According to an Associated Press report, at least nine people were killed and 10 others were missing in mudslides triggered by heavy rains on Dec. 26 in the central hills of Sri Lanka. More than 60,000 people have been evacuated and 3,000 homes destroyed in the flooding and subsequent mudslides. These conditions have affected more than 500,000 people across Sri Lanka.

Salesian missionaries already living and working in the region are assisting flood victims as best they can with limited means. Salesian centers in Northern regions of Sri Lanka have also been affected by the flooding and are providing support as well as food and fresh drinking water to families from local villages.

According to Salesian missionaries, access to many villages is almost totally cut off as flood waters have submerged most houses. Currently, main roads that are at a higher altitude than village roads are the only places that offer safety from the flooding.

“Because Salesian missionaries live and work among the people they serve, they know firsthand the local need and are well positioned to respond during times of crisis and natural disaster,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Missionaries will respond to the immediate needs of flood victims and will continue to provide support to families after the flooding subsides.”

Salesian missionaries in Sri Lanka are already preparing to help displaced families and those who have lost their homes and other belonging due to the flood. Once the flood waters subside, missionaries plan to provide dry rations, toiletries, medicines, mattresses and bed linens to families in need of immediate assistance. Salesian Missions has already sent emergency aid to fund this work but is in need of additional funding as the need is so great.

“Salesians missionaries are studying the situation,” adds Fr. Hyde. “Once the water recedes, they will be able to gauge the extent of the damage and continue to provide aid to those affected to help them return to their normal lives in the days and weeks to come.”

Nine out of 10 poor people in Sri Lanka live in rural areas, according to the World Bank. Since 1983, ethnic violence in the north and east of the country has forced more than 800,000 people from their homes and sources of livelihood. Thousands of children lost one or both parents in the conflict and the number of households headed by women increased, negatively impacting the poverty rate in the country.

More than 40 percent of the country’s rural poor are small-scale farmers with farm production often hampered by neglect and low investment levels resulting from poor financial services and limited technology. Sri Lankans are affected by a significant lack of infrastructure including roads, electricity, irrigation systems and communication channels. In several areas of the country, seven out of 10 people have no access to electricity and almost half of the population does not have access to safe drinking water. Malnutrition among children is also common.

Salesian missionaries working in the country focus their efforts on meeting basic needs and education and social development services for poor youth and their families. Salesian schools, services and programs throughout Sri Lanka are helping to break the cycle of poverty while giving many hope for a more positive and productive future.

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Sources:

New York Times – 9 Killed, 10 Missing in Sri Lanka Mudslides

World Bank – Sri Lanka

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Close to 823 million people do not have enough to eat and nearly half of them are children, according to Stop Hunger Now, an international relief organization that provides food and life‐saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable. Of those who go hungry daily, 98 percent reside in developing countries where there is not only a shortage of food, but major challenges for aid to reach its destination. Working with Salesian Missions to ensure delivery and distribution, more than 10 countries have already received shipments of food this year, and will receive several more in the coming months.

Stop Hunger Now provides more than just food aid. It also provides significant in-kind aid (such as food, medicines and other supplies) that support education and vocational training programs which are proven to have long-term sustainability—like those run by Salesian Missions. These programs promote education, encourage children to attend school, improve the health and nutrition of students, address gender inequalities, combat child labor, spur economic growth and create a platform to address global issues.

“Salesian programs are a good match for our mission to end hunger in our lifetime by providing food and life-saving aid while creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources,” says Chessney Barrick, director of communications and cause marketing at Stop Hunger Now.

The Stop Hunger Now meal packaging program was created to give dedicated individuals the opportunity to participate in a hands-on international hunger relief program and to become educated, engaged advocates for the world’s poor and hungry. It is volunteer-based and coordinates the streamlined packaging of highly nutritious dehydrated meals comprised of rice, soy, vegetables, flavoring, and 21 essential vitamins and minerals.

Founded in 1998, Stop Hunger Now has delivered aid and disaster relief supplies in the form of food, medicines, medical supplies, medical equipment, clothing, school supplies and more to thousands of disaster victims and other hungry and vulnerable people in 65 countries.

More than 300,000 volunteers have participated in the organization’s fun, exciting and rewarding activites. Stop Hunger Now meal packaging provides volunteers the opportunity to have an exponential and sustainable international impact right from their own communities.

The organization operates meal packaging locations in 17 cities throughout the U.S. and international locations in South Africa and Malaysia. Late in 2013, it plans to initiate the meal packaging program in new locations including Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Bologna, Italy.

This year Stop Hunger Now shipments have already reached the Salesian Society of St. John Bosco in the Philippines. Here, more than 28 Salesian programs shared 660 boxes of fortified rice-soy meals. More than 3,100 poor children and families benefitted from this food assistance.

