide education to 46 Indigenous Boe-Bororo people.

The first online lecture took place on the evening of Sept. 12, when students gathered to hear a talk by Professor Elaine Cristina Moreira da Silva, the distance education course coordinator. The lecture was also virtually attended by Professor André Ornellas, vice chancellor for teaching, research and postgraduate studies, who explained the history of the university and the importance of taking an academic path. He said, “Bringing education, technology, and providing opportunities for personal and professional growth is part of the mission of the Salesians.”

Moreira da Silva explained that the course is free, lasts four years and is organized by semester with weekly meetings on Mondays. She added, “It provides specific modules and adaptations to meet the specific needs of this audience, always following the national curricular guidelines, which are presented for the pedagogy course.”

The idea for the new educational center came from a discussion among Father Erondi Tamandaré, director general of UniSalesiano, Father Andelson Dias, director of the Indigenous missions of Meruri and São Marcos, and Father João Bosco, provincial secretary. Fr. Tamandaré said, “We felt the need for continued and strengthened collaboration with Indigenous peoples.”

The goal is to add additional distance learning centers in other villages. Fr. Andelson stressed the importance of training youth and adults who desire a degree despite the many obstacles. He said, “Many Indigenous people go to the cities to study, come back, and help their people. However, in the cities, there are many difficulties, and we noticed that many were coming back and there was discouragement due to the discontinuity of studies. In addition to knowledge gained, they will be able to practice their profession, which is of fundamental importance to the entire Boe-Bororo community.”

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development, and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty, and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people fell into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

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

ANS – Brazil – Hub for distance education of indigenous people of village of Meruri developed

Salesian Missions – Brazil

UniSalesiano

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Indigenous students access distance learning first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries are concerned about child malnutrition in the Xavante villages in the municipality of Nova Xavantina in Campinápolis, Brazil. A lack of rain, poor food, hygiene conditions and the length of distance to travel to urban centers were identified as the causes that most affect the situation.

Recently, Isabel Silveira Dias, regional coordinator for Pastoral Care of Children in the state of Mato Grosso, Salesian Deacon José Alves, and Kaique Lima, a volunteer, visited the villages of Santa Helena, Betânia, São Francisco, and Teihidzatsé.

In each of these villages, food kits were distributed to children. Provided by Operation Mato Grosso, the kits contained food purchased by volunteers and sent by benefactors from the Immaculate Conception Parish in the city of Bilac. The most worrisome cases of malnutrition were recorded in the village of Teihidzatsé where children were checked for weight. Vitamins were administered in the most severe cases.

Alves said, “Through all the partners who join the Salesian mission we can reach the villages and distribute food and clothes.”

In addition, a soup kitchen was set up in Santa Helena to provide meals with vegetables, pasta, and ground meat. In Betânia, clothes, food, and hygiene materials for infants prepared by the Campinápolis Children’s Pastoral Care team were distributed. The AMA (Mobile Missionary Assistance) project team is providing maintenance and efficiency of water wells, pumps, and tanks in São Francisco, and food items were also distributed.

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development, and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty, and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people fell into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

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

ANS – Brazil – Child malnutrition in Nova Xavantina’s Xavante villages worries Salesian missionaries

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Work helps prevent child malnutrition first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Salesian volunteers from the Shrine of Our Lady Help of Christians in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil, distributed baskets containing food, hygiene products and other basic necessities to 200 poor families living in neighborhoods near a landfill. The volunteer group has been providing donations for the past five years in collaboration with Father Dídimo Campos Filho, rector of the Shrine.

“Salesian missionaries with the support of volunteers have been providing for the poor and marginalized in Mato Grosso for many years,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Hunger is one of the biggest challenges and the situation has only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been several cases of underweight and malnourished children, and nutritional support is critical.”

Also supporting Mato Grosso is the Salesian-run Operation Mato Grosso, which earlier this year provided 300 food baskets to Indigenous Xavante families in the villages of Campinápolis, Brazil. Operation Mato Grosso is led by Vanderlei Miranda Souza, a volunteer who has been working with the Xavante people for 20 years.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people fell into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – Two hundred poor families in Cuiabá receive baskets with basic necessities

BRAZIL: Indigenous families receive food baskets

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Families in need receive food baskets first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) After a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Salesian university UniSalesiano, with campuses in Lins and Araçatuba, resumed its Missionary Volunteering Program with 30 participants, including Salesian staff. For a week in July, the participants gained firsthand experience working within Indigenous villages of Meruri and São Marcos in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Father Paulo Jácomo, UniSalesiano’s pro-rector for pastoral care, explained that the experience was the result of careful organization. The first phase was registration, and the second phase consisted of travel and work preparation. He said, “We had a good response, 59 registrants, although we could only select 22. Those selected and the organizing team put in a lot of effort with little time available. There was an effort in collecting clothes, blankets and food. Everyone worked hard.” The Salesian School Dom Luiz Lasagna was recognized for collecting more than five tons of food, which was then delivered to villages. by team members.

Some of the volunteers also took the time to share their experiences. Milena da Silva Oliveira, age 20, from the nursing course, said, “I imagined I would find something very different in the villages, but upon arriving there I could see the humility and simplicity of these people. They are very reserved people, but with an open heart to share their stories and customs. The children, then, are enchanting. Being able to experience these eight days in the villages made me understand the ‘meaning of life,’ and gave me a good understanding of how Indigenous people have always been in our country.”

She added, “They live with hardship and do not have easy access to health care. Yet, they possess one of the most beautiful cultures I have ever seen: dances, rituals, songs. The greatest lesson I will take with me after this trip is knowing that a simple hug or a smile can transform anyone’s life. True happiness lies in the humble way of living. Despite all the differences, we are the same and we must enjoy the simple moments, dedicating ourselves to others.”

João Pedro Sangali Leite, age 23, from the medicine course, noted, “After learning more about the work done together by the Salesians in the villages of Meruri and São Marcos, I decided that I really wanted to participate in the Missionary Volunteer Program so that I could learn and get to know the culture of these people and also to see and be part of the incredible selfless work that the university does in these villages. I experienced unique moments that I will carry with me forever. I think those people, despite all the problems they face, are the happiest and most loving people I have ever met. It is a place where with little you can do a lot and where, despite having almost nothing, you have everything, because fraternity, companionship, solidarity, and friendship prevail over any other problems that may arise. This is the true meaning of family.”

He added, “As for me, the main lessons learned were two — to always share and help and to be grateful for every opportunity life gives us. I experienced a huge reversal of values, because, many times, we end up giving importance to some things that don’t deserve even half the attention we give them, while others, which should have much more care, end up in the background.”

Given the positive results of the experience, Fr. Jácomo announced that registration for the 2023 Missionary Volunteer Expedition will open as early as this month to allow more preparation time for the volunteers who shall be selected. The university also plans to change some of the methodologies of the project to allow for more engagement from the volunteers.

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ANS – Brazil – Salesian Missionary Volunteering: the UniSALESIAN experience

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: 30 students volunteer in Indigenous villages first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian Youth Mission Animation, a missionary volunteer project with youth from the St. Pius X Province of Brazil-Porto Alegre, visited 1,631 families from July 10-27. Salesian programs in Guarapuava, Rio do Sul, Porto Alegre, Viamão, Santa Rosa and Rio Grande saw 340 volunteers providing their support during this time.

“We were very happy to be able to carry out this project in person this year since the last two were held online during the pandemic,” said Father Sérgio Ramos de Souza, provincial delegate with the Salesian Youth Ministry. “It was very nice to be together to share life, dreams and above all to have a good experience of Salesian missionary volunteerism.”

In addition to the visits, the mission weeks featured prayer, workshops, oratory activities and vocational support.

“Volunteering is a great way for youth to give back to others in need,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Youth in Salesian programs have access to the education and social supports they need to overcome challenges and lead productive lives. These missionary volunteering experiences give youth the opportunity to take what they have learned in the classroom and pay it forward.”

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development, and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty, and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people fell into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

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

ANS – Brazil – Country’s south turns into mission land for young people from Salesian environments

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Youth volunteers provide support first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian university UniSalesiano’s Mission Volunteering project recently went on a mission trip to the Meruri and São Marcos villages in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Close to 30 people went on the trip to deliver five tons of packages of pasta and tomato sauce to the Boe-Bororo and Xavante Indigenous people in these villages. The food had been collected by Salesian Institute Dom Luiz Lasagna during the food collection campaign event that is part of the Salesian Games initiative.

According to one of the project organizers, Professor Juliana Mitidiero, other initiatives focused on health, education and environment. “Our objective is to strengthen the ties between the academic community and cultural diversity. It is a change seen and experienced by all who participate in this project.”

Franco Garcia, educational coordinator, explained this particular food donation. “The teams that had participated in the Salesian Games worked hard for a month to get the most donations from the entire school community and also from the city of Araçatuba.”

José Valentim da Silva Filho, pastoral care coordinator, reported that the pasta and tomato sauce food kits provided for many Indigenous communities in Mato Grosso. “It was a great campaign. This is the result of the heart of solidarity, which is the heart of the Salesian student.”

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development, and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty, and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people fell into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – “Mission Volunteering,” traveling to Mato Grosso, brings food donations and solidarity to indigenous peoples

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Indigenous people receive 5 tons of food support first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) St. Dominic Savio Parish’s Children’s Pastoral Care in Campinápolis, Brazil, recently visited the Xavante village of Santa Fé, where 120 people live in 10 homes. The visit is part of the volunteer efforts of Operation Mato Grosso, a Salesian initiative that provides volunteer support to aid local Indigenous communities.

A month before, the team had been there assessing the health of children at serious risk of malnutrition and returned to monitor these children. Team members found most had a significant jump in weight, showing improvement and recovery. Two of the children who were being monitored were admitted to the Indigenous Health Home (CASAI) to provide them with better health support. During this visit and over the month of support, families received donations of food baskets, and on specific days a hot dish was served to all villagers.

The Children’s Pastoral Care team includes Salesian Deacon José Alves, Delma Cristina, CASAI nutritionist, Djanira Ro’ojadwe Tsi’ewadi, Indigenous manager, and Dieter Willems, a Belgian volunteer.

Willems also participated in activities with the Mobile Missionary Assistance project team, coordinated by Luís Würstle, who was in Campinápolis to provide maintenance for artesian wells in several villages in the area. Willems, an economist, spent about a month in the Indigenous area of Mato Grosso, providing missionary activities.

Also volunteering during this time was Dr. Paolo Fior, an Italian pulmonologist, who collaborated with Salesians in June. Dr. Fior said, “My experience has been to be with people, especially the Xavante people. I’ve been helping out at the health center because they really need health services for many of the diseases they are affected by. There are many children in the villages who need it. Access to health care is complicated, so it’s a good thing to be able to help them in their own villages themselves.”

Dr. Fior added that taking care of the health of Indigenous people is a way to help preserve the culture of the people. “I realized that this work is very important. It is also very important for the city of Campinápolis to know that there are people who go all the way to the very last village to give them some attention as well. We prepared food for them to show that there are people who care about them, who care about their health, and who like and respect the Xavante people.”

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people fell into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – Salesians and volunteers among indigenous people, to share bread, feed the hungry, heal the sick

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Volunteers provide nutrition and health support to Xavante people first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Students from the Salesian Technical School IPES collected food to donate to the families of students involved in the “Building Bridges” project at the Salesian Center for Adolescent Workers. The project, focused on the municipality of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil, was developed by the Salesian Center for Adolescent Workers.

This was the second time the project donated food items. The first donation was provided to 20 students in vulnerable situations who were involved in a 10-month training course to prepare for the workforce.

“Feeding projects such as this give youth a chance to pay it forward and help others in need,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian students are dealing with much more than focusing on their studies. Many lack basic needs such as food and shelter that are critical first steps in gaining an education. Programs like this ensure youth have what they need to have a brighter future.”

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development, and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty, and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people fell into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – Second edition of “Building Bridges” Project

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Students donate food to families first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Educational Center, located in Natal, Brazil, in collaboration with the Solidarity Bus Project of the Urban Transportation Companies Union and the Municipal Secretariat of Labor and Social Assistance of Natal, distributed food aid to 300 families of youth who attend the oratory at the center.

The initiative was made possible thanks to food collection activities in the city’s supermarkets that were launched to help people in economically and socially vulnerable situations. More than 700 youth from vulnerable backgrounds attend the Don Bosco Educational Center’s oratory. Since March 2020, the center has joined efforts with various public and private partners to address food shortages brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Salesians in Brazil and around the globe are working to ensure that families have the basic necessities they need to survive,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian missionaries live in the communities in which they work, so they are perfectly positioned to assess local need and ensure that relief supplies make it to the families who are most in need.”

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development, and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people fell into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – “Dom Bosco” Education Center distributes food aid to 300 vulnerable families

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Don Bosco Educational Center provides food aid to 300 families first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian-run Operation Mato Grosso, with the aid of Italian benefactors, provided 300 food baskets to Indigenous Xavante families in the villages of Campinápolis, Brazil. Operation Mato Grosso is led by Vanderlei Miranda Souza, a volunteer who has been working with the Xavante people for 20 years.

Souza said, “God never abandons us, especially in this moment of crisis, of difficulty, in which so many people are suffering. We still find so many generous people in this world to do good. Donations on holidays strengthen the work of the Salesians who work throughout the year among the Indigenous people.”

Father José Alves added, “For us Salesians, having the group Operation Mato Grosso as a partner in this work of service to the Xavante Indigenous community is an immense gift from God.”

Today, there are about 10,000 Xavante people in the region, spread over more than 200 villages. These communities face extreme poverty and are receiving support and training for the cultivation of land. They also receive financial support for the purchase of materials, fertilizers and seeds.

Hunger is one of the biggest challenges and the situation has only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. About 500 Indigenous people are regularly hired by state and municipal governments to work in the field of education. With school suspended to avoid infection, people were without work and their families faced hunger. There have been several cases of underweight and malnourished children — and even deaths of children — due to illnesses aggravated by the lack of food.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those living in poverty in Brazil. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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ANS – Brazil – “Operation Mato Grosso” group distributes food baskets to indigenous families in Campinápolis

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

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BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Don Bosco Institute in Americana, a municipality located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, has been working to improve the bee population. Youth have been learning about the importance of bees in the ecosystem and their interdependence for human survival. Bees are disappearing in part because of increasing pesticide use in the country, along with deforestation, forest fires, climate change and biotic diseases.

Students explored why lost swarms of bees were making hives inside pillars, walls, pipes and even electrical energy panels. The goal was to help the bees find more appropriate places for their hives, and students began studying urban beehives as one of the ways to preserve the species.

A Salesian noted, “All groups are affected, not just people, but all living beings are under pressure and run extremely high risks with the decrease in the number of bees and their path to extinction, as they are extremely important in the cycle of the food chain. Therefore, if they become extinct, they will take all of humanity and various other forms of life with them.”

While the students were learning about urban beehives, they came up with several solutions including creating beehives in houses, apartments and institutions. Students also determined the importance of fostering awareness and education on the issues, as well as using social media, newspapers and other avenues to help spread the message. They also want to form partnerships with students from other schools, institutions and public bodies.

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – Shall we pollinate this idea?

