Wine production at the Cremisan Salesian Monastery and Winery provides work for close to 20 families in the area and sustains the education and social development activities of the Salesians in the Holy Land.

The new oil-press was made possible by a collaboration between VIS, Stefano Cimicchi, the former Mayor of Orvieto in Umbria, Italy, Paulo Morbidoni, Vice President of the “Oil City” Association, and the Farchioni family, owners of an important oil-mill in Umbria. Renato Rondina, the owner of a factory by the same name that operates in north Umbria, has been named a benefactor along with the Rapanelli Company Foligno, famous for olive-oil extraction expertise. These resources have provided technical and organizational support in setting up the oil-mill.

The Salesian community in Bethlehem can now rely on the modern mill which can crush the approximately five hundred quintals of olives produced each year at Cremisan. The new mill provides hope that olive culture activities will be at excellent performance levels and produce quality oil.

This initiative is part of the project to revive the Cremisan Winery, a project which began in 2008, thanks to the efforts of VIS together with Dr. Cimicchi and winemaker Riccardo Cotarella.

The proceeds from the sale of the Cremisan wines are used to provide scholarships for disadvantaged youth and to support the Salesian training school which has taken the place of an old orphanage. In Cremisan, the Salesian Sisters manage a kindergarten, a primary school and a youth center. The Salesians have been present in Cremisan, serving the local population since 1891.

“The oil-mill directly benefits the workers in the Cremisan Winery and local farmers, given the increased volume of production and sales,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Mission, the U.S. arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Revenue from the cellar will cover the cost of training activities and the production of bread, impacting students attending Salesian educational centers and poor families who receive free bread from the oven run by the Salesians in Bethlehem,” adds Fr. Hyde.

A recent YouTube video clip shows the Cremisan oil-mill already in operation.

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Sources:

ANS – Israel – A Cremisan oil-press

UNICEF – Israel statistics

The post ISRAEL: Construction of New Oil-Press Increases Productivity, Funds for Salesian Programs first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Inspired by the education he received at a Salesian-run school, Dr. Giacomi is donating his dental expertise, along with 11 other Italian volunteer dentists, to the Dental Clinic at “La Crèche” run by the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. These dentists work during their vacation time while funding the trip to and from the clinic in Bethlehem themselves.

“There is an enormous inner satisfaction which is hard to describe when looking after these young Palestinians,” explains Dr. Giacomi. “Often they don’t understand us; not even in English but they smile and thank us. They say it endlessly, invite you home, and in the most miserable of poor homes tell you this is your home too.”

The offering of free dental care has come about through a partnership between three groups. The dental office was built by the Sisters of Charity at La Crèche, the dental equipment was donated by UNITALSI (The National Italian Union for Transporting the Sick to Lourdes and International Sanctuaries), and the volunteer dentists were recruited from all over Italy under the leadership of Dr. Giacomi.

“There are currently some 1,700 patients who benefit annually,” says Dr. Giacomi. “It is quite a financial outlay for us volunteers but we manage brilliantly.”

According to the World Bank, poverty in this region varies by district and ranges from three to 55 percent of the local population. Poverty is highest in the Gaza districts and lowest in Jerusalem. Half of the Palestinian poor live in three districts – Khan Yunis, Gaza City, and Hebron. Three of the top five poorest localities are in the West Bank and all are from different districts – Al Jiftlik, Yatta, and Ya’bad, with poverty incidence rates ranging between 40 and 51 percent of the local population.

The Dental Clinic at “La Crèche” is housed in the Vincentian complex in Bethlehem and follows the best practices in dentistry standards. The complex also includes an orphanage that houses 55 children ages six and younger as well as a school with 120 day students. In addition there is a social center for the unemployed and a Pilgrim Hostel. Next to the complex is the only hospital in Palestine that offers free services. The hospital is an ultramodern building that provides obstetrics and gynecology services as well as a neo-natal unit that oversees around 300 births a month.

“The children at La Crèche are not just poor, but have never known a mother or a father. For them any man or woman who comes here could be a father or a mother,” concludes Dr. Giacomi.

Sources

ANS – Israel – Past Pupil helps Palestinian orphans

World Bank – Poverty in West Bank

The post BETHLEHEM: Orphans Receive Dental Health Services Thanks to Former Salesian Student first appeared on MissionNewswire.