The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that there were more than 14,122 total cases of Ebola and 3,955 deaths from the virus in Sierra Leone alone. During the Ebola outbreak, Don Bosco Fambul mobilized its staff and immediately began providing information about the prevention of Ebola. Salesian missionaries worked with local communities to provide food aid and education about Ebola while disseminating protective clothing including long-sleeve shirts and cleaning and disinfecting agents such as chlorine.

In addition, the organization provided 20 mobile hand washing basins fitted with taps and hygiene-related products to Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs for use in Freetown. Brother Lothar Wagner, director of Don Bosco Fambul, noted that the mobile hand washing basins were placed in strategic locations around the city to act as a reminder that good hygiene practices are some of the best methods to prevent the contraction of the Ebola virus.

Since 2010, Don Bosco Fambul has provided a countrywide phone counseling service. The organization began advertising its free hotline as a preventative defense against Ebola in May 2014 and youth were encouraged to call to access critical information about the virus. Since that time, more than 25,000 calls about Ebola have been answered and fielded. The data gathered as a result of the calls helped the country’s national registration office identify Ebola hotspots and crisis regions. The head of Don Bosco Fambul’s telephone counseling department maintained permanent contact with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for Social Affairs as well as the Ebola command center. In addition, food deliveries were organized to the quarantine zones identified by these calls. Through the hotline, Don Bosco Fambul brought hope to the children and adolescents of one of the poorest country in the world during a terrible time of crisis.

Don Bosco Fambul, with assistance from the Catholic non-governmental development organization, Manos Unidas of Spain, also transformed a school into a home for 120 boys orphaned by Ebola. This unique care center for orphans on the Don Bosco Fambul campus meets the children’s basic needs while providing schooling and education on health and hygiene. Precautions around health and hygiene, including a focus on preventative measures, are extremely stringent since the orphans have all been in contact with people infected by Ebola.

Youth who do not have extended family to go to are able to stay long-term at Don Bosco Fambul, attend school and participate in activities such as music, dance and organized games. Counseling is also available to help them successfully transition into adulthood.

“Salesian missionaries live and work in the communities in which they serve so they are perfectly positioned to respond in times of crisis as they did during the Ebola epidemic,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “In addition to all of the Ebola related services, Don Bosco Fambul was still able to continue all of its regular programming providing education and social services to children and families who live in poverty.”

Providing crisis intervention services, long-term counseling, shelter, nutritious food and an education, Don Bosco Fambul reaches out to an estimated 2,500 street children in the region each year, many of whom have been abandoned by parents, the government and those who were supposed to protect them. Don Bosco Fambul staff are also active in providing services to young prisoners at the Pademba Road Prison in Freetown.

Don Bosco Fambul has also been running a Girls Shelter for the past two years. Here, professional social workers and pastoral workers provide crisis intervention and follow-up care for girls and young women who have been victims of sexual assault. Girls that access the shelter’s services are also able to attend educational programs that are a part of the broader Don Bosco Fambul network.

###

Sources:

ANS – Sierra Leone – President awards Don Bosco Fambul

WHO – Ebola Stats

The post SIERRA LEONE: Don Bosco Fambul Receives Sierra Leone’s Presidential Award for Its Efforts in Fighting Ebola Epidemic first appeared on MissionNewswire.

At one time, nearly half the calls focused on teen relationship issues. Since the outbreak of Ebola in 2014, the counseling line has turned into a widely used resource for Ebola prevention and support. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that there were more than 13,264 confirmed Ebola cases and 3,949 deaths from the virus in Sierra Leone alone.

“At the beginning of the Ebola epidemic, the children asked for information about symptoms and for protective measures,” says Brother Lothar Wagner, director of Don Bosco Fambul. “From September 2014 forward, we became a crisis intervention measure against the deadly disease.”

The organization began advertising its free hotline as a preventative defense against Ebola in May 2014 and youth were encouraged to call to access critical information about the virus. Since that time, more than 25,000 calls about Ebola have been answered and fielded. The data gathered as a result of the calls has helped the country’s national registration office identify Ebola hotspots and crisis regions. The head of Don Bosco Fambul’s telephone counseling department maintained permanent contact with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for Social Affairs as well as the Ebola command center. In addition, food deliveries were organized to the quarantine zones identified by these calls.

Through the hotline, Don Bosco Fambul brought hope to the children and adolescents of one of the poorest country in the world during a terrible time of crisis. For Fatmata and Samuel, who lost their parents to Ebola, Don Bosco Fambul provided much needed refuge. Both had contracted Ebola but were treated and recovered. Relatives looted their home and neglected the children, leaving them languishing in a hospital in Port Loko until Fatmata recalled one of her teachers telling her of the Don Bosco Fambul hotline.

Once connected with the organization, Fatmata was provided immediate assistance from a Don Bosco Fambul social worker. The children were cared for at the Don Bosco Interim Care Center in Freetown and were both eventually reunited with relatives and returned back to school. Their parent’s home has been renovated and both receive supportive family services.