Salesian Don Bosco Institute

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

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BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries with the Salesian Parish São Domingos Sávio, Children’s Pastoral and the Center for Indigenous Health (CASAI) are working collaboratively to address malnutrition faced by Indigenous children in the municipalities of Nova Xavantina and Campinápolis in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso.

Father José Alves traveled with Deusmira Moreira, coordinator of Children’s Pastoral, and Delma Cristina, a nutritionist with CASAI, to visit the villages of Indigenous Xavante people. The main objective was to monitor cases of underweight children in the São Pedro health micro-area, guiding parents and referring the most serious cases to the responsible health unit.

Fr. Alves said, “This collaborative work is very good because when people leave here, they already have a list of children in the villages who have already been identified as underweight, very underweight or already suffering from malnutrition and who must be accompanied because of this.”

During the visits, the nutritionist notes the child’s low weight or malnutrition and connects the family to CASAI in Campinápolis for hospitalization. At CASAI, staff members monitor food intake and increase the children’s meals to several times a day. The goal is for children to achieve a normal weight and be able to return to their village.

Some parents do not want their children to be sent to CASAI. There is also a fear that the child or the accompanying adult may have contact with patients with other diseases, such as COVID-19.

“In cases where parents don’t want to bring their children, and we can’t force them, we give them a kit offered by the Children’s Ministry,” explained Fr. Alves. “This is a ‘soup kit’ that contains vegetables, noodles, ground meat or chicken. These are obtained through donations and provided to the family so that the child receives a little more nutrition each day. The challenge is that often food is scarce and there are many people in the family, and then not all families allocate that food to the child who really needs it.”

During a recent visit, additional children were identified as underweight and malnourished. These children are up to age 6 and undergo periodic evaluation by technicians from CASAI and Children’s Pastoral.

“This collaboration with CASAI is very positive because health personnel are involved,” added Fr. Alves. “The nutritionist and nurses who already work in the area can tell us the most serious cases so that we can intervene with the families and responsible bodies here in the city of Campinápolis. The Salesian Parish São Domingos Sávio is grateful to the coordinator Deusmira and also to the health team that works with the Indigenous children.”

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – Child malnutrition worries agents for indigenous health, children’s pastoral care and Salesian missionaries in Campinápolis

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Indigenous children facing malnutrition receive care first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) UniSalesiano, the Salesian University in Araçatuba, Brazil, collaborated with Santa Casa Hospital to inaugurate a modern outpatient and diagnostics building. The project was made possible thanks to the Mais Médicos (More MDs) program, which promoted a medicine course at the university.

During the inauguration ceremony, Father Paulo Jácomo, vice rector for pastoral care, and Msgr. Sérgio Krzywy, bishop of Araçatuba, led a moment of prayer and blessing. Dilador Borges, mayor of Araçatuba, stressed the importance of the collaboration between the university and the hospital. “This is why we have done our part, trying to reduce the bureaucracy. Let’s join forces to build even more,” he said.

Father Erondi Tamandaré, director general of UniSalesiano, noted that the Salesians are one of the largest educational agencies in the world and that every day they dedicate themselves to millions of young people, mostly in need.

According to Professor André Ornellas, vice rector for teaching, research and postgraduate courses, the Salesian University and Santa Casa Hospital will foster an entire model of excellence in health care. “Collaboration with the municipal and hospital health care also comes with the medicine course. In this case, the Salesian University invests in the single health system with infrastructure projects and the purchase of new equipment.”

Dr. Antônio Poletto, coordinator of the medicine course, added that one of the objectives is to have an impact on the public health network. He highlighted the renovation of the building that now houses the Auxilium Specialized Health Center, where Salesian medical students are trained. He said, “All this and much more will certainly benefit the local population and our students. They are modern facilities and able to better serve a greater patient capacity in Araçatuba and the region.”

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – “UniSALESIANO” finances opening of new outpatient building in Araçatuba

Salesian Missions – Brazil

UniSalesiano Araçatuba

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: New medical facilities inaugurated first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) The new school year for Salesian Mons. Luiz Lasagna Institute (Dom Luiz Lasagna School) located in Araçatuba, Brazil, began on Jan. 24 with many new features for students. From kindergarten to high school, the school invested in quality learning and technology over the school break. Father Erondi Tamandaré, director of the school, said that the search for innovation in teaching is necessary.

A robotics classroom was created for the elementary school. For all grade levels, there are new spaces for extra-curricular courses such as indoor soccer and karate, as well as a new and well-equipped gym. The new high school will now offer students advanced education in mathematics, physics and languages. Teaching will also be enriched by a collaboration between the school and Salesian University UniSALESIANO.

“Innovation in education is important to ensure that students and teachers have access to the latest technologies,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian schools aim for constant improvements when it’s financially possible to do so. The level of quality education and diversity in curricula for our students help them gain an education so they can continue their education or enter the workforce.”

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – Salesian School of Araçatuba invests in quality and technology to offer better education

Salesian Missions – Brazil

UniSALESIANO

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: School invests in tools for quality learning first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) With the support of the local community, two Salesian priests launched the new Salesian Saint Frances de Sales Oratory in Porto Velho, Brazil, in the Salesian Center for Minors building, which closed at the end of 2019. The Salesian Center had once trained hundreds of youth in vocational courses. Now the building has new life supporting at-risk youth and those living in conditions of poverty.

From March to June, 20 youth came together to clean the rooms, paint the volleyball and soccer fields, and prepare the arcades, games, meeting rooms and kitchen. The oratory brings together more than 300 youth on Saturday afternoons and Wednesday evenings after school. The majority of youth come from poor families. They have little opportunity for recreation activities or connection with peers and supportive adults in a safe and positive atmosphere. Thanks to many Italian and local benefactors, Salesian missionaries have also been able to provide youth with snacks and juice.

The largest event held at the oratory to date has been a gathering of more than 500 people for National Day of the Child on Oct. 20. The event provided an opportunity for parents and guardians to come together to see everything that the oratory has to offer youth and the community.

“Salesian youth centers offer a safe place for youth to engage in constructive activities during leisure time—such as sports, art and music. Youth learn teamwork and social skills, which provide opportunities for growth and maturity,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – New oratory “St Frances de Sales” in Porto Velho

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Youth find opportunities in new oratory first appeared on MissionNewswire.

(MissionNewswire) Team members of the Ambulant Missionary Assistance (AMA) Project, led by Salesian Brother Alois, provided maintenance to seven artesian wells in Xavante villages in Campinápolis, Brazil. Heavy rains and thunderstorms are frequent in the region, and lightning often causes damage to well pumps, leaving communities without drinking water. The water of the rivers becomes muddy and unsuitable for human consumption, putting the health of Indigenous people, especially children, at risk.

The AMA Project is part of the Salesian Mission of Mato Grosso, which aims to provide technical support to Salesians working with Indigenous populations including the Xavante and Boe-Bororo ethnic groups.

“Projects like this help ensure that remote communities have access to the drinking water they need,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Improving water access brings a sense of dignity to children and their families and reduces the number of waterborne illnesses affecting these villages.”

UN-Water estimates that worldwide 2.2 billion people are living without access to safe water. One in four primary schools has no drinking water service, with students using unprotected water sources or going thirsty. In addition, UN-Water notes that more than 700 children under age 5 die every day from diarrheal disease linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation.

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – AMA Project carries out maintenance of water wells in Xavante villages of Campinápolis

Salesian Missions – Brazil

UN Water

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Well restoring project ensures clean water access in remote villages first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Radio Don Bosco (Radio Dom), an online radio station established by Salesian missionaries and students in 2017 in Curitiba, Brazil, has been awarded first place in the radio journalism category by the Association of Public Defenders of the State of Ceará. This award, announced on Nov. 29, gave recognition to an investigative report created by two of the station’s journalists about the violence and murders committed in that state.

The report, “Who was killed? Black, poor and of the peripheries: The profile of murder victims in Ceará,” was broadcast on Nov. 1 and was produced by journalists Jocasta Pimentel and Roberta Farias. It highlights the profile of the majority of murder victims in Fortaleza, based on a study carried from the Office of Public Defenders of the State of Ceará.

The award, now in its fifth edition, had as its theme “Public defenders: Ensuring rights, justice and citizenship for the most needy.” It included four categories in the journalistic competition: print (including both newspapers and magazines), radio, television, and online/digital news portals. Awards are also given in the same categories to university students who are taking social communication/journalism courses.

Andrea Coelho, president of the Association of Public Defenders of the State of Ceará, noted that the journalism awards honor and recognize the work of journalists, reporters, and communication professionals who contribute to spreading the message of the public defenders’ values of democracy, citizenship, and human rights.

Youth produce the majority of the content that is aired on Radio Don Bosco, which is an integral part of the Salesian communication network in Brazil and is maintained in association with Vatican Radio and other broadcasters. Today, Radio Don Bosco has 20 programs and an audience of more than 150,000 listeners. The radio headquarters are in Lorraine with other centers in Curitiba, São Paulo and Piracicaba.

“The radio station is yet another avenue to reach youth and promote hope through education and social development,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Students working at the station also have a chance to have hands-on work experience and gain the skills necessary for long-term stable employment.”

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those living in poverty in Brazil. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – Radio “FM Dom Bosco” wins 5th Edition of the ADPEC Journalism Award

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Radio Don Bosco journalists honored first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Dom Bosco Catholic University (UCDB) in Campo Grande, Brazil, has been hosting a drive-in vaccination center since mid-2021. It was the first and only one in the city’s northern region. In just five months of operation, the center administered 100,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, which helps contribute to a sharp decline in the transmission of the virus, hospitalizations and deaths from the disease.

The drive-in vaccination center was officially opened June 24 in collaboration with the Municipality of Campo Grande through the Municipal Secretariat of Health. Covered courtyards were transformed to receive vehicles safely and so teams could work with comfort and agility. An accessible path to the site was made without disturbing the flow of people circulating through the campus. Eight stations were initially built and then seven more were added to meet the high demand. The drive-in vaccine clinic was made possible through the commitment and dedication of more than 100 employees who collaborated in the management of the site.

“I want to say thank you to our students, teachers and administrative staff who have given everything to vaccinate the population and help us overcome this pandemic, which has claimed so many victims. There is no doubt that the UCDB academic community has made a difference and helped save many lives,” said Father José Marinoni, dean of UCDB.

The university also opened a vaccination room for those who walked to the campus. Today, the campus is the preferred vaccination center for thousands of people who have expressed their gratitude for the care they received.

“My greatest satisfaction is knowing that I am contributing to the immunization of the population, and this gives me the hope that little by little, this pandemic will be over and we will be able to return to normal,” explained Themis Elise de Oliveira Moraes, a 20-year-old student in the nursing course who was one of the volunteers.

Professor Cristiano Marcelo Espínola Carvalho, vice rector for research and postgraduate studies, added, “This is a milestone that fills us with pride. In a short time, we have seen a huge involvement of our academic community to fulfill this project and we can say, with all certainty, that it has been very successful. We all gain from this experience, and the UCDB fulfills its social role of helping the population, which always embraces us with great affection.”

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – “Dom Bosco” Catholic University reaches milestone of 100,000 vaccine doses administered

Don Bosco Catholic University

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Drive-in vaccine clinic administers COVID-19 vaccine first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Students, parents and staff of the Salesian Mons. Luiz Lasagna Institute and the Salesian University UniSALESIANO, both based in Araçatuba, Brazil, planted 100 ipê, which is a flowering plant of the Bignoniaceae family. Liliana Aparecida Cora, academic coordinator of the Salesian Institute, along with Father Erondi Tamandaré, director general of UniSALESIANO, gathered with the students and their families on planting day.

Each student chose a name for the tree they planted. The goal of the initiative was to promote integration, education and environmental awareness on the campus to highlight the relationship between humans and the environment.

Many Salesian institutions around the globe have taken part in tree planting and other environmental awareness projects and education since Pope Francis’ 2020 Laudato Si’, which has as its theme “Good Christians and Upright Citizens.” Pope Francis underlined the importance of education and training that will help youth shape a lifestyle and foster environmental responsibility. Rector Major Father Ángel Fernández Artime noted the importance of concrete initiatives in the care of the environment. The first objective is encouraging the environmental commitment of youth.

Leading many of environmental initiatives is the Don Bosco Green Alliance, an international collective of youth from Salesian institutions and organizations that contribute to global environmental action, thought and policy. Membership is open to all Salesian institutions and organizations worldwide.

“The Don Bosco Green Alliance is helping Salesian organizations in more than 130 countries have a focus on the environment,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Don Bosco Green Alliance members work to create an environment that is safe and caring for all life on the planet while building up a new generation of environmentally committed citizens and leaders.”

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – Pupils of the Salesian institute “Mons. Luiz Lasagna “plant 100 trees around “Unisalesiano” of Araçatuba

Don Bosco Green Alliance

Salesian Missions – Brazil

UniSALESIANO

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Students plant trees to promote environmental awareness first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Brother Tarley Nunes da Mata, head of the Indigenous Documentation Center in Campinápolis, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, recently attended a meeting with educators who work directly with Indigenous children and youth.

The meeting was also attended by Miriam Lagares, state pedagogical consultant; Nelson Gonçalves, professor of Indigenous teachers and head of the state literacy program Alfabetiza MT; Raquel Miranda, bilingual teacher from the municipality of Campinápolis; and Salesian Deacon José Alves de Oliveira.

Meeting participants discussed Indigenous education, including the recent “Syllabus for Indigenous Literacy” that provides a framework for teaching in the Indigenous language and in Portuguese. The syllabus also outlines the importance of other educational aids.

“At the meeting, Bro. Nunes da Mata presented material published in the areas of social sciences, mathematics, culture and linguistics that included grammar, dictionaries in Portuguese-Xavante and Xavante-Portuguese, notebooks, and other various didactic material,” explained Alves de Oliveira. “Furthermore, Bro. Nunes da Mata knew how to listen to the experiences of each teacher and shared the challenges, successes, and wishes that the municipality of Campinápolis and the state of Mato Grosso are facing with teaching Indigenous students.”

Gonçalves presented his work experience in promoting initiatives and teaching materials both for teacher training and for Indigenous literacy in the state of Mato Grosso.

Alves de Oliveira added, “It was a very beautiful moment because we could see that there is a very rich reality full of possibilities for finding methods and solutions to existing challenges.”

Salesian missionaries provide education and social support to Indigenous communities and help to support those living in poverty and at risk of social exclusion. Today, there are about 10,000 Xavante people in the region, spread over more than 200 villages. These communities face extreme poverty and are often cut off from the outside world.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those living in poverty in Brazil. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – Scholastic Education for the Indigenous People: a Commitment that is Renewed

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Education in Indigenous communities focus of meeting first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian Province of Brazil-Campo Grande’s Ambulant Missionary Assistance (AMA) project has begun drilling nine artesian wells in the Indigenous villages of Sangradouro and at the São José Indigenous State School. The wells will be between 131 and 197 feet (40 and 60 meters) deep, depending on the depth of the water table, and will serve about 60 people in each village.

The AMA working group, led by Salesian Brother Alois Würstle, is utilizing trucks equipped with drilling machines capable of digging earth and rocks. The Xavante villages in the region are generally built on the banks of small streams, but during periods of drought the water becomes very muddy. In some severe cases, water is completely lacking.

