(MissionNewswire) Salesians provide education and social development programs for poor youth and their families in Conakry, Guinea. While Conakry is a modern city, most people rely on informal jobs that yield very little in economic terms.

After school, many youth spend their time trying to contribute to their family’s needs. They sell handkerchiefs and food at traffic lights, polish shoes, and act as window cleaners. In reality, these efforts do little to improve their parents’ economic condition. The government does not prioritize education and youth educational performance is at the bottom of countries in West Africa.

Salesians began their work in the country in 1986 and in 2015 started the Saint Jean Bosco School Group. In Kankan, they built the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center and in Siguiri, they created a school complex where the most vulnerable children and youth are prioritized.

At Saint Jean Bosco School, 370 students receive an education. The elementary school was established in October 2021 to improve the academic level of children, especially those with learning difficulties. The school has grown rapidly both in the number of students and the quality of education offered. Ninety percent of the children attending the school come from families with little means.

Don Bosco Missions has provided 39 scholarships for these students and aims to support 23 more in the upcoming school term. This is financial aid is for children who are 5- to 9-years old-and the funding will cover the first three years of elementary school.

One of the biggest challenges to education is creating awareness among families of the importance of sending their children to school instead of work.

Conakry has a population of about 12 million people who live in a subsistence economy that is not supported by the revenues derived from the natural resources that make the country rich. The country has the world’s largest deposit of bauxite, a mineral essential for aluminum production. A difficult world economic situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been compounded by the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Guinea Conakry – Distance support for children of Guinea Conakry

Salesian Missions

UNICEF – Republic of Guinea

The post GUINEA: Scholarships give youth opportunity first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The province of Kie-Ntem, in which the Diocese of Ebebiyín is located, is in Guinea’s northeast and has a population of 263,000 people. The area is especially rural and its provincial capital Ebebiyín is 221 kilometers from the next larger city of Bata. In this remote, impoverished diocese there are a number of 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 Ebebiyín 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. Even though the only water available is of poor quality, it is impossible for residents to purchase commercialized 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.

“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 Ebebiyín 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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Celebrated each year on August 19, the day was established by the United Nations to recognize those who face danger and adversity in order to help others and was designated to coincide with the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq. The theme of World Humanitarian Day 2015 is, “Inspiring the World’s Humanity” and highlights humanitarian organizations around the world while inspiring people to become active messengers of humanity.

“On World Humanitarian Day, we honor the selfless dedication and sacrifice of workers and volunteers from around the world who devote themselves – often at great personal risk – to assisting the world’s most vulnerable people,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in a statement on World Humanitarian Day 2015. “This year, more than 100 million women, men and children need life-saving humanitarian assistance. The amount of people affected by conflict has reached levels not seen since the Second World War, while the number of those affected by natural and human-induced disasters remains profound. On this Day we also celebrate our common humanity. The families and communities struggling to survive in today’s emergencies do so with resilience and dignity. They need and deserve our renewed commitment to do all we can to provide them with the means for a better future.”

From the recent earthquakes in Nepal and flooding in Myanmar to the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Salesian missionaries are on the forefront of relief efforts and operate programs in more than 130 countries around the globe. Missionaries provide immediate assistance but also remain in countries in need to assist families, rebuild communities and restore livelihoods long after other organizations have left.

“Because Salesian missionaries live within the communities they serve, they are perfectly positioned to respond in times of crisis,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Our programs help to provide food, clothing and shelter to those in need and our missionaries remain through the long recovery process after a humanitarian crisis to help families rebuild their homes and salvage their livelihoods.”

In honor and celebration of World Humanitarian Day 2015, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight its humanitarian efforts that have benefited more than 450,000 people since the start of 2015.

MYANMAR FLOODING

Salesian missionaries have been providing emergency relief and helping flood victims displaced by the heavy monsoon rain and flooding that has affected Myanmar this summer. Nearly 1 million people have now been affected by the widespread flooding across the country since June. Myanmar government officials have reported that close to 100 people have died and 1.2 million acres of rice fields have been destroyed. Heavy rains in early August caused by Cyclone Komen worsened the already precarious situation and led to intensified flooding across much of the country. Salesian missionaries living and working in the region are responding to the situation with aid for the flood victims, many who have lost everything. The regions most affected include Chin, Rakáin, Magwe and Sagaing which the Burmese government declared a state of natural disaster. The Salesian house of Kalay, a boarding school in the region of Chin, is located at the center of one of the most flood-stricken areas but did not suffer any damage. The Salesian community in the region is already actively engaged in emergency relief work and also planning long-term rebuilding and education and social development initiatives to help flood victims.