“The shipment of packaged meals helps us to improve the nutrition of orphans and other vulnerable children and operate feeding programs for children in Salesian schools whose families cannot afford to feed them,” explains Jessica O’Connor, property and logistics officer at the Salesian Missions Office for International Programs.

Other Stop Hunger Now shipments have been received in Haiti, South Africa, Zambia and Sierra Leone where the meals will be shared among various Salesian programs located in those countries.

“The partnership with Stop Hunger Now allows Salesian Missions to expand its scope of services to youth in need,” adds O’Connor. “Stop Hunger Now is one of our favorite partners to work with because they are very flexible. They actively seek out opportunities to enhance shipments with additional donated items that the beneficiaries need, and they go the extra mile to help Salesian Missions meet any additional emergency requests for food that we receive.”

Partnerships, like those with Salesian Missions, drive Stop Hunger Now’s major distribution channels. According to Barrick, the organization looks for those who are able to work with Stop Hunger Now effectively and efficiently while adding value to each other’s work. Partners are chosen based on the quality of their programs, the need in their country, their ability to ensure the food is used as intended and the expected impact of the partner’s programs.

With programs in more than 130 countries around the globe, Salesian Missions has one of the largest networks that Stop Hunger Now works with and they have extensive knowledge and experience when it comes to aid shipments. The Salesians are an integral part of the existing infrastructure in many countries and Salesian Missions plays an important role in making sure aid from the United States reaches its destination country and gets into the hands of those who need it most.

“Partnering with Salesian Missions has been a great experience and their vast network around the globe provides an opportunity to extend our partnership beyond just one country,” says Barrick. “Their experience in logistics, communications and program facilitation has proven to be a huge asset in effectively donating Stop Hunger Now meals to their organization.”

Barrick also praises Salesian Missions’ staff who she says are very thorough, responsive and excellent at communicating the progress of projects and the state of the beneficiaries. She notes that receiving letters, photos and videos from those who actually receive the food has tremendous impact on the donors they rely on to package the food.

“Feeding hungry children is often the first step in providing an education,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Hungry and malnourished youth cannot focus on learning. Our programs work to educate and meet the basic needs of poor youth.”

At every Salesian program serving youth around the globe, children receive educational opportunities and the support of caring adults. Humanitarian partnerships like the one with Stop Hunger Now make a real difference.

“In order to build the movement to end hunger in our lifetime,” says Barrick. “We will have to work together as partners to share the stories from the field that create champions for our causes.”

ABOUT STOP HUNGER NOW

This year, Stop Hunger Now is celebrating its 15^th anniversary in its ongoing work to create a movement to end hunger. More than 100,000,000 meals have been packaged and distributed with other life-saving aid to 65 countries, impacting millions of lives. The organization is driven by a vision of a world without hunger and a mission to end hunger in our lifetime by providing food and life-saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable and by creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources.

In its efforts to respond to emergency needs around the world Stop Hunger Now receives and distributes significant donations of in-kind aid. These donations are large quantities of food, medicines, medical supplies and other such items as may be of use in fighting hunger and providing relief in a crisis. For more information visit www.stophungernow.org.

ABOUT SALESIAN MISSIONS

Salesian Missions is headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, and is part of the Don Bosco Network—a worldwide federation of Salesian NGOs. The mission of the U.S.-based nonprofit Catholic organization is to raise funds for international programs that serve youth and families in poor communities around the globe. The Salesian missionaries are made up of priests, brothers and sisters, as well as laypeople—all dedicated to caring for poor children throughout the world in more than 130 countries and helping young people become self-sufficient by learning a trade that will help them gain employment. To date, more than 3 million youth have received services funded by Salesian Missions. These services and programs are provided to children regardless of race or religion. For more information, go to SalesianMissions.org.

The post Stop Hunger Now, Salesian Missions Partnership Feeds Poor Youth around the Globe first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Shipments are already on the ground in Haiti, Guatemala, Madagascar, Philippines, Sierra Leone and Zambia. Salesian-run orphanages and youth centers are able to utilize the aid for the homeless children and at-risk youth they serve. From primary and secondary schools to vocational and technical training centers, students are able to get more out of the educational opportunities the Salesians provide, knowing they will not go hungry.

Stop Hunger Now operates meal packaging locations in 17 cities throughout the U.S. and in international locations in South Africa and Malaysia. Later this year, the organization plans to initiate the meal packaging program in new locations including Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Bologna, Italy.

Stop Hunger Now helps break the cycle of poverty for meal recipients through education, skills development and health care, while providing much-needed nutrition. The majority of meals go to support school feeding, vocational training, early childhood development programs, orphanages and medical clinics.

Stop Hunger Now’s goals are to provide food and life-saving aid to support sustainable education and development programs and to create a movement of educated volunteer advocates that are actively involved in poverty and hunger related issues.

“Salesian Missions is a good match for our mission to end hunger in our lifetime by providing food and life-saving aid while creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources,” says Chessney Barrick, director of marketing and communications at Stop Hunger Now.