UN-Water estimates that worldwide 2.2 billion people are living without access to safe water. One in four primary schools has no drinking water service, with students using unprotected water sources or going thirsty. In addition, UN-Water notes that more than 700 children under 5 years of age die every day from diarrheal disease linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation.

“Salesian missionaries in Brazil and around the globe are working to improve water access, which brings a sense of dignity to children and their families and ensures they have access to proper hygiene and safe drinking water. This also reduces the number of waterborne illnesses that affect these villages,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – The “Itinerant Missionary Assistance” project digs new water wells in the indigenous villages of Sangradouro

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: 9 new wells to bring clean water to Indigenous villages first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Gabriel Fernandes, a 17-year-old student from Parque Dom Bosco, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, an international prize created in 1997. Every year thousands of bright young minds committed to water conservation and other sustainability issues compete for the honor.

Fernandes, assisted by Professor Fernanda Poleza, created a low-cost solution that improves water quality by retaining plastic particles with a special filter. The created solution will be adopted by the Itajaí Water Company within the Semasa Water Treatment Station in Brazil.

UN-Water estimates that worldwide 2.2 billion people are living without access to safe water. One in four primary schools has no drinking water service, with students using unprotected water sources or going thirsty. In addition, UN-Water notes that more than 700 children under 5 years of age die every day from diarrheal disease linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation.

“Water is essential for life, and it has become a priority that Salesian programs around the globe have access to safe, clean water for the health and safety of those we serve,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “This young student has worked hard in school to learn skills that will help in the global fight for clean water access. We applaud him for his project and know that it will have an impact within his community.”

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – Young man from “Parque Dom Bosco” wins an international award for water purification from microplastics

Parque Dom Bosco

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Student wins international water prize first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco College in Manaus, Brazil, is celebrating its 100-year anniversary this year. Salesian missionaries first arrived in Manaus in 1921 to start a school to educate youth in the Amazon. The goal was to create a school that would rival those already providing quality education in other regions of Brazil. Salesians first set up youth centers and then offered evening classes before launching a boarding school, which would later become the current Salesian school.

Don Bosco College has modern equipment and a large library as well as computer, physics, chemistry and biology laboratories. The structure of the school is complete with a gym suitable for playing various sports, a swimming pool, indoor sports fields, an auditorium that can accommodate 600 people, a ballroom, a judo room and a space for leisure time.

In 2019, Don Bosco College started assessing the need for a local kindergarten and how it could accommodate that within the building’s current structure. The renovation was completed this year and in July, the “Don Bosco Dreams with Us” project was launched to provide education for Brazilian and Venezuelan children ages 6-12.

Don Bosco College is currently offers courses ranging from kindergarten to level I and II primary schools and high school, with opportunities for full-time education, catechesis, sports, and cultural courses that serve students and the educational community.

“This school expansion allows youth to have a place to start their early education, which lays the foundation for later learning,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Don Bosco College is ensuring that youth living in the Amazon have access to the education they needs to learn the skills for later employment, enabling them to be self-sufficient and contribute to their families and community.”

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – Manaus celebrates centenary of “Colégio Dom Bosco”

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

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BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in Iauaretê, Brazil, have opened a new shelter for Indigenous homeless youth. Salesians will welcome children and teens who are alone and abandoned to ensure that their basic needs are met and they receive access to education.

The Salesian mission of Iauaretê consists of a central missionary district which comprises the St. Michael Archangel parish and 11 chapels. However, the work of the Salesian missionaries extends over a far greater area, reaching 40 Indigenous communities made up of 16 different ethnic groups. Missionaries place particular emphasis on their work with adolescents and children in the communities. Every day, the local Salesian oratory welcomes 300 to 500 children who seek out a healthy protective environment.

The new shelter will house those in need of a safe place to stay. The structure has seven single rooms for Salesian staff and guests, two large dormitories that can each house 30 children, a refectory with a capacity of up to 40 children, a kitchen, pantry, laundry, community room and room for activities. Each room will have an internal bathroom and the dormitories will have two bathrooms each. Outside there will be space for youth to play and have fun with their peers.

Father Roberto Cappelletti, who is responsible for the Salesian community, said, “As soon as I arrived here in February 2015, I immediately realized the precarious housing situation in which the Salesians had been living for the past 10 years. An attic covered with zinc sheets with temperatures reaching 40 degrees during the day, an environment infested with bats, mice and spiders, where no human being deserves to live. In addition to this, as I learned about the reality little by little, I perceived how many boys and girls, who already normally live in unstructured families, without a decent home, were left to themselves.”

The Salesian community is working to provide education in a region of Brazil that is closed off to the outside world both in culture and in geographic borders. This new shelter is another step in ensuring that youth have what they need to access education and learn skills for employment to better their future and also help their community.

The project took five years to complete from inception to final construction. Mission Don Bosco and other benefactors helped provide the financing for the project. Fr. Cappelletti also thanked Carlinhos Dias, the project’s operational manager.

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people have fallen into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – Inauguration of new shelter for indigenous children in Iauaretê

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: New shelter welcomes Indigenous homeless youth first appeared on MissionNewswire.

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian Province of Brazil-Recife organized a live show to help raise funds for families in need. The show aired on the province’s YouTube channel, as well as on the channel of singer-songwriter Father João Carlos Ribeiro and on FM radio through Dom Bosco Fortaleza. It was also relaunched by digital and community radio stations connected with the Salesian Province. In total, the event raised enough funding for 200 food baskets for those in need.

“The best result of this live solidarity drive is, without doubt, the greater visibility offered to local initiatives, which may even involve other volunteers and benefactors,” said Fr. Ribeiro.

The live initiative was developed by the directors of 12 Salesian centers, under the direction of the Provincial Office for Social Communication. The initiative has helped continue efforts by Salesians to assist poor families by providing awareness information about COVID-19, food and anti-contagion protection devices.

Earlier this year, Salesian centers received financial support from the Salesian Network of Brazil which has allocated specific resources to support these initiatives. During the live broadcast, videos and testimonials were broadcast on the many initiatives that have been carried out at the local level for those most in need during the pandemic. Performances were also delivered by artists and singers.

Father Nivaldo Pessinatti, provincial, presided over the event, welcoming people, leading prayer and thanking those who were donating. The 200 food baskets will be divided among the Salesian centers to be delivered.

Following the event, representatives from the Salesian centers met to evaluate the event’s outcome. They discussed future events where they could engage schools, parents and Salesian radio stations. The goal is to continue support for individuals and families who are still struggling with hunger and poverty in the face of the global pandemic.

“Salesians in Brazil and around the globe are working to ensure that families have the basic necessities to get through this challenging time,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Launching initiatives like this are a way to highlight the skills and talents of those connected to Salesian centers while bringing entertainment to those who may be able to help pay it forward and help those in their community.”

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people have fallen into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

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ANS – Brazil – “Em rede contra a fome”: live solidarity show collects food baskets for 200 families

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Live show helps fund food baskets first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Educational Center, located in Natal, Brazil, received 1.5 tons of non-perishable food to distribute to families in need who are assisted by the center in the Lagoa Azul neighborhood and surrounding areas. The food was collected as part of the Brazilian army’s “Help is in our hands” campaign. The goal of the initiative is to help low-income families who have seen their socio-economic situation worsen with the pandemic.

The commander of the 7th Motorized Infantry Brigade, Brigadier General Carlos José Rocha Lima presided over a ceremony while delivering the food to various institutions in Natal. Father Eneas Andrade de Araújo, deputy director of the Don Bosco Center, and Janaína Félix, a social worker, received the donation.

Since March 2020, Don Bosco Educational Center has joined efforts with various public and private partners to address food shortages. The center has served more than 2,000 families with basic food packages and hygiene kits. More than 1,000 people have needed additional assistance services because they are vulnerable to social and economic risk.

“Salesians in Brazil and around the globe are working to ensure that families have the basic necessities to get through this challenging time,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian missionaries live in the communities in which they work, so they are perfectly positioned to assess local need and ensure that relief supplies make it to the families who are most in need.”

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people have fallen into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – Don Bosco Natal Educational Center receives 1.5 tons of food

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: 1.5 tons of food to be distributed to families first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Catholic University in Campo Grande, Brazil, has received an average of 1,500 people per day at its COVID-19 vaccine clinic. The clinic is set up across three sports fields and is supported by 200 students, teachers and administrative employees who help in the administration of vaccines.

The clinic, which operates under the responsibility of the Municipal Secretariat of Health, was launched on June 24 with eight vaccine locations and later expanded to 15 locations. Don Bosco Catholic University supports the clinic and provides students from nursing, pharmacy and biomedicine courses to help with its operation.

The clinic was set up as a drive-in so patients do not need to leave their cars to receive their dose. This set-up ensures greater agility and minimizes contact between people waiting to be vaccinated.

“With this drive-in service, Don Bosco Catholic University feels embraced by the people of Campo Grande and can even embrace them again in turn. We know that we are benefiting the population and this is gratifying. We are doing what Don Bosco would have done in his time, opening the doors and helping in difficult moments,” said Salesian Brother Raffaele Lochi, the interim rector of Don Bosco Catholic University.

Since the start of the pandemic, Don Bosco Catholic University has helped support its local community in the fight against COVID-19. The university lent one of its super freezers to the Municipality of Campo Grande to conserve vaccines, which must be stored at temperatures well below freezing. The university also provided use of high-tech machinery for the processing of swabs at the central laboratory of Mato Grosso do Sul.

At Don Bosco Catholic University’s Clinical School dozens of people benefited from psychological assistance offered to those who suffered from the pandemic and its consequences. Those who have contracted the virus and suffer its aftermath also benefited from sessions for strengthening muscle and for improving breathing.

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people have fallen into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8 percent of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – Over 12,000 people immunized in just 8 days thanks to anti-Covid-19 vaccination center at Don Bosco Catholic University

Don Bosco Catholic University

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: University supports drive-in clinic for vaccine efforts first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Thanks to the collaboration between the Municipality of Araçatuba in Brazil and the Faculty of Medicine of UniSalesiano, the Salesian University in Araçatuba, the city has a new health center called Auxilium. The health center is centralizing specialist outpatient services to ensure efficient, systematized and patient-centered health care.

The health center will have doctors available who specialize in cardiology, urology, otolaryngology, orthopedics, and angiology. There is also a multidisciplinary team made up of professionals in the areas of physiotherapy, nursing, nutrition and social work, along with programs to treat patients with Hansen’s disease and those undergoing ostomy. A gynecology clinic is equipped for all minor tests and surgeries.

The facility will also host the Reference Center for Workers’ Health, which provides medical and nursing assistance; and new equipment dedicated to physiotherapy.

The agreement also provided restructuring of the former municipal emergency room, located in the Santana district. This restructuring enabled practical training for UniSalesiano medical students at the health center.

Various religious authorities, politicians and professionals took part in an inauguration event on June 16, which was broadcast on the municipality’s social media channels.

“May this place be a source of blessing for many people and may it express efforts in favor of the common good in this way,” said Msgr. Sérgio Krzywy, the bishop of Araçatuba, before proceeding to the blessing of the premises.

Secretary for Health of Araçatuba Carmem Guariente thanked the Salesians for the successful collaboration, which began in 2017, and assured “this is the first of many to come.”

Fr. Ricardo Carlos, Salesian provincial of the Brazil-Campo Grande Province and UniSalesiano chancellor, stressed the importance of collaboration. He said, “Society needs to look at these good examples. I congratulate all the people involved who, in fact, contributed to this center being reborn, and that there are many other initiatives like this and that our society is the great beneficiary.”

Mayor Dilador Borges also expressed a similar sentiment. “This agreement with UniSalesiano will bear many fruits. We shall have many health professionals who will pass through here and will remember the institute that trained them.”

Brazil is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – Salesians inaugurate new “Specialized Health Center – Auxilium” in Araçatuba

Salesian Missions – Brazil

UniSalesiano Araçatuba

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: New health center provides specialist services first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Indigenous Xavante people, who live within the Campinápolis village in the Brazilian state of Mato Grasso, have been receiving food baskets and other supplies thanks to donors from the local Salesian St. Domenico Savio Parish. Indigenous people represent about 60 percent of the population of the municipality of Campinápolis.

Today, there are about 10,000 Xavante people in the region, spread over more than 200 villages. These communities face extreme poverty and are receiving support and training for the cultivation of land, as well as financial support for the purchase of materials, fertilizers and seeds.

Hunger is one of the biggest challenges and the situation has only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. About 500 Indigenous people are regularly hired by state and municipal governments to work in the field of education. Given school has been suspended to avoid infection, people have been without work and their families are facing hunger. There have been several cases of underweight and malnourished children—and even deaths of children—due to illnesses aggravated by the lack of food.

The food basket initiative was done in collaboration with the Salesian Operation Mato Grosso, the Immaculate Conception Parish of Bilac in the state of São Paulo, and the Indigenist Missionary Council. The needs are much greater than what has already been received. Salesian Deacon José Alves de Oliveira said, “This is the help we are giving, but we see that it is still too little to satisfy the great demand of the population. Help is desperately needed.”

Even though needs remain, recipients expressed gratitude and deep thanks for the help. Moisés, the deputy head of the Xavante people in the village of São Pedro, said, “This donation is a cause of great joy for our whole community. Thank you very much.” The same sentiment was expressed by Vitório, the deputy head of the village of Imaculada Conceição, where in addition to food, clothes and shoes were also distributed. He said, “Thank you so much for remembering us.”

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those living in poverty in Brazil. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – Benefactors help indigenous people in distress during pandemic

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Indigenous Xavante people facing hunger receive food baskets first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing concern of hunger in Brazil, the Brazilian Salesian Network has provided $462,374 (R$ 2.4 million reais) to support food assistance initiatives by Salesian institutions throughout the country. “Networking against Hunger” is the theme for the initiative.

The Brazilian Salesian Network is made up of the six Salesian provinces and four Daughters of Mary Help of Christians provinces in Brazil. Both groups collaborate on projects aimed at educational, welfare and pastoral support.

The economic difficulties of thousands of families and people who find themselves in conditions of social vulnerability due to unemployment were considered as a priority when launching this initiative. The project runsfrom May 21 to June 21.

To receive the funding, local Salesian institutions must present projects to the Brazilian Salesian Network for them to be analyzed and approved. Considering the urgency for immediate assistance for people and families in social vulnerability, projects that will be awarded funding will include the purchase of food items and/or the distribution of food in other ways.

“The pandemic has caused the loss of income and ability to provide for their families for many around the globe,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “As a result, many families have been pushed further into poverty and are facing hunger. This initiative and others like it are ensuring that families have their basic needs met during this challenging time.”

Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. There are large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – Brazil Salesian Network promotes “Networking against hunger” campaign

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Initiative focuses on reducing hunger first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Students in the medical program at the Salesian University, known as UniSalesiano, participated in the Secretariat of Health of Araçatuba’s COVID-19 vaccination program in Brazil. The 160 participating students took a course in vaccinations and had hands-on supervision while administering the vaccinations.

Secretary of Health Carmen Guariente noted that the collaboration between the municipality and UniSalesiano was important. It offered students direct experience through orientation, access to operating procedures and the application of doses. The initiative also helped local health workers meet the local needs and demands for vaccination.

“This vaccination initiative provided support to the local health community and provided Salesian students an opportunity to work hands-on in the medical field,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “These kinds of initiatives are important for students who are learning and provide a good way for Salesian students to apply the skills they have learned while giving back to the community.”

