(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries offer a range of social services and educational programs in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea. Salesians operate a parish, a youth center, primary and secondary schools, and a vocational center. The Salesian vocational center is currently offering the program “Vocational Training for Young Mothers in Malabo.”

The program caters to young women who had to drop out of school early because of pregnancies, those who were forced out of the home by their parents or those with children who are not recognized by their fathers. Currently, the Salesian program has 30 young women who are pregnant or have newborn babies. The program is supported by Don Bosco in the World Foundation, which promotes and supports programs in Salesian organizations around the globe.

This program is particularly important because laws in Malabo prevent pregnant young women and young mothers from attending school. Without the opportunity offered by the Salesians to learn a trade, these young women would not be able to gain an education. They would remain in a system that stigmatizes and punishes them while restricting them from gaining the skills for stable employment.

“This Salesian vocational training program provides young women an opportunity for education when they have been denied an ability to gain these skills,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Without an education or any skills for employment, young women are not able to care for themselves or their children. The skill they are learning will not only improve their lives but ensure that their children’s basic needs are met and that they too can go on and gain an education, having a solid start in life.”

Equatorial Guinea is experiencing a deep economic crisis caused by the worldwide decline in oil prices. The poverty in which most of the population was already living has worsened even more with the loss of jobs due to the closure of oil facilities.

In 2020, the United Nations Development Programme ranked Equatorial Guinea 145 out of 189 countries in its Human Development Report. While poverty statistics are hard to come by because the government in the country controls the media, the U.N. has noted that more than half of Equatorial Guinea’s population is living in conditions of poverty and still lacks access to clean water. The country also lacks good infrastructure including schools and hospitals.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Equatorial Guinea – “Vocational training for young mothers of Malabo”: a schooling and reintegration project for adolescent mothers

Human Development Report 2022

Salesian Missions

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(MissionNewswire) The Salesian parish in the town of Beayop, in the Diocese of Ebibeyín, Equatorial Guinea, has clean, fresh water thanks to the Salesian Missions “Clean Water Initiative.” The project provided funding for a new water well, tower and pump. The project is one of 18 planned for rural villages in the area.

The province of Kie-Ntem, in which the Diocese of Ebibeyín is located, is in Equatorial Guinea’s northeast and has a population of 263,000 people. The area is especially rural and the provincial capital Ebibeyín is 221 kilometers (approximately 137 miles) from the next largest city of Bata. In this remote, impoverished diocese, there are several parishes where the population lives without safe drinking water.

Salesians will help alleviate the crisis by increasing sanitation, improving the health of children, and supplying clean drinking water by constructing wells and cisterns. The water project in Beayop began in 2019, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a pause in construction. The project resumed at the start of 2022, and residents are grateful for this new water source.

“Water is essential for life, and it’s critical 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. “Improving water and sanitation facilities brings a sense of dignity to communities and promotes proper hygiene and safe drinking water.”

U.N.-Water estimates that worldwide more than 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, U.N.-Water notes that more than 700 children under age 5 die every day from diarrheal disease linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation.

In response to this crisis, Salesian Missions continues its “Clean Water Initiative” to make building wells and supplying fresh, clean water a top priority for every community in every country in which Salesian missionaries work.

To give to this project to ensure that villages in the Diocese of Ebibeyín have access to clean, fresh water or other similar projects, give at the Salesian Missions Clean Water Initiative.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Salesian Missions

World Water Day 2022

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(MissionNewswire) Close to 100 children at the Don Bosco School in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, participate in a socio-sports program run by the Real Madrid Foundation. Through soccer and basketball, boys and girls between the ages of 9-17 learn the values of team play and improve their eating habits, hygiene and academic performance.

The partnership between the Real Madrid Foundation and the Salesians began in 2010 in a Salesian school in Senegal and continued to schools in Central and South America. The first social-sports school was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2012, social-sports schools opened in Portugal. Today, the collaboration has 21 projects in 14 countries and serves nearly 4,000 children each season, using educational sport and its values as a catalyst for the social betterment of youth and communities.