In order to help children like Fatmata and Samuel, Salesian missionaries at Don Bosco Fambul, with assistance from the Catholic non-governmental development organization, Manos Unidas of Spain, transformed a school into a home for 120 boys orphaned by Ebola. This unique care center for orphans on the Don Bosco Fambul campus meets the children’s basic needs while providing schooling and education on health and hygiene. Precautions around health and hygiene, including a focus on preventative measures, are extremely stringent since the orphans have all been in contact with people infected by Ebola.

“Because the Ebola virus has an incubation period of 21 days, sometimes it is thought initially that the children are not infected, and some have even come with false certifications of a clean bill of health but it may be just that the symptoms have not yet appeared,” says Father Jorge Crisafulli, Provincial of the Salesians in English-speaking West Africa. “All the boys who come to us, no matter where they come from, pass an initial period in quarantine cared for by nurses who have survived the virus. Their temperature is taken every three hours for the entire 21 days and any change is recorded immediately.”

Youth who do not have extended family to go to are able to stay long-term at Don Bosco Fambul, attend school and participate in activities such as music, dance and organized games. Counseling is also available to help them successfully transition into adulthood.

###

Sources:

ANS – Sierra Leone – In the fight against Ebola: Don Bosco Child Line 116

Don Bosco Fambul

WHO Ebola Stats

The post SIERRA LEONE: Don Bosco Fambul Free Child Hotline Provided Critical Support During Ebola Crisis first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Salesian missionaries already living and working in affected West African regions, including Sierra Leone, are working with local communities to provide food aid and education about Ebola while disseminating protective clothing including long-sleeve shirts and cleaning and disinfecting agents such as chlorine. Missionaries are also working to care for the children who have been affected by the outbreak, many of whom have lost parents to the disease.

Recently, Salesian-run Don Bosco Fambul, one of Sierra Leone’s leading child-welfare organizations, provided twenty mobile hand washing basins to Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs for use in Freetown. The mobile hand washing basins are fitted with taps and hygiene-related products. Brother Lothar Wagner, director of Don Bosco Fambul, noted that the mobile hand washing basins will be placed in strategic locations around Freetown to act as a reminder that good hygiene practices are some of the best methods to prevent the contraction of the Ebola virus.

Promoting the welfare of children is a top priority for staff at Don Bosco Fambul as they work to tackle issues affecting street children, in particular educating them on Ebola prevention. Social workers from the organization have been meeting with homeless children on the streets of Freetown in the evenings while other staff offer group counseling, mediation and family tracing services in an effort to return children to their relatives. Following the outbreak of the disease, Don Bosco Fambul provided much-needed items for children affected, including those living in quarantined homes.

“There are more than 1,560 children in quarantine because they have lost their parents or because they have been rejected by their families,” says Father Crisafulli, provincial of the Salesian province of English-speaking West Africa. “They are children who have experienced trauma such as the loss of family members, have been discriminated against, separated from their families and in some cases, accused of being the cause of evil. Although Salesians remain focused, it has not been easy to start a center for children orphaned by Ebola.”

Salesian missionaries are noting the spread of Ebola in places that were once free of the deadly disease and are recognizing the need for medical supplies and emergency food aid after having reported the deaths of 15 people in Tikonko, a village in the Bo District in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. Residents of the village are poor and have no medical supplies or knowledge of the disease or how to prevent it.

Salesian Missions has launched an emergency fund to assist Salesian missionaries in Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone who are working to help contain the deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa. To raise money for the fund, the Catholic nonprofit aid organization is issuing an urgent appeal for donations.

###

Sources

ANS – Sierra Leone – Don Bosco donates mobile hand-wash basins to Children’s Ministry

ANS – Sierra Leone – Ebola out of control: 80 new cases a day

WHO – Sierra Leone Ebola Outbreak 

The post SIERRA LEONE: Don Bosco Fambul Donates Mobile Hand Washing Basins to Help Prevent Spread of Ebola first appeared on MissionNewswire.

In honor of Day of the African Child—celebrated by the Salesians on June 16 at Don Bosco Fambul in Sierra Leone—organized a youth festival with more than 700 in attendance, including youth and staff from the organization.

Each year, Day of the African Child focuses on a particular theme. This year was dedicated to “Eliminating harmful social and cultural practices affecting children: Our collective responsibility.” The theme is an important one given the rate at which young women are at risk for sexual violence, trafficking and forced pregnancy, among other atrocities. In addition, almost ninety percent of girls are subjected to female genital mutilation.

“Nothing is as powerful as a community itself seeing the harm being done to its own children and deciding collectively to end that practice,” says Nicholas Alipui, UNICEF’s director of programs, in a statement marking the Day of the African Child. “Communities are key to the health and well-being of African children subjected to harsh practices.”

In addition to advocating to protect and care for child victims, the Salesian event brought together hundreds of young people who denounced their abusers and the abuse they suffered. At a session of the Don Bosco Children’s Parliament and a subsequent press conference, a number of the girls reported sexual assaults committed by teachers, neighbors and even family members. Many of the cases remain un-investigated by the police.