In August 2020, UniSalesiano launched a similar initiative providing hepatitis C testing for adults. It also transformed a municipal emergency room into a specialized clinic. The Rotary Club of Araçatuba, which started a hepatitis C awareness campaign, provided 400 testing kits to UniSalesiano. Professor Rossana Abud Cabrera Rosa stressed the project’s importance and invited the population to participate. Identifying the disease is not easy as it only shows symptoms in an advanced stage.

At the time Cabrera Rosa stated, “This is an annual campaign, sponsored by the Rotary Club, to eradicate hepatitis C around the world. This type of action is very important for our academics because students learn to do the test, to read the result and to be in contact with the public. They also learned the operational procedures for the prevention of COVID-19.”

In Brazil, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – 160 UniSALESIAN Medicine students participate in vaccination campaign against Covid-19

UniSalesiano Salesian University Aracatuba

UniSalesiano Aracatuba Facebook

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Students help administer COVID-19 vaccinations first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Brazil is among the countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, the Salesian University UniSales, located in Vitória in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, is helping people who are suffering from the long-term effects of the virus through its Integrated Community Health Care Center. The Salesian University’s Faculties of Physiotherapy and Nutrition are providing assistance both in-person and remotely.

The initiative was launched after the realization that many patients are still experiencing difficulties long after recovering from COVID-19. The lingering after-effects have included symptoms of fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle pain and mental confusion.

Professor Miriam Paixão’s dietary guidance will help the recovery of these patients. She said, “We believe that offering this accompanying pathway will help the population of Espírito Santo who are not in a position to afford prolonged treatment for full recovery from COVID-19.”

Paixão added, “The patient, after being intubated, does indeed need attention with regard to diet.” She noted that nutrition can help improve symptoms as well as problems associated with chronic diseases that individuals could have already been suffering.

The services are free and bookable with a simple phone call. Salesian staff members are focused on helping patients with respiratory, motor, neurological and metabolic physiotherapy as well as assisting patients who have been intubated and suffer from dysphagia, reflux, dyspnea, hair loss, alteration of the gastrointestinal tract, weight loss, joint pain or weakened nails.

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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

ANS – Brazil – UniSales of Vitória offers free treatment to patients with post-Covid-19 disorders

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Free services available for people suffering long-term effects of COVID-19 first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Two graduates of UniSalesiano, the Salesian University in Araçatuba, Brazil, have collaborated to launch a unique veterinary clinic. Veterinarian Fabianna de Simone Souza graduated from UniSalesiano four years ago. At first, she worked in a local area business but then decided to pursue her dream of opening her own veterinary clinic.

Souza said, “I wanted something that was an extension of people’s homes with benches to sit outside, gardens to relax. Something out of the ordinary.” She contacted Professor Giuliano Pincerato, coordinator of the architecture program at UniSalesiano. She noted, “It was the first thing that came to mind. UniSalesiano has such a wealth of professionals and projects that I decided that the facade of the clinic would be done by some of them.”

Souza’s request was examined and it was decided that the university would help her. Professor Pincerato said, “It was the union of veterinary with architecture that made it possible to achieve the goal of adapting the space in the best possible way.”

Architect Mariana Rie Nonaka Yamaguchi, who graduated last year from UniSalesiano, was in charge of the project. Yamaguchi prepared a re-adaptation of the spaces in the clinic, including the rooms and the decor. She explained, “This project was very useful for my final dissertation. It is enriching to leave the classroom and have contact with the client. It helps you to develop confidence. It was a sensational experience.”

Souza now has her own veterinary clinic where she can fulfill her dream of treating animals in an ethical, dignified and humane way. These are all traits she has said that have a lot to do with the training she received at UniSalesiano. “It was wonderful to attend your dream faculty in a place that provides the student with attention to her practical experiences. For five years, in parallel with the theoretical lessons, I carried out internships which were very important for my learning and my career.”

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – Collaboration between past pupils from different faculties of “UniSALESIANO” gives life to veterinary clinic

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Unique veterinary clinic built by UniSalesiano graduates first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco House, located in Americana in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, recently provided more than 2,000 toys to children in need. The donation event was created to provide children a chance for play and happiness during this difficult time.

Don Bosco House has been in operation for more than 70 years and provides a range of services and programs to the community. The grounds include a library, science and computer labs, auditorium and mini-theater, playroom, music room, and arts room. Sports are also prominent at Don Bosco House, and it offers a swimming pool, multi-sports courts, soccer field, schoolyard and play space.

The school at Don Bosco House uses technology to aid education through digital didactic material with access to broadband for elementary and high school students. The goal is to provide advanced education to youth so they can continue to study in university or technical education programs to later gain employment and become self-sufficient.

“Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives. The toy drive and ongoing work at Don Bosco House help to provide hope and support for the entire community.”

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – Over 2,000 toys distributed to children

Don Bosco House Americana Facebook

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Children in need receive toys first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in Corumbá, Mato Grosso, Brazil, provided 150 food baskets to families in need over the Christmas holiday and more than 900 food baskets over the last year. These efforts were made possible by the Bell of Charity project, one of the largest and most traditional humanitarian aid and charitable projects in the Corumbá region, which was created more than 50 years ago by Salesian Father Ernesto Sassida. In 2020, the Bell of Charity project was helped by the Municipal Social Assistance Fund project.

In addition, food, clothes and toys collected and donated by local residents were distributed to families during the weeks before Christmas. The efforts were supported by partner companies and institutions. The items were collected and distributed by Don Bosco City.

“Salesian programs provide more than education to help families in need and nutritional support is essential, especially this year as many families struggle,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian organizations are appreciative of the support they receive from local community members and businesses who help support their initiatives. It’s collaboration that makes programs possible.”

Don Bosco City offers a range of education and social development programs for poor youth and their families in the region. The Don Bosco State School provides elementary and high school education to 2,000 students. The Happy Children and Adolescents Program assists close to 500 children and adolescents in situations of social vulnerability, providing socio-education and social, psychological and educational training as well as nutritional support. Don Bosco City also offers an Adolescent Apprentice Program, which provides hands-on training in the labor market through a partnership with companies in the region.

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

The World Bank estimates that about 28.6 million Brazilians moved out of poverty between 2004 and 2014. But from the start of 2016 to the end of 2017, the World Bank estimates that 2.5 million to 3.6 million have fallen back below the poverty line earning less than 140 Brazilian reais per month. Economists blame high unemployment, near 13 percent, and cuts to key social welfare programs for challenges in the country.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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ANS – Brazil – “Sino da Caridade” project delivers 150 food baskets to poor families in Corumbá

Don Bosco City

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BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) The Dom Bosco School, located in Campo Grande, Brazil, is celebrating its 90th anniversary. Founded in 1930, the school has contributed much to the communities of Campo Grande and Mato Grosso do Sul, and it has been a site for learning and social programs for poor youth in the region.

The school expanded several times to incorporate the Don Bosco Museum of Cultures in the 1950s, and the Dom Aquino Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters, founded in 1962. This later became the Don Bosco Catholic University in 1993. The expansion of the institute in the 1980s, with the construction of the Don Bosco Sports Complex, made it the largest multi-sports educational center in the State.

The school offers space for community meetings, and the chapel is visited daily by students and visitors. The covered courtyard and the other internal courtyards and playgrounds provide a spot for community congregation and recreation. Nothing, however, is more important than the educational programs offered.

“The difference of a Salesian school from the others is the way in which everything is fulfilled—through much joy, love, affection and dialogue,” explained Professor Monica Brites, a teacher at the Dom Bosco School for the last 25 years. “As an educator, I see this system very much alive and current in our relationship with today’s young people. Through this pedagogical practice we guarantee them an integral education and, following Don Bosco’s great goal, we form good Christians and upright citizens.”

The Dom Bosco School welcomes children starting at the kindergarten level. At the elementary school, bilingual education, implemented in 2019 in collaboration with the International School, teaches students the English language and broadens their horizons. The school also offers access to new technologies.

Students in the high school take full-time coursework, which features interactive lessons and workshops prepared to complete the teaching-learning process. Finally, school ministry engages students in celebrations and meetings for the various educational levels, promoting parties and formation opportunities.

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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ANS – Brazil – First 90 years of Colégio Dom Bosco’s quality education in Campo Grande

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BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) People living in the villages of Campinápolis and Aldeia Corpo de Cristo in Brazil have six artesian wells for clean water access thanks to the Salesian Ambulant Mission Assistance project, an initiative of the Brazil-Campo Grande Province. Salesians built the new wells to make up for the serious lack of water in the region. More than 50 families have benefited.

The Ambulant Mission Assistance project, led by Salesian Brother Alois Würstle, provides technical support to Salesians who work in missions with indigenous populations, especially with the Xavante and Boe-Bororo ethnic groups.

UN-Water estimates that worldwide 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services and by 2050, the world’s population will have grown by an estimated 2 billion people, pushing global water demand up to 30 percent higher than today. One in four primary schools has no drinking water service, with students using unprotected water sources or going thirsty. In addition, UN-Water notes that more than 700 children under 5 years of age die every day from diarrheal disease linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation.

“Water is essential for life,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Improving water access, which is especially needed in remote areas of Brazil, brings a sense of dignity to children and their families and ensures they have access to proper hygiene and safe drinking water. This reduces the number  of waterborne illnesses that affects these villages.”

The World Bank estimates that about 28.6 million Brazilians moved out of poverty between 2004 and 2014. But from the start of 2016 to the end of 2017, the World Bank estimates that 2.5 million to 3.6 million fell back below the poverty line earning less than 140 Brazilian reais per month. Economists blame high unemployment, near 13 percent, and cuts to key social welfare programs for challenges in Brazil.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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ANS – Brazil – AMA project delivers 6 artesian wells to indigenous villages

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BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries with Dom Bosco Educational Center in Gramoré in Natal, Brazil, have distributed packages of food to families assisted by the local Salesian oratory. These efforts are part of the #camosjuntos campaign promoted by Parage Norte Shopping Natal. The first distribution was 150 food packages and the second was 250. The efforts are made possible with the support of the Municipal Secretariat for Labor and Social Assistance of Natal and the Union of Urban Transport Companies of the Municipality of Natal.

Since March, Dom Bosco Educational Center has joined efforts with various public and private partners to address food shortages. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Dom Bosco Educational Center has served around 2,000 families with basic food packages and hygiene kits. More than 1,000 people have needed assistance services from the Salesian organization, and they are vulnerable to social and economic risk.

“Salesians in Brazil and around the globe are working to ensure that families have the basic necessities to get through this challenging time,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian missionaries live in the communities in which they work so they are perfectly positioned to assess local need and ensure that relief supplies make it to the families who are most in need.”

Relief work has been happening in Salesian centers and institutions across the country since March. The Salesian Network, in collaboration with partners, provided 460 youth and their families with food assistance in the city of Manaus on the banks of the Negro River in northwestern Brazil. Families in need were tracked and identified through an app. More than 800 baskets of food were delivered, with deliveries observing the guidelines for coronavirus prevention provided by the World Health Organization. This is just one of many examples of how Salesian organization have rallied together, connected with their networks and helped families in need.

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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ANS – Brazil – “Dom Bosco” Educational Center distributes food parcels

ANS – Brazil – “Solidarity Bus” campaign donates 250 packages of basic necessities to needy families

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BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Rádio Dom (Radio Don Bosco) is an online radio station that was established by Salesian missionaries and students in 2017 in Curitiba, Brazil. Youth produce the majority of the content that is aired. In the first two months of broadcasting, 15 programs were launched and a loyal audience of more than 10,000 listeners was reached. In August 2018, the station rebranded to Rádio Dom, which refers to Don Bosco (called Dom Bosco in Brazil).

Rádio Dom is an integral part of the Salesian communication network of Brazil and is maintained in association with Vatican Radio and other broadcasters. Today, Rádio Dom has expanded to 20 programs, has an audience of more than 150,000 listeners and has recently joined the Brazil Salesian Network of Social Action. With more than 45 volunteers, including speakers, journalists, technicians and planners, Rádio Dom produces informative programming, education and music. The radio’s web platform has received over a million hits.

The radio station has six studios in two Brazilian states, including three located in detention units for youth in conflict with the law. In collaboration with the Salesian University Center of Sao Paulo (UNISAL), Rádio Dom has also given hope and support to youth in detention centers. Youth have been able to express themselves, learn a skill and show people they are more than the petty crimes they have committed. Additional programs to support these youth have grown from efforts at Rádio Dom.

“The radio station is yet another avenue to reach youth and promote hope through education and social development,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Students working at the station also have a chance to have hands-on work experience and gain the skills necessary for long-term stable employment.”

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country. They specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

The World Bank estimates that about 28.6 million Brazilians moved out of poverty between 2004 and 2014. But from the start of 2016 to the end of 2017, the World Bank estimates that 2.5 million to 3.6 million fell back below the poverty line earning less than 140 Brazilian reais per month. Economists blame high unemployment, near 13 percent, and cuts to key social welfare programs for challenges in the country.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas, or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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ANS – Brazil – “Rádio Dom” joins “Brazil Salesian Network of Social Action”

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BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian University (UniSalesiano), located in Araçatuba, Brazil, launched two important initiatives over the last few weeks. The first is hepatitis C testing for adults and the second is transforming a municipal emergency room into a specialized clinic.

Starting Aug. 23, students and teachers in the biomedicine department of the Salesian University began carrying out hepatitis C testing in adults. Identifying the disease is not easy as it only presents symptoms in an advanced stage. The Rotary Club of Araçatuba, which started a hepatitis C awareness campaign, provided 400 testing kits to the Salesian University. Professor Rossana Abud Cabrera Rosa stressed the project’s importance and invited the population to participate.

“This is an annual campaign, sponsored by the Rotary Club, to eradicate hepatitis C around the world,” said Rosa. Rosa, along with three other colleagues and trainees who are supervised by the Academic League of Clinical and Community Immunology, are administering the tests. “This type of action is very important for our academics because students learn to do the test, to read the result and to be in contact with the public. They also learned the operational procedures for the prevention of COVID-19,” she added.

Father Luigi Favero, rector of the Salesian University, explained that the work to convert the emergency room to a specialized clinic will be carried out in several steps. It will start with the reception and physiotherapy areas and then continue with outpatient areas for specialties. The new practice will house specialists in cardiology, dermatology, physiotherapy and much more.

Fr. Favero said, “The students, as early as the first week of the course, go to health facilities, so they gain experience and provide help. We want to provide space for training health workers and increase access to technology and infrastructure, so it was urgent to renovate this hospital. The most important thing we have is life, and the second is our health.”

The project has already been welcomed by Dilador Borges, the Araçatuba mayor, as well as by his secretary and the councilors for health. The first part of the new clinic will be made available in a few months. The aim is to inaugurate the entire clinic by February 2021.

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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ANS – Brazil – Two innovative projects of “UniSALESIANO” Salesian University

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BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian Network, in collaboration with partners, has provided 460 youth and their families with food assistance in the city of Manaus on the banks of the Negro River in northwestern Brazil. Families in need were tracked and identified through an app. More than 800 baskets of food were delivered, with deliveries observing the guidelines for coronavirus prevention provided by the World Health Organization.