Both the Real Madrid Foundation and the Salesians are aware that sports are important for social integration and the promotion of values like teamwork, communication, respect and team spirit. The social-sports schools are housed in Salesian schools. As part of the Real Madrid Foundation’s “They play, we educate” program, participants receive nutrition, family and psychological support, regular health checkups, the opportunity to participate in social and educational workshops, gymnastics, crafts and 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.

Mayoka, a 16-year-old girl who plays basketball at the Don Bosco School in in Malabo, said, “What I like most is the joy and the atmosphere of camaraderie between us. They help us with our studies and we really enjoy learning the sport we like. We wouldn’t mind if it were every day of the week!”

During the school year, the goal in the first quarter is to get to know the participants and explain the activities with friendly tournaments. In the second quarter, the emphasis is on training the coaches and supporting student in their studies through reinforcement lessons.

In March 2020, the pandemic stopped all activities due to the mandatory lockdown. The school continued to operate online, supporting children and their families with advice on how to prevent COVID-19. This year, activities are continuing according to the capacity limits and all necessary preventive measures including the use of masks during tutoring, disinfecting hands before entering the playing field or in any activity organized by the school, and taking the temperature of the participants before they enter the sports complex.

In 2020, the United Nations Development Programme ranked Equatorial Guinea 145 out of 189 countries in its Human Development Report. While poverty statistics are hard to come by because the government in the country controls the media, the UN has noted that more than half of Equatorial Guinea’s population still lacks access to clean water. UNICEF has found that 26 percent of the population uses unimproved drinking water sources, and only 66 percent have access to basic sanitation services. The country also lacks good infrastructure including schools and hospitals.

Sources:

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

ANS – Equatorial Guinea – Study, sport and joy in Real Madrid sports school “Don Bosco-Malabo”

Human Development Report 2020

Real Madrid Foundation

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The province of Kie-Ntem, in which the Diocese of Ebibeyín is located, is in Equatorial Guinea’s northeast and has a population of 263,000 people. The area is especially rural and the provincial capital Ebibeyín is 221 kilometers from the next larger city of Bata. In this remote, impoverished diocese there are several parishes where the population lives without safe drinking water.

Salesian missionaries hope to alleviate this crisis, increase sanitation, improve the health of children, and supply clean drinking water by constructing wells and cisterns in 18 rural sites.

Kie-Ntem has three large administrative districts including the administrative district of Ebibeyín with 86 village councils, the Micomeseng district with 54 village councils and the Nsok-Nsomo district with 47 village councils. In each village council, there is a chapel or an oratory. The level of literacy within the rural population is still relatively low, and there is still a long way to go to achieve quality education.

The villages rely on agriculture and livestock but are unable to achieve more than a subsistence economy. The only water available is of poor quality, and the residents can’t purchase mineral water. The poor quality water is consumed daily without any guarantee for health and often results in harmful consequences. Digging water wells and installing water tanks ensure that people have the clean, fresh water they need.

The construction of the well and cistern in the village of Okong-Oyeck was completed in May 2020 after several challenges because of the coronavirus pandemic. The work was slowed down and at times completely stopped. Now, the project is completed and residents are accessing clean, fresh water.

“Water is essential for life, and it’s critical 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. “Improving water and sanitation facilities brings a sense of dignity to communities and promotes proper hygiene and safe drinking water.”

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.

For those who have no access to clean water, water-related disease is common with more than 840,000 people dying each year from water-related diseases. 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.

In response to this crisis, Salesian Missions continues its “Clean Water Initiative” to make building wells and supplying fresh, clean water a top priority for every community in every country in which Salesian missionaries work.

To give to this project and ensure that villages in the Diocese of Ebibeyín have access to clean, fresh water, give at Salesian Missions Clean Water Initiative.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Salesian Missions

World Water Day 2020

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