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.

“There is no food, people are sleeping on the ground, there is nowhere else to go,” says Salesian Father Vicente Grupeli. “There are no toilets or washing facilities and we have no drinking water.”

They also are without adequate food and water. However, Fr. Grupeli’s greatest fear is a cholera outbreak, which he says is a serious threat if more aid is not received soon.

A Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team has been providing medical care in the Salesian compound in Duékoué on a daily basis since December. On April 19, MSF reported:

The pressure on the camp is enormous. The number of people sheltering there far surpasses its capacity, and more are continuing to arrive. In surrounding villages, many people are still hoping to make their way to this dreadful safe haven.

“In our dispensary, consultations have recently doubled and in some rooms we have two consultants because of the lack of space,” says Dr. Mohamadou Seyni, who coordinates MSF’s activities in the camp. “After the days of violence, we had a lot of trauma and injuries that we needed to refer to our team in the hospital in town, but now most of our consultations are for malaria. Yesterday, out of 120 children tested, 80 had malaria.”

On April 4, the Salesian Info Agency (ANS) reported that “there are only two Salesians there who have to try to respond to the appeals for help from about 20,000 people.”

Since then, the number of people seeking shelter and assistance at the Salesian compound has grown to at least 30,000. A report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirms the massive numbers and shows completed registrations for more than 27,500 internally displaced persons (IDPs) seeking refuge in and around the Salesian compound in Duékoué.

The numbers are growing and people are afraid to leave and return home.

“It would be naive to believe that they will return home immediately,” says Fr. Gupeli.

The fears are warranted. Catholic News Service (CNS) reported that armed robbers attacked members of the faculty of a Jesuit-run theology school in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan on April 17, as the priests were preparing for dinner. Students have not been at the school for several months due to escalating violence in the area. The robbers entered school grounds by jumping over a security wall, then quickly disarmed the guards on duty and attacked a deacon.

This illustrates why U.N. forces have guarded the Salesian compound ever since the violence erupted, making it one of the only places civilians feel safe (even with the health threats they face due to lack of adequate clean water and sanitation). Like all Salesian workings around the globe, safety is paramount and is evident in the large security walls and guards. But the presence of the U.N. forces doesn’t ease the fears of the people. Rather, it indicates the seriousness of the situation.

“This does not mean that there is more security,” says Fr. Gupeli. “On the contrary, the people are afraid.”

The Salesian Missions compound — created to serve as a vocational training center, a home for children and a youth center — suspended all activities to care for the tens of thousands who have overwhelmed the facility, according to Fr. Grupeli.

ANS reports, “to cope with this tragic situation, the Salesians and the refugees are in urgent need of help from the main humanitarian aid agencies.”

The Salesian mission office in Madrid launched an urgent appeal for food, water, medical supplies and other needs that are in short supply. Information about the campaign can be found at www.misionessalesianas.org.

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SEE RELATED ARTICLE (4-4-2011): IVORY COAST: Tens of Thousands Seek Safety at Salesian Compound After Massacre

SOURCES:

International Organization for Migration

Salesian Info Agency

Catholic News Service

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

The post IVORY COAST: Fear, Population Grow at Salesian Compound in Duékoué Where 30,000 Seek Safety first appeared on MissionNewswire.