“Salesians in Brazil and around the globe are working to ensure that families have the basic necessities to get through this challenging time,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian missionaries live in the communities in which they work so they are perfectly positioned to assess local need and ensure that relief supplies make it to the families who are most in need.”

Relief work is happening across Brazil. The Mamma Margarita Salesian Youth Center, located in the municipality of Niterói in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, has also been helping needy families impacted by the coronavirus pandemic by distributing food and hygiene products. The youth center launched a Salesian Solidarity Campaign, which has supported these efforts for four months. Since the start of the pandemic, many businesses, companies and shops have had to suspend their work. This included the Salesian Youth Center.

According to the Salesian Social Communication Office, many children who live in the areas surrounding the Salesian Youth Center were being fed at the youth center before the pandemic because their families did not have enough money for food. It was critical that funds were utilized to continue to feed these children during the lockdown period.

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich, and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesian missionaries working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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ANS – Brazil – Food security during quarantine

BRAZIL: Mamma Margarita Salesian Youth Center provides food and hygiene products to families impacted by the coronavirus pandemic

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The post BRAZIL: The Salesian Network provided 460 youth and their families food assistance in Manaus first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) The Mamma Margarita Salesian Youth Center, located in the municipality of Niterói, in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, is helping needy families impacted by the coronavirus pandemic by distributing food and hygiene products. The youth center launched a Salesian Solidarity Campaign, which has supported these efforts for four months. Since the start of the pandemic, many businesses, companies and shops have had to suspend their work. This included the Salesian Youth Center.

According to the Salesian Social Communication Office, many children who live in the areas surrounding the Salesian Youth Center were being fed at the youth center before the pandemic because their families did not have enough money for food. It was critical that funds were utilized to continue to feed these children during the lockdown period.

“When we started the campaign in March, it was mainly to help the approximately 350 children we serve here at the youth center. These children come from families with low incomes, and they are socially vulnerable and at risk,” said Father Denis Dutra Marques, a Salesian missionary working in Brazil.

According to Fr. Marques, other families in the local communities began to seek support from the Salesian Youth Center. He said, “The families learned that we were distributing kits with basic foods and came to us for help. We decided to register all of these people to follow each family’s situation more precisely. There were weeks in which we had 90 families to look after and we had no food to deliver. But when the day of distribution came, we ended up with more than 90 kits, closer to 120, and there were 120 families to take the kit.”

The Salesian Solidarity Campaign continues to collect non-perishable foods and personal hygiene items. Donations are left at the reception of the Salesian Institutes of Niterói, which remain open 24 hours a day to avoid social gatherings.

The World Bank estimates that about 28.6 million Brazilians moved out of poverty between 2004 and 2014. But from the start of 2016 to the end of 2017, the World Bank estimates that 2.5 million to 3.6 million fell back below the poverty line earning less than 140 Brazilian reais per month. Economists blame high unemployment, near 13 percent, and cuts to key social welfare programs for challenges in Brazil.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) UniSalesian University Center, located in Araçatuba in the Campo Grande province of Brazil, has been asked to build a replica of NASA’s Curiosity Rover, which is currently exploring Mars. The invitation came directly from Dr. Jefferson Michaelis, the director of the education center at Kennedy Space Center International Academy.

UniSalesian’s engineering professor, Edval Rodrigues de Viveiros, indicated that Michaelis’s interest was born from UniSalesian’s Science Days, a scientific-cultural event held in September 2019. The event was attended by professionals from NASA and other institutions that deal with space education.

“As part of the Science Days we promoted a competition among state schools in which students had to present a solution that involved technology developed by NASA and that could be adapted to applications used on Earth,” explained Viveiros. “Dr. Michaelis had the opportunity to see the enthusiasm of primary and secondary school students with this type of subject at the event.”

After the event, Michaelis sent an email to the organizing committee of Science Days to make the request to build a replica of the rover. The goal is for the students to develop the replica and unveil it later this year at another science fair, the largest in the country, held at UniSalesian. According to de Viveiros, the next step is to invite public schools from Araçatuba and the region to participate in the project.

“UniSalesian’s focus on international collaboration projects is due to the support of the Rector of the University, Father Luigi Favero, and of the Vice-Rector, Professor André Ornellas,” said Professor Nelson Hitoshi Takiy, coordinator of electrical, mechanical and mechatronics engineering courses. “In this way, the engineering courses have been able to seek inclusion in research organizations and the development of scientific projects outside our borders.”

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

The World Bank estimates that about 28.6 million Brazilians moved out of poverty between 2004 and 2014. But from the start of 2016 to the end of 2017, the World Bank estimates that 2.5 million to 3.6 million fell back below the poverty line earning less than 140 Brazilian reais per month. Economists blame high unemployment, near 13 percent, and cuts to key social welfare programs for challenges in the country.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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ANS – Brazil – UniSALESIANO to coordinate replica NASA Rover Curiosity project

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BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Every two to three months, a team from the Salesian Mission Animation project travels through the Brazilian state of Mato Grasso to provide well repair and other services to the region’s indigenous communities. Indigenous Xavante live in 180 villages in the region and are part of the St. Domenico Savio parish in Campinapolis. Father Bartolomeo Giaccaria, a Salesian missionary, is the parish priest who has a long history of service to the poorest of the poor.

The service trip lasts a few weeks. Salesian Deacon José Alves explained that all activities are planned in detail. He said, “We enter the villages praying and accompany the lessons and activities already happening at the schools and health services. We meet people in their villages and on the roads. If they have problems with the functioning of the wells, we take note of them and we return knowing in advance which wells need maintenance.”

Close to 500 people live in 13 villages near Campinapolis and benefit from the wells. The Salesian Mission Animation project provides minor repairs to the wells such as changing the pumps, repairing the taps and other services. The existing wells were built over the last 30 years according to the needs of the local community. The last borehole created by the Salesian project was built in the village of Teihidzatse three years ago.

Other wells were built in the villages thanks to state support. The well maintenance project answers a clear need of the Xavante people of the region. Indigenous people usually build their villages on the banks of small streams, which sometimes dry up in periods of drought. When it rains, the water becomes very muddy. Indigenous people use this water from rivers and streams to drink and cook, regardless of the water quality, which is why water restoration and well-digging projects are so critical to these communities.

The World Bank estimates that about 28.6 million Brazilians moved out of poverty between 2004 and 2014. But from the start of 2016 to the end of 2017, the World Bank estimates that 2.5 million to 3.6 million fell back below the poverty line earning less than 140 Brazilian reais per month. Economists blame high unemployment, near 13 percent, and cuts to key social welfare programs for challenges in Brazil.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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ANS – Brazil – AMA project travels to Xavantes villages for maintenance of wells

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BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) The Don Bosco Catholic University in Campo Grande, Brazil, has recently launched its first international postgraduate course known as “Salesianity.” The course is intended for collaborators of Salesian programs and centers, members of the Salesian congregation, and committed lay people. The specialization has been offered in other areas of Brazil as distance learning since 2017. In total, the course has 360 hours of lessons in Spanish and Portuguese.

According to the coordinator of the specialization course, Brasdorico Merqueades Santos, the “Salesianity” course is an excellent opportunity to learn about Don Bosco’s life, work, and pedagogical, pastoral and spiritual teachings. He said, “The course provides knowledge of Don Bosco as an educator who emerges from the complex context of the nineteenth century and offers specific answers to its reality. At the same time, the course brings the reflections of the rich Salesian teaching, offering educational and pastoral paths suitable for youth.”

Don Bosco’s entire preventive system is analyzed in the course, starting from his early experience in Valdocco, Italy, up to the demanding dialogues proposed by today’s scientific topics. Santos added, “Each academic reflection offered aims to bring about a personal benefit for growth in the life of faith, in family life and in the life of the Church.”

Totally accessible via the web, the course is divided into nine specific disciplines and the teaching staff is made up of teachers and researchers from different countries who specialize in Salesian pedagogy.

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

The World Bank estimates that about 28.6 million Brazilians moved out of poverty between 2004 and 2014. But from the start of 2016 to the end of 2017, the World Bank estimates that 2.5 million to 3.6 million fell back below the poverty line earning less than 140 Brazilian reais per month. Economists blame high unemployment, near 13 percent, and cuts to key social welfare programs for challenges in the country.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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ANS – Brazil – “Dom Bosco” Catholic University of Campo Grande launches its first international postgraduate course

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BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Every day Salesian missionaries in Iauaretê, Brazil, welcome children and teens who are alone and abandoned, offering them a meal and a protected place to find shelter and be able to sleep away from danger. The Salesian mission of Iauaretê consists of a central missionary district which comprises the St. Michael Archangel parish and 11 chapels.

However, the work of the Salesian missionaries there extends over an area far greater, reaching 40 indigenous communities made up of 16 different ethnic groups. Missionaries place particular emphasis on their work with adolescents and children in the communities. Every day, the Salesian oratory welcomes 300 to 500 children who seek out a healthy protective environment.

To further help youth in need, Salesian missionaries are building a welcome house, which will also have classrooms for vocational training. The two-story building will have two bedrooms with bathrooms that will be available for guests, girls and teachers, a meeting and study room, the refectory, the pantry, the kitchen, the laundry room, and an external bathroom.

The second floor of the building will have six more bedrooms with bathrooms and a community room. Of these, two large rooms will be for children and one of them will be used for older youth taking vocational training classes. Another four rooms will host missionaries.

“Children are in need of shelter, proper nutrition, and most importantly, an ability to feel safe in their home,” says Father Roberto Cappelletti, a Salesian missionary who has spent the last 14 years in Brazil. “They need to be able to live without the fear of returning to their hut and being beaten by the adult that is supposed to be providing care for them. Living on the streets away from that family violence, they are sometimes subjected to worse. This is why we are creating a new shelter for these youth.”

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

The World Bank estimates that about 28.6 million Brazilians moved out of poverty between 2004 and 2014. But from the start of 2016 to the end of 2017, the World Bank estimates that 2.5 million to 3.6 million fell back below the poverty line earning less than 140 Brazilian reais per month. Economists blame high unemployment, near 13 percent, and cuts to key social welfare programs for challenges in the country.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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ANS – Brazil – A family home for children of the Amazon

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The post BRAZIL: Salesian missionaries to build a new welcome house for youth in need of shelter and support in Iauaretê first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Radio Don Bosco (Radio Dom), an online radio station established by Salesian missionaries and students in 2017 in Curitiba, Brazil, has been awarded first place in the radio-journalism category at the Public Ministry of Ceará Journalism Awards. Sixty journalism programs participated in the competition. Radio Dom won for its news report entitled “Children of the Heart.”

The report, produced by journalists Roberta Farias and Jocasta Pimentel, focused on the Angels of Adoption project. Started in 2016, the project offers a legal alternative for women who are seeking to make an adoption plan.

According to Dr. Dairton Oliveira, with Ceará Public Ministry, “The Angels of Adoption project is very important because it means that some mothers have decided to preserve the life of the child they are carrying.”

Youth produce the majority of the content that is aired on Radio Don Bosco. In the first two months of broadcasting, 15 programs were launched and a loyal audience of more than 10,000 listeners was reached. In August 2018, the station rebranded to Radio Dom, which refers to Don Bosco (called Dom Bosco in Brazil).

Radio Dom is an integral part of the Salesian communication network of Brazil and is maintained in association with Vatican Radio and other broadcasters. Today, Radio Dom has expanded to 20 programs and has an audience of more than 150,000 listeners. The radio headquarters are in Lorraine with other centers in Curitiba, São Paulo and Piracicaba.

“The radio station is yet another avenue to reach youth and promote hope through education and social development,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Students working at the station also have a chance to have hands-on work experience and gain the skills necessary for long-term stable employment.”

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country. They specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

The World Bank estimates that about 28.6 million Brazilians moved out of poverty between 2004 and 2014. But from the start of 2016 to the end of 2017, the World Bank estimates that 2.5 million to 3.6 million fell back below the poverty line earning less than 140 Brazilian reais per month. Economists blame high unemployment, near 13 percent, and cuts to key social welfare programs for challenges in the country.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – Radio “FM DOM BOSCO” wins 1st edition of MPCE Journalism Award

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Radio Don Bosco wins first place in the radio-journalism category at the Public Ministry of Ceará Journalism Awards first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Indigenous Xavante, who live within the 180 villages in the Brazilian state of Mato Grasso, are better able to treat their water and fight diarrheal disease thanks to a donation of clay filters. Currently, it’s the rainy season in the villages, which relieves the intense heat and brings better vegetation, but it also causes health problems for the local population who drink contaminated water.

Géssyca Santiago, a nurse and head of indigenous health service in Cuerpo de Cristo village, which serves close to 100 people, has detected a serious health problem. She said, “We have seen that cases of diarrhea in the community increase during the rainy season, because the river water, which they use for drinking, cooking, bathing and washing clothes, is very dirty and muddy.”

The inhabitants of some villages near Campinápolis already enjoy well water. Some of the wells were made by Salesian teams and others were created by the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health. Families in the village of Cuerpo de Cristo, however, continue to survive only with water from the São Felipe river, which runs through the region.

To deal with the problem, Salesian missionaries have produced a series of guidelines on how to proceed in using water collected from the river. First, information and spoons were distributed so that people could learn how to make whey, which is used for the treatment of the disease. The donated clay filters were also distributed. These two initiatives managed to contain cases of diarrhea.

“It’s very sad that when we arrived in the village, we saw malnourished children, brought on by diarrhea, and we were not able to do anything. We left with an anguished heart. We fight so that children do not suffer from malnutrition, because once it is diagnosed, it is difficult to resolve,” said Deusmira Moreira, a volunteer.

The Salesian mission in Mato Grosso, which secured the donation, was appreciated by the community and the authorities. “It is a joy to be able to count on the support of the Salesians and of the health teams. Without this support, we are nothing,” explained Moreira. “I really want to thank the Salesians. With this help, we can do more and more. It is a great honor for me to be able to save lives. Not only those of children, but also of pregnant women and the elderly.”

The World Bank estimates that about 28.6 million Brazilians moved out of poverty between 2004 and 2014. But from the start of 2016 to the end of 2017, the World Bank estimates that 2.5 million to 3.6 million fell back below the poverty line earning less than 140 Brazilian reais per month. Economists blame high unemployment, near 13 percent, and cuts to key social welfare programs for challenges in the country.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – Donations of clay filters alleviate suffering of Xavante natives in Campinapolis

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Donations of clay filters help indigenous populations have clean water during the rainy season first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Sixty-seven youth volunteers with the Salesian-run Operation Mato Grosso spent six months working in three villages, São Pedro, São José and São Gabriel, in the Brazilian states of Goiás, Tocantins and Mato Grosso. Father de Oliveira, who helped coordinate the work, recalled, “The important thing is that every activity was a gesture of love. And this love is a small seed that will bear much fruit.”

Among many activities, volunteers worked in the village of São Pedro renovating the school, and repairing homes of missionaries and the roofs of houses and the church. In the village of São Gabriel, volunteers repaired a building that had been destroyed by a fire a few weeks before. The volunteers also helped repair a medical facility in the village of São José.

Clemílson, a young volunteer, was assigned to work at a boarding school for young Xavantes, a local indigenous group. Clemílson considers himself privileged to have lived this experience, which was extremely enrichening. He said, “We often talk about poverty and it is only in theory. When we have the grace to work in the villages, we can see this reality. We are lucky because we do something good for those who really need it.”