But it’s not just young girls that are victims. Many boys are victims as well. Speaking at the event, one boy detailed his victimization at the hands of several police in Freetown-Kissy. He and his friends were robbed and assaulted. He was forced to stay in a police cell for three days before the social workers of Don Bosco Fambul were able to free him.

And although the incident was investigated by an internal disciplinary proceeding within the police department, the accused officers remain on duty.

“Policemen will always protect criminal policemen,” reflected one nine-year-old girl. She is one of several street children who spoke about their lives on the street, lives that are shaped by the violence and exploitation they experience every day.

Youth in Sierra Leone urged the government to take the appropriate measures to protect victims of violence and especially to prevent youth from ending up on the streets where they are at an even higher risk of violence and exploitation. They also focused attention on a failing educational and health care system that is often overrun with corrupt individuals victimizing youth. Advocates and youth also urged that the investigating authorities and the judiciary system ensure the establishment of an efficient penalty system against child abusers.

“It is not only on the 16th of June each year that children deserve the appreciation of parents, relatives, teachers, and even the President, it is every single day,” says Salesian Brother Lothar Wagner, social worker and director of the Girls Shelter at Don Bosco Fambul.

In addition to the youth festival, the Salesians at Don Bosco Fambul have been running a Girls Shelter for the past two years. The Shelter was created in direct response to this ongoing crisis. Here, professional social workers and pastoral workers provide crisis intervention and follow-up care for girls and young women who have been victims of sexual assault. According to a recently published Girls Shelter annual report, staff at the shelter provided crisis intervention services 521 times over the last two years.

The Girls Shelter is one of many programs provided for youth by Don Bosco Fambul. To learn more about Salesian programs in Sierra Leone visit SalesianMissions.org.

More articles about Sierra Leone >

###

Sources:

ANS – Sierra Leone – Don Bosco Children’s Parliament Meets in Freetown

UNICEF – Sierra Leone

Day of the African Child

UN – Day of the African Child: Communities are key to ending customs that harm children, says UNICEF

Salesian Missions – Sierra Leone

African Union

The post SIERRA LEONE: 700 Youth Gather, Bring Awareness of Sexual Violence to Mark Day of the African Child first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Young women are at risk for sexual violence, trafficking and forced pregnancy among other atrocities. Today, one third of girls are forced into marriage and are often sexually assaulted by their husbands before their 15th birthdays. In addition, 90 percent of girls are subjected to female genital mutilation.

In response to this crisis, for the past two years the Salesians at Don Bosco Fambul have been running a Girls Shelter. Here, professional social workers and pastoral workers provide crisis intervention and follow-up care for girls and young women who have been victims of sexual assault. According to a recently published Girls Shelter annual report, staff at the shelter provided crisis intervention services 521 times over the last two years.

The annual report also reveals causes of great concern; the brutality of the violence against the young women and the rising number of sexual offenses against girls under 14 years of age. Among the perpetrators are teachers and religious leaders as well as men who are active in child trafficking.

“Some of the girls were kept like slaves by their tormentors, often for years,” says Salesian Brother Lothar Wagner, social worker and director of the Girls Shelter. “The boldness that characterizes the way the perpetrators act against the girls and young women bears testimony to their grave moral void. Often they do not even regard themselves as criminals but present themselves instead as benefactors.”

In addition, the annual report criticized the investigating authorities and spoke of a “culture of impunity.” One recent case handled at the Girls Shelter was the rape of a 13-year-old girl by five male youth. After five days of intensive medical care the victim died from her injuries. The police have never investigated the case despite repeated demands by Don Bosco Fambul.

Equally alarming was the finding that in 37 separate rape cases the investigation files were demonstrably manipulated by the police or investigations were deliberately delayed. Perpetrators were released from custody and disappeared without a trace, in spite of the incriminating evidence against them. Only a fraction of the accused made it to court to be punished.

Given the lack of police protection, investigation and justice, only four of the 37 rape victims in these cases plan to proceed despite the fact that many of the girls are severely traumatized.

“In addition to the crisis work we do, we also work with girls to focus on safety to help them find ways to try to protect themselves in the hope the trauma is not repeated,” adds Brother Wagner.

The head of the department that oversees a crisis line for children and youth at Don Bosco Fambul reported that anonymous counseling interviews on sexual abuse and rape have skyrocketed in the past year. Close to 745 girls and 34 boys have reported sexual violence and most of the victims do not wish to report the crimes to the police.

In the upcoming years, Don Bosco Fambul plans to intensify both the services at the Girls Shelter and its outreach to victims in Sierra Leone.

The Girls Shelter is one of many programs provided for youth by Don Bosco Fambul. To learn more about Salesian programs in Sierra Leone visit SalesianMissions.org.

###

Sources

ANS – Sierra Leone – Don Bosco Fambul: Stop Sexual Abuse and Rape

UNICEF – Sierra Leone

Salesian Missions – Sierra Leone

The post SIERRA LEONE: Salesian Girls Shelter Provides Crisis Support and Care for Sexual Assault Victims first appeared on MissionNewswire.