NEPAL EARTHQUAKES

Salesian missionaries immediately responded with food, medicine and temporary shelter after a devastating 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal on April 25 and a second earthquake struck on May 12. More than 8,000 died and close to 20,000 were injured as a result of the earthquakes and their aftermath. Forty of Nepal’s 75 districts were affected, 16 of them severely, with homes, schools, buildings, cattle, fields ready for harvest and other property destroyed. More than 500,000 people were displaced and remain in need of shelter and other assistance.

Salesian missionaries are building temporary schools and addressing long-term training needs as part of their reconstruction and relief efforts. To date, more than 21 temporary learning centers have been completed. In a recent evaluation meeting with Nepalese government officers and other non-government organizations, it was acknowledged that the temporary learning centers built by the Salesian missionaries and students from the Salesian-operated technical school, Don Bosco Thecho in Kathmandu, Nepal, were of such high quality they could possibly serve as permanent school buildings.

SYRIAN CONFLICT REFUGEES IN TURKEY

Sharing a 500-mile-long border with Syria, Southeastern Turkey has more than 1.6 million Syrian refugees, as reported by the United Nations. Salesian missionaries are providing services at three sites within Syria while also providing for Syrian refugees in Turkey. While many Syrian refugees stay in towns on the Turkey-Syrian border, many find their way to big cities like Istanbul where Salesian missionaries operate a program that currently serves close to 400 Syrian refugees.

At the Don Bosco Center in Istanbul, Salesian Father Andres Calleja Ruiz leads special programs for refugee children and youth from Syria as well as for a growing number of families fleeing ISIS persecution in Iraq. Because most refugees do not speak the local language it is difficult for children to attend school and adults to find work. At the Center, Salesian missionaries provide a school for more than 350 refugee children where they learn the English language and traditional school subjects such as mathematics, geography and music. Students have access to sports and dance programs intended to help them connect with their peers and find enjoyment and comfort in their new surroundings. In addition, the program provides counseling both for youth and their families to help them overcome the challenges and traumas they have faced.

Technical skills training is a critical component of Salesian work in Istanbul. Many refugees leave the country’s border towns and refugee camps and make their way to Istanbul hoping to find employment and a more stable life. If they fail to find work, refugees are often left in dire circumstances. The Don Bosco Center’s technical skills training program is a critical safety net for those in need.

WEST AFRICA EBOLA OUTBREAK

The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the most deadly on record, has infected close to 21,200 and killed more than 8,400 across Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Salesian missionaries in both Sierra Leone and Liberia immediately responded with health prevention education and humanitarian assistance in the form of food aid and medical supplies as well as soap and other cleaning and disinfecting products to help slow and eventually stop the spread of Ebola. The Salesian-run Mother Patern College of Health Sciences, one of five colleges that make up the Stella Maris Polytechnic University in Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia, was on the front lines of the Ebola crisis with all 63 of its staff reassigned to address the Ebola outbreak. Education was an important step in stopping the spread of the disease and Salesian missionaries in Liberia and Sierra Leone went door to door providing education on Ebola and passing out prevention materials. Salesian missionaries also continue to provide ongoing support, shelter and education to Ebola orphans, those children who have lost parents, and for some, their entire families, as a result of the deadly disease.

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Sources:

ANS – Spain – “In the midst of calamities, we reassert our commitment to the poor”

World Humanitarian Day 2015

The post GLOBAL: Salesian Missions Highlights Humanitarian Efforts on World Humanitarian Day first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Salesian missionaries report more than 530 children who have lost both of their parents to Ebola and another 153 who have lost either their father or mother to the virus across the three affected West African countries. Salesian missionaries living and working in Sierra Leone have been responding with preventative education, food aid, medical supplies and other assistance since the outbreak began.

© 2015 / UNICEF / Kamara

The Salesian-run Don Bosco Fambul in Sierra Leone’s capital city, Freetown, is one of the country’s leading child-welfare organizations and has been on the forefront of efforts to help prevent Ebola in local communities and provide care for children left orphaned.

With assistance from the Catholic non-governmental development organization, Manos Unidas of Spain, Salesian missionaries at Don Bosco Fambul have recently transformed a school into a home for 120 boys orphaned by Ebola. This unique interim care center for orphans on the Don Bosco Fambul campus meets the children’s basic needs while also 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 twenty-one days and any change is recorded immediately.”