Ursula and Pietro are both Italian volunteers who spent six months serving the poor in oratories and boarding schools. Both recognize that the experience of helping those in need has been transformative for them. Ursula said, “I did charity, I helped clean the old people’s home, I talked to them, I kept them company. I am very grateful for this experience that I will always carry in my heart.”

Ivan, who is from Peru, had met the founder and spiritual guide of Operation Mato Grosso, Father Ugo De Censi, who passed away in December 2018. Ivan explained, “For me, the volunteer experience was something beautiful because I never had the opportunity to see this reality, let alone live it.”

Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of poor youth, including street children, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.

The World Bank estimates that about 28.6 million Brazilians moved out of poverty between 2004 and 2014. But from the start of 2016 to the end of 2017, the World Bank estimates that 2.5 million to 3.6 million have fallen back below the poverty line earning less than 140 Brazilian reais per month. Economists blame high unemployment, near 13 percent, and cuts to key social welfare programs for challenges in the country.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – Unforgettable experience for volunteers of “Operation Mato Grosso”

Salesian Missions – Brazil

World Bank – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: 67 youth volunteers with Operation Mato Grosso spend 6 months providing support to those in need in 3 villages first appeared on MissionNewswire.

BRAZIL

(MissionNewswire) Students from Salesian Institute Dom Bosco in Salvador, Brazil, won 11 medals, two of which were gold, at the 22nd edition of the Brazilian Astronomy and Astronautics Olympics that was held in May. The competition brought together more than 784,000 participating students from close to 18,000 schools across Brazil. All of the students who won, along with their families and teachers, were honored at an awards ceremony held on Nov. 19.

The Salesian Dom Bosco Institute encouraged students to participate in the national Olympics and offered tutoring by physics Professor Juliana Chung, who helped youth hone the skills necessary for the competition.

“Educational competitions like this allow Salesian students to be able to utilize the skills they have learned in the classroom in a real-world environment,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “We are proud of the students and their teachers who put in so much work to be ready and showcase their skills at this event.”

Salesian Institute of Dom Bosco offers traditional schooling from elementary through high school grades. In addition, older students are able to access technical skills training in a range of subjects to prepare them both for advanced university education and the workforce.

The World Bank estimates that about 28.6 million Brazilians moved out of poverty between 2004 and 2014. But from the start of 2016 to the end of 2017, the World Bank estimates that 2.5 million to 3.6 million have fallen back below the poverty line earning less than 140 Brazilian reais per month. Economists blame high unemployment, near 13 percent, and cuts to key social welfare programs for challenges in the country.

Issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain the root causes for those in poverty. Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth with opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Brazil – Students of “Dom Bosco” Institute in Salvador win 11 medals at Brazilian Olympics of Astronomy and Astronautics

World Bank – Brazil

Salesian Dom Bosco Institute

Salesian Missions – Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Students from Salesian Institute Dom Bosco win 11 medals at 22nd edition of Brazilian Astronomy and Astronautics Olympics first appeared on MissionNewswire.

A native of Niterói, Neves was 37 when he realized his dream of representing Brazil in the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Due to a lack of oxygen at birth, he suffered paralysis in the brain in addition to atrophy of his right arm, neither of which hampered his desire to become an athlete. In 1998, he began training with the Niteroi Association of the Handicapped and in 2015, became the Pan American Paralympic Long Jump Champion after setting a new national record.

Neves spoke to his young audience at the youth center about the importance of trying hard and believing in themselves in order to succeed in life and achieve their dreams. He shared stories of overcoming challenges on his long road to success and stressed above all the importance of setting personal goals and living up to one’s own expectations instead of conforming to others’ expectations.

Elaine Holanda, director of the Salesian Center, appreciated the message Pedro Neves delivered. “Despite all the titles he has won, he has not forgotten his roots,” says Holanda. “He still lives in the community and does not intend to abandon it. His example serves as an incentive for many of our young people, not only from a sporting perspective, but also in drawing up goals for life.”

The Salesian Youth Center has made sports an important part of its educational curriculum. In 2013, the center opened the Social and Sports School, a collaboration between Salesian Missions of Madrid and the Real Madrid Foundation. Together, they facilitate the “They play, we educate” program in which participants receive nutritional, family and psychological support, regular health checkups and the opportunity to participate in social and educational workshops, gymnastics, crafts, reading and citizenship activities. Training sessions on topics such as health, hygiene, values and the prevention of alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse are also provided. Outside of normal school hours, participants in the program receive sports training by coaches qualified by the Real Madrid Foundation.

The collaboration between Salesian programs and the Real Madrid Foundation has been very successful, granting more than 2,000 youth and vulnerable children the opportunity to participate in similar programs around the globe. This socio-sports program in Brazil is operating alongside 13 other socio-sporting schools in nine countries including Togo, Benin, Congo*, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Portugal, Senegal and the Dominican Republic.

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of those in poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil have developed programs that provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

ANS – Brazil – Overcoming limitations: a testimony to the boys of Niterói

UNICEF – Brazil Statistics

Real Madrid Foundation

*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 Sports for Peace program, the third of its kind in Brazil, is made possible through a collaboration between the Salesian Missions office in Madrid and the Real Madrid Foundation and benefits close to 200 youth from the most disadvantaged areas around Rio de Janeiro. Many of the boys participating in the program live in the slums and once had very little hope for the future.

The program’s motto is, “They play, we educate” and participants receive nutritional, family and psychological support, regular health checkups and the opportunity to participate in social and educational workshops, gymnastics, crafts, reading and citizenship activities. Training sessions on topics such as health, hygiene, values and the prevention of alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse are also provided. Outside of normal school hours, participants in the program receive sports training by coaches qualified by the Real Madrid Foundation.

“Sports programs teach youth both on and off the field,” says Father Mark Hyde, the executive director of Salesians Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Learning and playing team sports encourages leadership skills as well as teaches youth to work as part of a team. Students also learn important social skills and have opportunities for growth and maturity.”

The trip to Spain included many cultural and recreational activities including a trip to the Bernabeu stadium in Madrid to watch a live soccer match between Real Madrid and Levante. For 13 year old Guilherme Ferreira who lives in Niterói’s Santa Rosa slum with his parents and two small brothers, the trip was an opportunity to see one of his favorite players and show his younger brothers that hard work and education can lead to many rewards.

“This is one of the biggest dreams of my life. I’m going crazy at the idea of seeing Cristiano Ronaldo playing. I identify a lot with him, in his determination and hard work to achieve all that he sets out to do,” said Ferreira. “I have to be an example for my brothers and I am filled with pride at being chosen by the Salesian Youth Center to join the team because of my behavior and my efforts.”

According to Elaine Holanda, a psychologist and director of the Salesian Youth Center in Niterói who was a chaperone on the trip, many of the boys were filled with emotion when they entered the stadium. Having only watched soccer matches on television, they never dreamed they would have the opportunity to experience a live game on the field.

“These boys are very talented, but also very unlucky,” said Holanda. “We try to give them, through education, the opportunity to realize their dreams.”

The collaboration between Salesian programs and the Real Madrid Foundation has been very successful, granting more than 2,000 youth and vulnerable children the opportunity to participate in similar programs around the globe. This socio-sports program in Brazil is operating alongside 13 other socio-sporting schools in nine countries including Togo, Benin, Congo*, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Portugal, Senegal and the Dominican Republic.

Brazil has one of the strongest economies in Latin America and is an important agricultural and industrial power in the region. Just over 15 percent of Brazilians live in poverty, with the majority living in the rural northeast of the country, according to the World Bank. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich and issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of those in poverty.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

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Sources:

ANS – Brazil – The school social club “Sport for Peace”. A dream fulfilled

UNICEF – Brazil Statistics

Real Madrid Foundation

*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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Peru has also been plagued by hunger and disaster. According to the World Bank, close to 25 percent of children in the country are chronically malnourished. Communities continue to rebuild after an 8.0 earthquake in August 2007 which killed more than 500 people in the central coastal cities of Chincha, Pisco and Ica and injured hundreds more. The quake destroyed close to 60,000 residential and commercial buildings, leveled hundreds of acres of farmland and left countless Peruvians without means of livelihood.

Salesians in Peru have provided life-saving support and education to poor youth and their families as well as helped with rebuilding efforts after the earthquake. Salesians focus the majority of their programs on education and workforce development, helping to ensure that young Peruvians have access to the education and technical skills training that will enable them to find and retain long-term stable employment.

Through the Don Bosco Woodcarvers Cooperative of Chacas, young men have the opportunity to become skilled craftsmen. Each year, the cooperative admits 25 new students from impoverished backgrounds who want to advance their education and learn the woodcarving trade. Some of the students have been orphaned and many others are living in farming communities on family farms with little land, few animals and limited opportunities.

“Every young person deserves a chance to have a better life,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “This program helps young men who have very limited future prospects for stable employment and provides them the education and skills necessary to escape conditions of poverty. They are then able to help their families and communities.”

The cooperative provides a free five-year residential education program, recognized by the government, which includes high school education and job training. In addition to traditional academic classes, the cooperative education teaches students to paint and work with glass, wood, metal and stone. In the third year of the program, each student chooses a specialty. Upon graduation, a tool chest of saws, hammers, chisels and other equipment is given to each graduate who then may choose to start his own business or become a member of the cooperative.

Currently, 650 woodcarvers in 10 different areas of the Andes belong to the cooperative. Some of the furniture created is donated to poor families in need in the area. Additional work is exported throughout South America, Italy and the United States. According to a recent Catholic News Service article, the young men in the cooperative are paid according to the number of pieces they finish per month. On average, the woodcarvers earn 1,200 soles (US$430) with more experienced and skilled graduates earning 2,000 soles. That amount, according to the article, is on par with what a teacher or a medical technician earns in the region.

The cooperative was started in the Peruvian Andes in 1979 by Italian Salesian Father Ugo De Censi and is part of Operatión Mato Grosso, an organization composed primarily of young Italians who volunteer time to help the very poor in Peru, Brazil, Ecuador and Bolivia.

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Sources:

Catholic News Services – High in the Andes, Peruvian artisans create sacred art

Operación Mato Grosso

World Bank – Peru

The post PERU: Don Bosco Woodcarvers Cooperative Provides Education and Employment Opportunities for Poor Youth first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Inequalities also exist in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education. Salesians working with poor youth and their families in Brazil develop programs and provide youth opportunities for furthering their education and skills.

In May, the Salesian publisher Edebé-Brazil took part in BETT, formerly known as British Education Training and Technology, a trade show held in the United Kingdom that highlights the use of information technology in education. During this event, Edebé-Brazil was able to highlight its innovative approach to digital education including digital education materials used in the Network of Salesian Schools in Brazil.

“We showed the significance of Edebé, a publisher that started with digital material and that now offers a complete solution for schools, which includes a platform for academic management and teaching, online training for teachers and digital learning materials consisting of an interactive digital book and notebook,” says Cynthia Bagatin Lapa, editorial director of Edebé-Brazil.

Edebé-Brazil officially launched in November 2013 and was the result of a four year collaboration between the Network of Salesian Schools Brazil and Edebé-Spain in Barcelona. The publisher’s launch began with an integrated education project for the Network of Salesian Schools.

A platform named Esemtia was set-up to facilitate the work of academic managers and to integrate the Salesian educative and pastoral communities. Materials were also produced for digital learning and are gradually being introduced to traditional school settings.

The materials for digital learning consist of an interactive instructional book and notebook that are easy to navigate, make use of different languages and encourage collaborative study. Already more than 65,000 digital books have been downloaded and are being utilized by educators and students.

“These permit the user to access information in real time, highlighting the most important issues of the moment in each discipline,” adds Bagatin Lapa.

To date, more than 12,000 students and 2,642 teachers, administrators and managers use the educational platform and digital materials to enhance educational experiences.

“The gap in opportunity for rich and poor continues to be very wide in Brazil, even with government efforts,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesians are seeing that youth who are already at a social or economic disadvantage fall even further behind because of a lack of access to quality education. Salesians work hard to close that gap by bringing the latest in education, skills training and technology to those who might not otherwise have access.”

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Sources:

ANS – Brazil – Edebé-Brazil introduces innovations in digital education

World Bank – Brazil

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An estimated 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation and hygiene-related causes. Close to 99 percent of those deaths occur in developing countries with children being most at risk—a child dies from a water-related illness every 21 seconds. Each day worldwide, an estimated 4,100 children under the age of five die from diarrhea and 2,350 more die from malnutrition due to dirty water, inadequate sanitation and hygiene.

Women and children bear the primary responsibility for water collection in the majority of households. For women, particularly those that are head of households, this is time spent away from income-generating jobs and caring for family members. Children in these communities are forced to walk for hours to collect drinking water—water that often proves contaminated and seriously sickens those who consume it. Many of these children are unable to attend school regularly because they must spend time searching for distant wells.

In response to this crisis, Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, has made building wells and supplying fresh, clean water a top priority for every community in every country in which Salesian programs help vulnerable youth and others living in poverty. The charity is appealing for donations to support this important initiative.

“The poorest children have the least access to safe water and adequate sanitation and they pay the highest price,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. “From helping to ensure our communities have access to clean water for drinking and agriculture to helping build a hydro-electric power station, Salesian missionaries working in 132 countries around the globe are committed to focusing on clean water and sanitation projects to ensure clean water access for those we serve.”

Salesian Missions has a long history of developing special infrastructure projects that help communities in need. In addition to building hospitals, schools and youth centers, Salesians have already helped communities which lack clean water, sanitation and electricity. From new water wells in countries throughout Africa to a hydro-electrical station in Bolivia, Salesian Missions and its partners are bringing hope to many communities.

“This is not new work for Salesian programs around the globe,” adds Fr. Hyde. “We have carried out clean water projects in many countries but this is a renewed commitment to these initiatives because access to clean water is essential for the health of those we serve. It is also important for youth to be in school gaining an education and laying the foundation for a productive life instead of being forced to search for water.”

To give to the Salesian Missions Clean Water Initiative, to to SalesianMissions.org.

Some examples of Salesian Missions clean water projects:

BRAZIL
To address serious water issues resulting from pesticide pollution in a remote area of western Brazil, Salesian Missions worked with members of the Xavante and Bororo Indian communities to obtain clean water from previously inaccessible areas. To do so, they first created wells and designed a mobile drilling truck. To create power, they invented and patented a seesaw pump that would draw water from the depths of the well as children were playing. Now, solar panels are used. The result is reduced risk of disease, access to potable water, improved infrastructure and expanded farming. The endeavor began as an immediate response to a community crisis but has become a well-organized project that ensures the growth of two indigenous groups.

CAMBODIA
Salesians have a long history of working with poor youth in Cambodia. Continuing this work, the Don Bosco Technical School in Kep Province built a new Mary Help of Youth Water Tower as part of a Water System Project at the school that was made possible by donors through Don Bosco Mondo in Bonn, Germany. Its construction will guarantee water for this large educational community for years to come. Most people in the region utilize well water and this tower, constructed by a group of volunteers, will go significantly deeper than the average well and has two reserve tanks to hold additional water. Using green technologies, the water pump is generated by installed solar panels.