Salesian programs operate in more than 130 countries around the globe. Salesian Missions helps support programs that promote education, encourage children to attend school, improve the health and nutrition of students, address gender inequalities, combat child labor, spur economic growth and create a platform to address global issues.

Because of the partnership and its resulting shipments, Salesians in the Philippines were able to help feed 3,155 poor youth and their families with the 660 boxes of fortified rice-soy meals they received. The shipment also included shampoo and eyeglasses, helping close to 700 people in need. Twenty-eight Salesian organizations throughout the Philippines were supported through the shipment which was coordinated by Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

The fortified rice-soy meals not only feed hungry children, they give them the energy to participate fully in educational programs and activities.

“Feeding hungry children is often the first step in providing an education,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. “When children have their most basic needs met, they are then able to concentrate on their studies and further their education.”

For Keisha Mae, a wood and furniture technology trainee in the Philippines, the fortified meals make a significant difference to the quality of her educational experience.

“I often go to school with an empty stomach as there is no food available in the house. During snack time some of my classmates share whatever they have,” explains Keisha Mae, “But since this Rice-Soy Casserole was donated, the training center served it to the trainees during snack time. Its vegetable ingredients make it look so nutritious and satisfy our starving stomachs.”

For parents of those enrolled in programs run by the Salesians of Don Bosco in Freetown, Sierra Leone, this critical food aid gives them peace of mind knowing that despite living in poverty, they are able to give a nutritious meal to their children. Many parents allow their children to attend school simply because they know they will be fed there. Offering just one plate of food, Salesian staff managed to persuade one mother living in poverty to allow her young son to attend activities at the informal school in the youth center and enter the first level of pre-school. Nineteen pallets of rice meals were delivered to programs in Sierra Leone, benefitting close to 1,200 youth.

In another shipment, the City of Hope in Zambia was able to provide for 4,320 people ranging from infants to the elderly. The Salesian center there includes an orphanage and vocational training programs as well as a primary and secondary school. The meals provided by Stop Hunger Now allow the organization to divert money previously used on food to other critical program needs. Money saved was also used to increase the size of the programs provided and number of students admitted.

The Salesian Sisters who run the City of Hope reported that the children receiving the meals are much healthier and have less headaches and hunger pains. In addition, they are better able to focus on their school work and their grades are improving.

“Stop Hunger Now is one of our favorite partners to work with because they are very flexible. They actively seek out opportunities to enhance shipments with additional donated items that the beneficiaries need, and they go the extra mile to help Salesian Missions meet any additional emergency requests for food that we receive,” explains Jessica O’Connor, property and logistics officer at the Salesian Missions Office for International Programs.

With programs in more than 130 countries around the globe, Salesian Missions has one of the largest networks that Stop Hunger Now works with. They also have extensive knowledge and experience when it comes to aid shipments. The Salesians are an integral part of the existing infrastructure in many countries and Salesian Missions plays an important role in making sure aid from the United States reaches its destination country and gets into the hands of those who need it most.

“The partnership with Stop Hunger Now allows Salesian Missions to expand its scope of services to youth in need,” adds O’Connor. “The shipment of packaged meals helps us to improve the nutrition of orphans and other vulnerable children. Operating feeding programs for youth in Salesian schools whose families cannot afford to feed them is very important and integral to the success of our students and their ability to gain an education.”

ABOUT STOP HUNGER NOW

This year, Stop Hunger Now is celebrating its 15^th anniversary in its ongoing work to create a movement to end hunger. More than 100,000,000 meals have been packaged and distributed with other life-saving aid to 65 countries, impacting millions of lives. The organization is driven by a vision of a world without hunger and a mission to end hunger in our lifetime by providing food and life-saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable and by creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources.

In its efforts to respond to emergency needs around the world Stop Hunger Now receives and distributes significant donations of in-kind aid. These donations are large quantities of food, medicines, medical supplies and other such items as may be of use in fighting hunger and providing relief in a crisis. For more information visit www.stophungernow.org.

ABOUT SALESIAN MISSIONS

Salesian Missions is headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, and is part of the Don Bosco Network—a worldwide federation of Salesian NGOs. The mission of the U.S.-based nonprofit Catholic organization is to raise funds for international programs that serve youth and families in poor communities around the globe. The Salesian missionaries are made up of priests, brothers and sisters, as well as laypeople—all dedicated to caring for poor children throughout the world in more than 130 countries and helping young people become self-sufficient by learning a trade that will help them gain employment. To date, more than 3 million youth have received services funded by Salesian Missions. These services and programs are provided to children regardless of race or religion. For more information, go to SalesianMissions.org.

The post Salesian Missions, Stop Hunger Now Partner to Deliver Critical Food Aid in More Than 10 Countries first appeared on MissionNewswire.