The interim care center has a designated isolation area called Zone A which is a quarantined tent where up to 60 boys stay for their first 21 days at the interim care center. Strict preventative health protocols are enforced within this area such as a special handle to turn water on and off in the shower to ensure that no one is touching anything that has been touched by someone else.

The goal of the interim care center is to eventually reunite the boys with extended family that can care for them such as aunts, uncles and grandparents.

“When a child comes to us and is proven to be healthy, social workers and volunteers from Sierra Leone go to his village of origin to find someone of his extended family, so that he can return to them,” adds Fr. Crisafulli. “But this is not always possible, either because no one is left alive or because their families do not want to take care of the child.”

Often, Salesian missionaries at Don Bosco Fambul run into complications when trying to place boys with extended family such as struggles over land rights.

“One of the serious problems that we have encountered is that sometimes the extended family does not want the child because they want to keep the land of the dead parents that rightfully belongs to the child survivor. So they refuse. They say the child is a witch or a wizard and that it is their fault that the family died, and then they keep the land that rightfully belongs to the young person. For that reason, we have hired lawyers who take care of these problems, so that these children will have a future,” explains Fr. Crisafulli.

Boys who do not have extended family to go to are able to stay 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.

Headquartered in New Rochelle, New York, Salesian Missions has launched an Ebola 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 has launched an emergency fundraising campaign and is issuing an urgent appeal for donations. Go to www.SalesianMissions.org/ebola to give.

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Sources:

ANS – Sierra Leone – Post-Ebola: we share responsibility

UNICEF Report

World Health Organization – Ebola Stats Week of March 22

Don Bosco Fambul in Sierra Leone

The post SIERRA LEONE: Salesian Missionaries are Caring for 120 Orphans in Wake of Ebola Crisis first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Salesian missionaries report close to 530 children who have lost both of their parents to Ebola and another 153 who have lost either their father or mother to the virus across the three affected West African countries. Salesian missionaries living and working in Sierra Leone have been responding with preventative education, food aid, medical supplies and other assistance since the outbreak began.

The Salesian-run Don Bosco Fambul in Sierra Leone’s capital city, Freetown, is one of the country’s leading child-welfare organizations and has been on the forefront of efforts to help prevent Ebola in local communities and provide care for children left orphaned. 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.

“This is a very scary and traumatic time for these children,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Overcoming this deadly disease only to find they have lost parents, siblings and other relatives is devastating for them. In the coming weeks and months, Salesian missionaries will be working to ensure proper shelter and care is provided to children now orphaned as a result of the Ebola outbreak.”

Recently, fortified rice-meals have been donated to Don Bosco Fambul to help feed orphans of the Ebola epidemic thanks to an ongoing partnership between Salesian Missions and Feed My Starving Children, a non-profit Christian organization committed to, “feeding God’s children hungry in body and spirit.”

Starvation is a concern in the affected countries. According to reports from Salesian aid workers in the field, as a result of the Ebola epidemic, many of the local markets have been shuttered and many farmers have died. Children who could previously count on at least one meal a day at Salesian schools are left hungry because the government ordered schools to be closed for the last several months in an attempt to contain the outbreak.

The most recent shipment of emergency food aid has allowed Salesian missionaries to provide meals for more than 150 poor youth three times a week. Many of the children relying on the food aid have few options to turn to for meals and are very hungry. Without proper nutrition children are more susceptible to getting sick and at a faster rate.

With the decrease in Ebola infections (Sierra Leone currently has 117 cases), schools in the country are expected to reopen in March. Government officials report that much still needs to be done to disinfect the schools and provide training and resources to teachers. Teachers will be trained to use thermometers to take the temperatures of students and other staff members and chlorinated water buckets will be made available in all schools.

Headquartered in New Rochelle, New York, Salesian Missions has launched an Ebola 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 has launched an emergency fundraising campaign and is issuing an urgent appeal for donations. Go to www.SalesianMissions.org/ebola to give.

Sources

Reuters – Sierra Leone to reopen schools in March as Ebola infections slow

WHO – Ebola Situation Report January 2015

The post SIERRA LEONE: Recent Food Aid Shipment is Nourishing Youth Affected by Ebola Thanks to Salesian Missions Partnership with Feed My Starving Children first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Salesian missionaries, already living and working in the country, are part of the National Catholic Task Force which has been responding to Ebola since it began with the first Liberian case in March 2014. By October, the virus had spread to all 15 counties of Liberia and since then, the number of cases reported have overwhelmed health facilities and workers forcing many hospitals to close down. According to WHO, Liberia has been hard-hit with more than 3,500 confirmed deaths of Ebola.