ETHIOPIA
A project started in 2011 by Salesians and International Voluntary Service for Development volunteers was responsible for digging five wells in the Gambella area of Ethiopia. The wells are operated by a hand pump and are between 50 and 60 meters deep, guaranteeing water to local villages that will benefit close to 1,200 people. To ensure that the wells last as long as possible, a village committee has been set up to oversee their management and maintenance.

INDIA
Safe drinking water is essential for child survival. In India, progress has been made with 84.5 percent of rural and 95 percent of urban populations having sustainable access to safe drinking water, according to the World Bank. At the Don Bosco Center for Learning in Kurla, a new training facility focuses on job training in developing technologies concerning water, ranging from plumbing and sanitation to developing efficient methods for utilization and analyzing existing systems for efficient transportation of water. The courses are designed to help youth, who had previously left school, enter the workforce.

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PHOTO: UNICEF

Sources:

Salesian Missions

Water.org

The post GLOBAL: Salesian Missions Focuses Efforts on Clean Water Initiatives first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Recently, four teachers from Brazil returned from an educational trip to Haiti as part of a Teachers Without Borders project. During four weeks in July, the teachers conducted daily sporting activities with close to 450 youth from Salesian schools and programs in the cities of Les Cayes and Fort-Liberté.

The teachers are part of RSE, the Network of Salesian Schools in Brazil, which is the largest Catholic teaching network on the South American continent and includes close to 5,000 teachers and 85,000 students at all levels. The project in Haiti focused on imparting sporting and academic skills for both Salesian students and local youth receiving social services from the Salesians.

Working with youth between 5 and 18 years of age, the initiative used sports to aid in the students’ overall development. Youth were taught soccer and volleyball, activities enjoyed throughout Brazil. In addition, students took part in recreational activities such as treasure hunts, educational games and various workshops.

Sports programs such as this teach valuable skills to youth both on and off the field. They offer unlimited opportunities for growth by simultaneously developing leadership, teamwork and social skills.

“Despite their simplicity and the lack of resources, the determination, commitment and sacrifice of the children will be the memory I take with me,” says Guilherme Brondi, one of the four teachers from Brazil who taught in Haiti.

The teachers brought with them all of the clothing and sports equipment necessary for the program. These materials were acquired with the help of several schools within the Salesian network in São Paolo, which held competitions and fundraising campaigns in an effort to make the project a success.

The playing conditions were not ideal. The field itself was the wrong shape and the ground was uneven making playing challenging. Some of the balls had been patched and often teams had to play wearing the same color shirts. Despite these disadvantages, the commitment of the players was unwavering.

“My eyes were filled with tears. The students’ determination playing in these conditions was by far the image that struck me most,” says Corjesus Costa, another of the four Brazilian teachers returning from Haiti. “To my eyes it was not just a game of soccer. For all their simplicity, it was the commitment of all those people to have the very best they could. This was why I had chosen to go to Haiti. I know the value of the instruments I possess – sport and education.”

Schools in Haiti fulfill an important socio-economic mission by providing a foundation of lifelong education for poor youth, teaching them valuable skills and trades to help them escape poverty and establish a sustainable livelihood.

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Sources

ANS – Brazil – RSE teachers share their experiences of their mission in Haiti

UNICEF – Haiti

Salesian Missions – Haiti

The post BRAZIL: Four Teachers Return from Month-Long Sports Program in Haiti first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Access to nutrition, education and health services is essential to creating a sustainable society and optimistic future. Salesians in the country have been providing programs to help residents recover and rebuild in the wake of a devastating civil war that claimed countless lives, decimated entire communities and resulted in living conditions that are among the worst in the world. Since the violence has subsided, efforts are being focused on helping the needy, restoring hope and providing new opportunities for the future.

“The Salesians are engaged in a wide range of programs to improve the lives of the people of East Timor,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Poor youth and their families receive support at community health centers, orphanages, parishes and youth centers. In addition, classes are conducted in primary, secondary, technical and agricultural schools – many of which provide room and board to their students.”

The Maria Auxiliadora Medical Clinic in Venilale, East Timor is vital to the local community as well as 13 surrounding villages. In 2012, the clinic provided care to 8,256 poor patients in need of health services. The program takes special care providing for mothers and babies and frequently delivers baby boxes containing essential baby care products to families in need. The clinic also provides free community education focusing on first aid, health issues and family planning.

Recently, staff at the medical clinic attended to 24 cases of tuberculosis which remains a concern for the medical staff and entire community. Not long bfore that, the clinic had to renovate due to damage sustained by heavy rain and wind. Thanks to donations and other funding, the clinic was able to repair the damage and continue to serve the community. Donated materials including bandages, gloves, needles, medicinal creams and hygiene products were very much appreciated by the staff and used effectively to treat patients.

“The health of the young people we serve is very important to us,” adds Fr. Hyde. “The work we do in East Timor and in programs around the globe goes beyond education. We serve the whole person by making sure the basic needs of health and nutrition are met in addition to other social service needs.”

This clinic is one of more than 200 medical clinics and hospitals, mostly in rural areas, that handle a wide range of medical care needs and are operated by the Salesians. One such need, the care of Leprosy, otherwise known as Hensen’s disease, has been a concern for well over 100 years. Salesian leper hospitals and leprosy control programs can be found in Brazil, Colombia, India, Thailand, Macau and a number of nations in Africa. HIV/ AIDS prevention programs are also part of the Salesian health care work in Africa. In many countries with Salesian programs, additional dental and other necessary health services are offered.

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Sources:

The Australian Salesian Mission Overseas Aid Fund 2013 Newsletter

Salesian Missions – East Timor

World Bank – East Timor

The post EAST TIMOR: Salesian Medical Clinic Provides Health Services to Thousands of Poor Patients first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Recently, a new socio-sports program was introduced at the Salesian Youth Center in the town of Niterói, near Rio de Janeiro. The program, the third of its kind in Brazil, is made possible through a collaboration between the Salesian Missions office in Madrid and the Real Madrid Foundation and will benefit close to 200 youth from the most disadvantaged areas of the city.

The program’s motto is, “They play, we educate” and participants receive nutritional, family and psychological support, regular health check ups and the opportunity to participate in social and educational workshops in activities such as gymnastics, crafts, reading and citizenship. Training sessions on topics such as health, hygiene, values and the prevention of alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse will also be provided.

Outside of normal school hours, participants in the program will receive sports training by coaches specifically qualified by the Real Madrid Foundation.

“Sports programs teach youth both on and off the field,” says Father Mark Hyde, the executive director of Salesians Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Learning and playing team sports encourages leadership skills as well as teaches youth to work as part of a team. Students also learn important social skills and have opportunities for growth and maturity.”

At the program’s inauguration, the biggest surprise for the 200 youth in attendance was the participation of Marcelo Vieira da Silva Júnior, a player from Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team, who recently won the Confederations Cup.

The collaboration between the Salesians and the Real Madrid Foundation has been very successful, granting more than 2,000 youth and vulnerable children the opportunity to participate in similar programs around the globe. This new socio-sports program in Brazil is operating alongside 13 other socio-sporting schools in nine countries including Togo, Benin, Congo*, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Portugal, Senegal and the Dominican Republic.

Sports programs are a few among many programs helping disadvantaged youth in Brazil.

At the Don Bosco Youth Center in Cabana, youth from the slums take part in socio-educational opportunities to help close educational gaps. At the Salesian-run Community Center in Porto Alegre, street children receive three nutritious meals a day, clean clothing, medical care, schooling and a safe place to get much needed rest. And at a new Salesian-run Center in Abaetetuba, abandoned and at-risk youth take part in a wide variety of healthy and educational activities. The Center includes a recreation facility where children are able to participate on sports teams, make friends and gain a sense of accomplishment. All of the programs work with youth to help them lead productive lives and break the cycle of poverty.

Brazil is one of more than 130 countries around the globe where Salesians work to give hope and provide opportunity to vulnerable youth through education and skills training. Salesian Missions is the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, working to raise funds and develop programs to aid youth and families in some of the poorest places on earth. Learn more about where the Salesians work and the programs they provide at www.salesianmissions.org.

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Sources:

ANS – Brazil – Niterói socio-sports school inaugurated, with soccer star Marcelo

UNICEF – Brazil Statistics

Real Madrid Foundation – Website

*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 BRAZIL: New Socio-Sports Program is Teaching Youth Teamwork and Social Skills first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Last year, more than 3 million Haitian children returned to school with 20,000 of them educated in Salesian-run institutions. Despite these advances, poverty is still a major barrier in Haiti with more than 50 percent of the population living on less than $1.25 per day, according to UNICEF.

In July, continuing their efforts in the country, the Salesians sent four physical education teachers from Brazil to Haiti. The teachers are part of RSE, the Network of Salesian Schools in Brazil, which is the largest Catholic teaching network on the American continent and includes close to 5,000 teachers and 85,000 students at all levels. The new project being brought to Haiti is focused on imparting sporting and academic skills for both Salesian students and local youth receiving social services from the Salesians.

“This project is more than just an act of social solidarity,” says Sister Adair Sberga FMA, coordinator of the project. “It is the gift of life. There is an enthusiasm, a desire and a motivating force which is contagious. It affects not only the teachers involved but all those who are contributing to the project.”

Focusing on youth between five and 18 years of age, the initiative uses sports to aid in the students’ overall development. Students can take part in recreational activities such as treasure hunts, play educational games, learn sports and take part in workshops. In addition, youth will be taught soccer and volleyball, activities enjoyed throughout Brazil.

Sports programs teach valuable skills to youth both on and off the field. They offer unlimited opportunities for growth by simultaneously developing leadership, teamwork and social skills.

The teachers will bring with them all of the clothing and sports equipment necessary for the program. These materials were acquired with the help of several schools within the Salesian network in São Paolo, which held competitions and fundraising campaigns in an effort to make the project a success.

“Our intention is to introduce the young people to sport though activities that have a recreational dimension but also an affective, cognitive and spiritual aspect,” adds Sr. Sberga.

This Salesian program is just one among many in Haiti. Earlier this year, Lakay, a Salesian-run trade school that teaches street youth carpentry, cabinetry and electrical and tailoring skills, reopened with a new building featuring 16 classrooms in addition to workshops, washrooms, offices, storage areas, covered walkways and a shaded outdoor space.

Schools in Haiti fulfill an important socio-economic mission by providing a foundation of lifelong education for poor youth, teaching them valuable skills and trades to help them escape poverty and establish a sustainable livelihood.

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PHOTO: Martin Diggs / Salesian Missions

Sources:

ANS – Brazil – Teachers without frontiers: a project in solidarity with Haiti

UNICEF – Haiti

Salesian Missions – Haiti

The post HAITI: Salesian Educators from Brazil Bring New Sports Program to Youth in Haiti first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“The rise of the South is unprecedented in its speed and scale,” says the Human Development Report 2013, which uses the term “South” to mean developing countries and “North” to mean developed nations. “Never in history have the living conditions and prospects of so many people changed so dramatically and so fast.”

Meanwhile, the slowdown in economic growth, austerity measures and rampant unemployment in the industrialized world has brought pressure to bear on governments and societies in the North. Global economic and political structures are in flux and the sustainability of the growth spurt in the South is subject to the interrelated issues of governance and public investment.

The year’s report, entitled The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World, emphasizes that this change represents a global rebalancing far greater than that experienced during the Industrial Revolution, with the South becoming the main driver of economic growth and societal change for the first time in centuries.

“The Industrial Revolution was a story of perhaps 100 million people, but this is a story about billions of people,” said Khalid Malik, the report’s lead author.

The Human Development Report, released annually by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), assesses the state of human development on the basis of health, education and income indicators, as an alternative to purely macroeconomic assessments of national progress.

The initial report was published in 1990 by its authors, the late Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen, and introduced a Human Development Index (HDI), which had been calculated by UN economists from 1975, and was essentially a ranking of countries based on strides made with a people-centric model of progress.

The HDI became an influential paradigm that would prod economists, government agencies, planners and development experts to rethink the income-based indicators that were in standard use to measure development success.

Launched today in Mexico City by UNDP Administrator Helen Clark and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, this year’s report singles out big economies which have shown significant growth over the past 20 years, namely China, India and Brazil. It estimates that by 2020, the combined output of these three countries will surpass the aggregate production of the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada.

However, the ‘rise of the South’ goes well beyond these economies as more than 40 developing countries have made greater human development gains in recent decades than what was predicted.

Countries such as Indonesia, Mexico, Bangladesh, Tanzania and Yemen all registered significant growth, while nations such as Afghanistan and Pakistan had some of the fastest growth rates in the world with 3.9 percent and 1.7 percent over the past 12 years, respectively.

How has the South achieved such dramatic growth levels?

The report attributes many of the achievements of the South to smart national strategies that have allowed them to engage in the global economy while at the same time implementing social programmes that protect those most vulnerable.

“Economic growth alone does not automatically translate into human development progress,” Miss Clark says in the report’s foreword. Southern States are therefore not just tapping into global trade, but they are also improving health and education services, which have allowed them to sustain their growth. This comes in contrast to policies adopted by many developed countries which include austerity measures and cutting social programmes due to the economic crisis.

In Latin America, many countries have put in place programmes to eradicate poverty and address inequality such as Brazil’s Bolsa Familia, Mexico’s Oportunidades, and Chile’s Chile Solidario. These are conditional cash transfer programmes which offer to increase people’s income as long as they fulfil certain conditions such as visits to health clinics and school attendance.

This combination of policies has allowed the middle class in the South to expand and, by 2030, the report projects that more than 80 percent of the world’s middle class will reside in developing countries and account for 70 percent of total consumption expenditure.

Increasing online and mobile connectivity in the South

Increasing connectivity thanks to greater access to technology is also a factor that has contributed to the South’s growth. Globally, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Mexico have more daily social media traffic than any country except the US. China also has more than half a billion people accessing the Internet daily through smart phones.

Indonesia, for example, invested extensively to connect its large cluster of far-flung islands to open the country to the outside world, and as of 2010, 220 million mobile phones were registered in a country of 240 million people.

In Africa, Asian-built mobile phones have made cellular banking cheaper and easier, while leading to better market performance and increased profits by small farmers, as seen in Kenya, Niger and Uganda.

Increasing incomes and the diffusion of technology have also given way to a more informed middle class that has social and political expectations, Mr. Malik said in a press briefing on Tuesday, which means that “the relationship between the State and its citizens is changing.”

He warned that if States are not mindful of these expectations, it could lead to social instability, as was the case in 2011 in various countries across the Middle East.

“The turmoil in several countries in the Arab States is a reminder that people, especially the young, who are better educated and healthier than previous generations, put a high premium on meaningful employment, on exercising a voice in affairs that influence their lives, and on being treated with respect,” the report says.

Booming South-South partnerships

The report highlights the increase in South-South trade and partnerships and projects that trade between them will overtake that between developed nations.

“Emerging partners in the developing world are already sources of innovative social and economic policies and are major trade, investment and increasingly development cooperation partners for other developing countries,” Miss Clark said.

China is already influential in Africa through trade investment as well as through assistance and cooperation. Between 1992 and 2011, China’s trade with Sub-Saharan Africa rose from $1 billion to more than $140 billion.

India is increasingly playing a larger role as a supplier of affordable capital goods to other countries of the South. For instance, Indian firms are supplying affordable medicines, medical equipment and information and communications technology (ICT) products and services to many countries in Africa.

In addition, migration between developing countries has recently surpassed net migration from South to North. “In our changing world, solutions are moving across the South, not from the North to the South,” said UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Ajay Chhibber.

However, a substantial share of South-South trade is driven by demand in the North. For example, since 2007, US exports to China and Latin America and the Caribbean have grown two and a half times faster than US exports to traditional markets in the North. A growing “app economy” supported by companies such as Apple, Facebook and Google employs more than 300,000 people whose creations are exported across borders, and developing country economies continue to be sensitive to shocks in the industrialized world.

Women’s education as a silver bullet for sustainable growth

While there has been remarkable progress, the report warns that there are still many challenges ahead for countries in the South, including an aging population, environmental degradation and inequality. Poverty and inequality are particularly worrying, as an estimated 1.57 billion people, representing 30 percent of the population in the 104 countries studied for the report, still live in multidimensional poverty.

The report provides a series of recommendations and, in particular, highlights education for girls as “the closest thing to silver bullet formula for accelerating human development.”

Many of the countries in the South still have dramatic gender disparities, and their challenge will be to boost efforts to allow women to participate freely in all aspects of their society.

“Gender inequality is especially tragic not only because it excludes women from basic social opportunities, but also because it gravely imperils the life prospects of future generations,” the report says, referring to findings which correlate women’s education to greater child survival, healthier children and better access to contraception.

The report also notes that the global system will need to adjust itself to the rise of the South, which is currently largely underrepresented in global institutions. For example, China, which is the world’s second largest economy, has had a smaller voting share in the World Bank than either France or the United Kingdom.

“Stronger voices from the South are demanding more representative frameworks of international governance that embody the principles of democracy and equity.”

Meanwhile, it merits mention that not all countries in the South are racing ahead. Of the world’s 49 Least Developed Countries, many are lagging behind in this revolution. Even as some are beginning to benefit from Foreign Direct Investment of the emerging giants like China, India and Brazil, there is much more to be done in terms of development transformation.

The report observes that there are three drivers of transformation: a proactive development state, tapping of global markets and determined social policy inclusion. Looking back at the inception of the HDI, it appears that countries that started at the same level – India and Pakistan, or Chile and Venezuela, or Liberia and Senegal – have ended up with different outcomes.

“History and initial conditions matter, but they are not destiny,” according to the report.

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See this United Nations article at its original location >

Rice fields in Sichuan, China. UN Photo/John Isaac

The post UNITED NATIONS: Developing Countries Experiencing Unprecedented Growth, Says UN Report first appeared on MissionNewswire.

With a focus on families living in poverty, the summer camps provide education, cultural and recreational classes and a chance for hundreds of youth to participate within their communities.

Nearly one fourth of Brazilians live in poverty and 6.6 percent live in extreme poverty, according to a UNESCO report. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich. Inequalities remain in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education.

“The gap in opportunity for rich and poor continues to be very wide in Brazil, even with government efforts,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “We are seeing that youth who are already at a social or economic disadvantage fall even further behind because of a lack of access to quality education.”

Each year in Recife Province about 30 camps are organized for thousands of youth. Close to 1,000 volunteer leaders are involved in the development and execution of the camps, including many Salesians.

This year fewer camps were run in the Province due to lack of local support and available resources being diverted to the upcoming World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.

Even with the drop in numbers, the Salesian camps continue to positively impact their students. New camps were organized in locations where previously no camps existed, such as in Salvador de Bahia where 30 youth between the ages of 12 and 14 years participated and in Carpina, Pernambuco where 40 youth organized a camp for 250 children. Three hundred young people attended camp in Juazeiro, Ceará and close to 400 in João Pessoa, Paraíba.

“The summer camps are a great opportunity for youth to continue their education and build relationships within their communities,” adds Fr. Hyde. “We want youth to lead happy productive lives and the summer camps help us to further their education, teach values and help youth on the road to a brighter future.”

Learn more about Salesian Missions programs in Brazil >

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Sources

ANS – Brazil – Salesian summer camps

UNSCO – Statistics in Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Summer Camps Provide Education for Youth in Brazil first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Nearly one fourth of Brazilians live in poverty and 6.6 percent live in extreme poverty, according to a 2008 UNESCO report. While Brazil is making positive changes, there is still a large gap between the poor and the rich.

“In Corumbá we’re trying to rescue children from dangers like prostitution and drug trafficking, which are frequently encountered on the border with Bolivia,” says Father Osvaldo Scotti, director of the Happy Youngsters Project. “Through study, vocational training and education we can prevent youth from falling into vice and give them hope for a better future.”

In its 51 year history, Don Bosco City in Corumbá has worked with close to 30,000 youth providing training and education. Many of its students remain for 10 years or more to continue their schooling. At the end of their studies, they often receive ongoing academic support throughout their time at university and if needed, family assistance after that. A very strong bond is created between the Salesian-run program’s staff and the youth it serves.

Every day nearly 3,000 youth receive education and training services at Don Bosco City. There are about 2,000 students attending the primary and middle schools and 500 students enrolled in vocational training. Another 300 or more youth participate in the social welfare services offered and the Happy Youngsters Project.

The Happy Youngsters Project was initiated to serve those youth who return home from school to an empty house. Without afterschool care, these youth are more vulnerable to spending time on the streets.

“Anyone walking the street ends up being exploited, has little to eat and can fall into the trap of drugs and prostitution,” explains Fr. Scotti. “For this reason we keep youth after school, let them eat and spend the afternoon with us and go home only at night, when maybe a parent or a grandmother or some other responsible person can take care of them.”

“They are the most disadvantaged, because although other students are poor—given that the area has high emigration and only those with fewer opportunities remain behind in Corumbá—at least they have someone to be with them,” adds Fr. Scotti.

The project is currently being supported by close to 1,000 international donors from Italy, Slovenia and Spain. But with recent international economic struggles, donations have fallen. Without ongoing support it is likely the project will see a decrease in services leaving poor youth vulnerable.

To make a donation to support this project, visit the Don Bosco in the World Foundation.

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Sources

ANS – Corumbá’s mission: Making youngsters happy

Salesian Missions – Brazil

The post Brazil: New Funding Campaign to Support After-School Care for Poor Youth first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The two new schools—the Don Bosco Educational Plaza in Hainamosa and the Dominic Savio School House in Santo Domingo—use football as a tool for social integration, improving the quality of life for boys and girls who are at risk of social exclusion. Alongside the sports, schools provide various support services to children and their families, such as tutoring, classroom space for homework, vocational training, healthcare, nutrition education and cultural and recreational activities.

“We want young people to be integrated and develop healthy activities. They play, we educate,” said Emilio Butragueño, explaining the importance of the initiative.

The partnership between Salesian Missions and the Real Madrid Foundation is well underway and allows more than 2,000 youth and vulnerable children to participate in similar programs today. There are currently 13 operational socio-sporting schools in nine countries: Togo, Benin, Congo*, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Brazil, Portugal, Senegal and now the Dominican Republic.

“In the Dominican Republic, sports help youth to grow and develop into healthy, caring members of society,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “And they pass on their knowledge for generations to come,” he adds.

ABOUT SALESIAN MISSIONS IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:

Salesian Missions is paving the path toward a better future for young people, where half of youth ages 13 to 18 suffer in poverty and lack needed skills to compete in the job market. The Salesians are using innovative approaches to prevent children from life on the streets and the lure of gangs. And they are instilling knowledge and values that will carry forward in the generations to come.

After finishing his studies, Edward stayed involved in the program – working with youth in the same situation he had been.  He later graduated from the university with a degree in public relations and now is in charge of the graphic design department at the Salesian Technical Institute, where he also teaches.

“There are only three of my childhood friends that are alive since most of them got into gangs.  This project saved my life from the personal perspective to the professional development.  I don’t know what would have happened to me if it wasn’t for this project,” said Edward.  “I still play basketball with the boys & girls in the project.  This is the best way to discover their personalities and different ways I can help them.”

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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.

The post DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: New Socio-Sporting Schools Give Hope to Street Children first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Salesian Youth Day was organized by the Youth Ministry Sector and the Salesian Youth Movement of the Province of Campo Grande. It was held at the Universidade Católica Dom Bosco.

The event, which brings together youth leaders from as young as ten years old to those in their late twenties, focused on conferences and workshops dealing with the identity and the mission of the Salesian Youth Movement. It also served as a review of the main events to be held at World Youth Day which will include the feast celebration, the continental meeting and the World Forum.

The first day of the event ended with a talk on youth missionary activities by Monsieur Eduardo Pinheiro da Silva, Auxiliary Bishop of Campo Grande and President of the Youth Ministry Commission of the National Conference of the Bishops of Brazil.

“The great challenge for us Salesians and for the whole church is the accompaniment of the young”, said Monsieur Pinheiro da Silva during his talk. “We have large meetings which are marvelous. People get worked up and enthusiastic but when we return to our centers young people need to be encouraged further to give continuity to the mission.”

The four-day event had workshops that focused on the challenges and opportunities for youth leadership, the situation of indigenous youth in society and youth criminal activity in Mato Grosso. There was also a roundtable discussion on Salesian youth missionary voluntary service.

The workshops and the round table discussions were broadcast live on the internet and youth utilized social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to discuss the talks and post photos and other material shared at the event.

With the approaching World Youth Day the Salesian Youth Movement in Brazil has made its website live. The site gives a history of the youth movement and provides information about various Salesian events which will take place in the context of World Youth Day, such as the Salesian Youth Movement celebration, the continental meeting and the Pre-World Youth Day. The texts are available in five languages including Portuguese, Italian, English, Spanish and French.

Sources:

ANS – The site of the Salesian Youth Movement is on-line

ANS – Salesian Youth Day

Salesian Youth Day – Event website

World Youth Day – Event website

The post BRAZIL: Salesians Hold Youth Day in Brazil in Preparation for World Youth Day 2013 first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Brazil and take advantage of our countries’ relative expertise in agriculture,” said Mark Feierstein, Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at USAID. “By combining efforts, our countries can help others improve nutrition for rural communities and increase incomes for poor farmers.”

In Haiti, the partnership will primarily focus on sharing new technologies and implementing exchange programs and training opportunities. The three governments will: 1) test new varieties of maize, rice, beans, cowpeas and other crops; 2) implement new farming systems that use less water, fertilizer, and seeds; 3) improve mango production; 4) adopt technologies to store and process grains and vegetables; 5) enable farmers to use their land to sustainably produce both food and wood; 6) conduct exchange and training programs for farmers and researchers; and 7) promote nutrition, specifically for mothers and children.

“This partnership leverages the expertise of Brazilians and Americans to make a difference in food security in the region and directly help Haitians,” noted Paul Weisenfeld, Assistant to the Administrator for the Bureau of Food Security at USAID.

The partnership builds upon the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative to help nearly 567,000 vulnerable Haitian women, children, and family members escape hunger and poverty and to provide 176,000 children with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality.

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See related article about the Salesian program: Opportunity Grows at Agriculture School in Haiti

See ProgressInHaiti.org for more stories of progress in Haiti.

The post HAITI (USAID): U.S., Brazil Partner to Improve Food Security in the Americas first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Toward the end of his talk (which lasted about 20 minutes), Obama said, “Brasilia is a young city – it will turn 51 next month. But it began as a dream more than a century ago. In 1883, Don Bosco, Brasilia’s patron saint, had a vision that one day, a capital city of a great nation would be built between the 15th and 20th parallels. It would be a model for the future and ensure that opportunity was the birthright of every Brazilian”.

“And today, this city and this country are indeed a model for the future, showing the world that democracy is still the best partner of human progress. As friends and neighbors who have lived the same story, we are eager to be a part of your future, and fulfill our American Dream together.”

It was quite fitting that the president mentioned Don Bosco, according to Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions in New Rochelle, NY. Don Bosco was an Italian Catholic priest who “devoted his life to fulfilling the needs of orphans and vulnerable children”. In 1859, he founded the Salesians of Don Bosco, now the second largest order of the Catholic Church. The Salesians are made up of 34,000 Priests, Brothers and Sisters serving in more than 130 countries around the globe – including Brazil “where the need is great,” added Fr. Hyde.

Nearly one fourth of Brazilians live in poverty and 6.6% live in extreme poverty, according to a 2008 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) report.  While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich.

In Brazil, Salesians focus on ensuring at-risk children and youth have their basic needs met, so that they can work for a better future. For example, at the Salesian Community Center in Porto Alegre, street children receive three nutritious meals a day, clean clothing, medical care, schooling and a safe place to get much needed rest.

At the Don Bosco Youth Center in Cabana, Brazil, youth from the slums of Cabana take part in socio-educational opportunities to help close educational gaps. According to the Salesian Missions website, approximately 80 percent of parents work in the informal sector, and youth often face drugs, violence and unemployment on a daily basis.

A brand new Salesian Center is providing a positive alternative for street children in the city of Abaetetuba. The abandoned and at-risk child and youth can take part in wide variety of healthy and productive activities. The Center includes a recreation facility where children are able to participate on teams, make friends and gain a sense of accomplishment.

The government of Brazil is committed to bringing universal education to the country. Still, inequalities in education remain in access to education and educational efficiency, according to the UNESCO report. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education.

Sources:

ANS (Salesian Info Agency)

Salesian Missions

The post BRAZIL: President Obama Speaks About Don Bosco During Visit first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Poor sanitation, water and hygiene have many other serious repercussions. Children – and particularly girls – are denied their right to education because schools lack private and decent sanitation facilities. Women are forced to spend large parts of their day fetching water. Poor farmers and wage earners are less productive due to illness, health systems are overwhelmed and national economies suffer. Without WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), sustainable development is impossible.

Reports published by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and others make it clear that this challenge should no longer be left primarily in the hands of just water management authorities or environmental ministries.

Non-governmental organizations must continue to play a major role in fighting the battle for access to clean water. Many such organizations around the globe have been doing just that, one project and one community at a time.

In a Bolivian community, for example, families now have access to safe drinking water in their homes through community water distribution projects, according to the Salesian Missions website.

In the town of “19 de Agosto” in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the new distribution brings water directly to 106 families who previously had to carry potable water from the town well to their own homes, According to the Salesian Missions website. The distribution system greatly improves the sanitary conditions of the drinking water. In the town of Las Parabas, 50 families now have water distribution directly into their homes using this system.

Each community and each challenge to safe water access is different and customized solutions must be engineered, the website also points out. For example, to address serious water issues resulting from pesticide pollution in a remote area of western Brazil, Salesian Missions worked with members of the Xavante and Bororo Indian communities to obtain clean water from previously inaccessible areas.

To do so, the Salesians first created wells and designed a mobile drilling truck. Then, to create power, they invented and patented a seesaw pump that would draw water from the depths of the well as children were playing. Now, solar panels are used. The result – according to Salesian Missions – is reduced risk of disease, access to potable water, improved infrastructure and expanded farming.

“What began as an immediate response to a crisis in a community,” the website states, “has become a well-organized project to ensure the growth of the indigenous groups.”

This article was published to commemorate World Water Day on March 22, 2011.

Source: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (UNICEF)

Source: SalesianMissions.org

Related article: What is Salesian Missions doing to provide clean water in Haiti?

The post WORLD WATER DAY: Customized Solutions Required to Improve Water Supply in Developing Countries first appeared on MissionNewswire.