The Salesian-run Mother Patern College of Health Sciences, one of five colleges that make up the Stella Maris Polytechnic University in Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia, has been on the front lines of the Ebola crisis with all 63 of its staff reassigned to address the Ebola outbreak. The college administers programs in health education and HIV/AIDS, offers courses in primary health care and degrees in nursing, social work, laboratory technology and biology.

Salesian missionaries have been providing education about Ebola and preventative measures through various programs throughout Liberia. In addition, fortified rice-meals and boxes of hand soap have been donated to Salesian programs in the country thanks to an ongoing partnership between Salesian Missions and Stop Hunger Now, an international relief organization that provides food and life‐saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable.

The shipments of food aid and boxes of hand soap helped to provide emergency assistance to those affected by Ebola, particularly the young and the poor. The contents of the shipment are being shared among organizations that make up the National Catholic Task Force, including Salesian missionaries.

“Because of the Ebola epidemic, shops have closed, rice production is down and the price of food has risen in the affected countries leaving many at risk of starvation,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “The partnership with Stop Hunger Now allows us to feed those most in need while providing us necessary supplies to help prevent the further spread of Ebola. The donation also provided us with another avenue to reach people to educate them about Ebola, the risk factors and preventative measures, to help stop the spread of the disease.”

Now that the transmission of Ebola has slowed, Salesian missionaries are turning their attention to educating and preparing teachers for the re-opening of schools. School buildings and classrooms are being thoroughly cleaned and disinfected and educators are taking part in training about Ebola. So far, a team of educators with the National Catholic Task Force led by Sister Evelina of the St. Teresa’s Convent school, in collaboration with the Catholic Education Secretariat, has conducted two separate trainings for 528 teachers from 28 Catholic schools located in Montserrado, Bomi, Gbarpolu, Margibi and Grand Bassa Counties.

The first training, conducted during the emergency phase of the response, focused on basic facts and awareness surrounding Ebola prevention. The second training, happening now, is for select groups of teachers to become Ebola trainers who, once schools re-open in February, will provide Ebola prevention workshops and awareness programs for teachers and students. A guide on Ebola prevention will be circulated among Catholic schools, including Salesian schools, and will serve as a reference for Ebola prevention in schools.

Salesian missionaries have also turned their attention to helping Ebola orphans. Missionaries in Liberia report close to 530 children who have lost both of their parents to Ebola and another 153 who have lost either their father or mother to the virus across the three West African countries affected. Salesian programs are working to connect orphans with other relatives or with educational programs and orphanages that will help to provide ongoing care and education. Other Salesian programs are already in the process of providing for the basic needs of Ebola orphans including food, medical care and education.

Headquartered in New Rochelle, New York, Salesian Missions has launched an Ebola 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 has launched an emergency fundraising campaign and is issuing an urgent appeal for donations. Go to www.SalesianMissions.org/ebola to give.

Sources

Reuters – Liberia aims to be Ebola-free by end-February as cases fall to 10

Salesians Response to Ebola (Video)

The post LIBERIA: Schools Planning to Re-Open in February, Salesian Missionaries are Preparing and Responding with Teacher Education first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola epidemic a global health emergency. Salesian missionaries already living and working in communities in Liberia have been providing food aid and education about Ebola while disseminating protective clothing including long-sleeve shirts and cleaning and disinfecting agents such as chlorine.

Recent figures indicate that awareness and prevention campaigns to combat the spread of the Ebola are showing some early signs of progress. According to the WHO, in recent days, there has been a slight decrease in the number of reported cases of Ebola in Liberia. However, the risk remains high with the most recent figures showing that there have been 13,676 cases of Ebola in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the three hardest hit countries, and 4,910 deaths from the disease.

A recent Stop Hunger Now shipment of food aid and 48 boxes of hand soap is helping to provide emergency assistance to those affected by Ebola, particularly the young and the poor. The contents of the shipment are being shared among organizations that make up the National Catholic Task Force, including Salesian missionaries, which have come together to address the Ebola crisis.

“Because of the Ebola epidemic, shops have closed, rice production is down and the price of food has risen in the affected countries and many people are at risk of starvation,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “The partnership with Stop Hunger Now allows us to feed those most in need and provides us other necessary supplies to help prevent the further spread of Ebola.”

Education is an important step in stopping the spread of the disease. Salesian missionaries in Liberia have gone door to door providing education on Ebola and passing out prevention materials to over 5,000 people. They have also distributed 500 bags of rice and 5,000 liters of oil to families in need and people and entire communities in isolation or quarantine.

“People at risk are not properly informed,” added Fr. Hyde. “The Stop Hunger Now donation provides another avenue for us to reach people to educate them about Ebola, the risk factors and preventative measures, to help stop the spread of the disease.”

This is the second Stop Hunger Now shipment to Liberia coordinated by Salesian Missions. The first, in October, contained rice meals as well as medical protective gear including gloves, masks and gowns. Salesian missionaries in the country note the need for more medical supplies and assistance for those providing care. With recent aid arriving from countries like the United States, France and England, more medical centers are being built for people infected with Ebola and more beds are becoming available. However, the need is still great. The WHO estimates that Liberia needs about 3,000 beds for the treatment of Ebola but currently has only 620 beds. In addition, there is a shortage of doctors, health care workers and equipment to run the treatment centers. Health-care workers have been particularly hard hit by the disease with 521 infected and 272 dead.

Salesian missionaries in Liberia continue to focus on providing lifesaving emergency aid to those in need while working with community leaders to help with Ebola prevention and treatment efforts.

Headquartered in New Rochelle, New York, Salesian Missions has launched an Ebola 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 has launched an emergency fundraising campaign and is issuing an urgent appeal for donations. Go to www.SalesianMissions.org/ebola to give.

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Sources:

ANS – Liberia – Update on situation in Monrovia 

WHO – Ebola Liberia

The post LIBERIA: Emergency Food Aid, Hand Soap Reaches Ebola-Affected Communities through Partnership Between Salesian Missions and Stop Hunger Now first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The rate of Ebola in Sierra Leone is on the rise with the number infected with the virus each day nine times higher than it was two months ago, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO data in early November shows that there have been 4,862 cases of Ebola with 1,130 deaths in Sierra Leone alone. Transmission also appears to be increasing rapidly in Freetown, the capital city, where the average number of daily cases is six times higher than two months ago. The WHO says Ebola transmission remains widespread and intense across West Africa including Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The virus has so far infected over 13,000 people and claimed at least 4,951 lives.

Starvation is a concern in the affected countries. A new bulletin on the economic impact of Ebola from the International Growth Centre (IGC) has warned that the number of rice traders in some areas of Sierra Leone affected by Ebola has fallen by almost 70 percent. According to reports from Salesian aid workers in the field, local markets have been shuttered and many farmers have died. Children who could previously count on at least one meal a day at Salesian schools are left hungry because schools have been ordered closed by the government in an attempt to contain the outbreak.

“Because of the Ebola health crisis, the price of food has risen in some areas and many people are at risk of starvation, especially orphaned children who are no longer in the care of their parents and other relatives” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “The partnership with Stop Hunger Now allows us to feed those most in need and provides us other necessary supplies to help prevent the further spread of Ebola.”

The most recent shipment of emergency food aid has allowed Salesian missionaries to provide meals for more than 150 poor youth three times a week. Many of the children relying on the food aid have few options to turn to for meals and are very hungry. The lack of proper nutrition has left them susceptible to getting sick and at a faster rate. Salesian missionaries are also providing education about Ebola and medicated soap for preventive measures.

The Salesian Missions partnership with Stop Hunger Now was developed in 2011 and since that time, 58 shipping containers, including more than 16 million rice meals, have been successfully delivered to 19 countries around the globe. Recent Stop Hunger Now shipments have provided food aid and emergency medical supplies to Salesian missionaries working to help Ebola victims and their families in Sierra Leone and Liberia. These donations provided an avenue for educational workshops about Ebola prevention and preparedness.

Salesian-run Don Bosco Fambul, one of Sierra Leone’s leading child-welfare organizations, has been on the forefront of the efforts to help prevent Ebola in local communities and provide care for those children left orphaned. Promoting the welfare of children has remained 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 has 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.”

Headquartered in New Rochelle, New York, Salesian Missions has launched an Ebola 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 has launched an emergency fundraising campaign and is issuing an urgent appeal for donations. Go to www.SalesianMissions.org/ebola to give.

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Sources

International Growth Centre – Economic Impact of Ebola

WHO – Sierra Leone Ebola Outbreak 

The post SIERRA LEONE: Food Aid Helps Ebola Orphans Thanks to Partnership between Salesian Missions and Stop Hunger Now 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.

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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.