One the most urgent needs in Morobo is access to clean, safe water. The nearest water source is in Juba which requires residents to make a long daily trek to carry water back to their homes. From November to May each year, South Sudan experiences a dry season and most sources of surface water dry up. According to The Water Project, an organization that provides access to clean, safe and reliable water across sub-Saharan Africa, this lack of surface water forces millions of South Sudanese to leave their homes in search of water. Some have to abandon their homes and move all together while others are forced to trek miles every day to collect water from ponds, marshes, ditches or hand-dug wells.

Women and children bear the primary responsibility for water collection in the majority of households and globally, spend 140 million hours a day collecting water. Children in these communities are forced to walk for hours to collect drinking water. Many others are unable to attend school regularly because they must spend time searching for distant wells. Often the water they find is contaminated with disease-causing parasites and bacteria and if drunk, results in pain, sickness and even death, especially for infants and children.

The new water well project in Morobo provides the local people drinking water as well as water for sanitation and daily chores. Missionaries constructed the water well by drilling a borehole and installing a hand pump. Its construction will improve the health of residents, increase agricultural production and lead to a better quality of life for families, especially for girls and women.

“From safe drinking water and healthy sanitation to agriculture, water is essential for life,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian Missions has made building wells and other projects that supply fresh, clean water a top priority for every community in every country in which Salesian missionaries work.”

Don Bosco Gumbo includes a Salesian parish, secondary school and youth center and offers educational and social development services to youth and their families living in Morobo. For some, the education offered at Don Bosco Gumbo’s secondary school is the only opportunity to gain an education and the skills necessary for future employment.

South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world with 55 percent of its population living in poverty, according to the World Bank. Only 27 percent of the population aged 15 years and older is literate, with significant gender disparities. The literacy rate for males is 40 percent compared to 16 percent for females. Less than one percent of girls complete primary education.

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Sources:

The Water Project

World Bank – South Sudan

The post SOUTH SUDAN: Salesian Missionaries Dig New Well Providing Close to 4,000 People Clean, Safe Water first appeared on MissionNewswire.

For students at the Don Bosco Primary School located on the Don Bosco Gumbo campus, Salesian missionaries are providing new pens, pencils and school stationary for the new school year. The primary school serves 1,000 children, many of whom are from families who have been internally displaced.

According to the World Bank, almost 83 percent of South Sudanese resided in rural areas before the outbreak of the recent conflict which has displaced more than 2 million people. Only 27 percent of the population aged 15 years and older is literate, with significant gender disparities. The literacy rate for males is 40 percent compared to 16 percent for females with less than 1 percent of girls completing primary education. The Don Bosco Primary School’s mission is to educate all students with a focus on ensuring that girls have equal access to education. Close to 45 percent of the school’s students are girls.

“Girls education is important to us, and we work to ensure that girls are welcome in our school,” says Father David Tulimelli, parish priest at the Salesian St. Vincent de Paul parish which operates Don Bosco Gumbo, “We are grateful to our donors who made it possible that we could provide our students the school supplies they need to be prepared for their lessons and complete their studies.”

South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world with 55 percent of its population living in poverty, according to the World Bank. The country celebrated its third year of independence in 2015 but is facing an ongoing civil war that started in December 2013 and has resulted in a dire humanitarian crisis.

According to a recent New York Times articles, international aid agencies have developed a report that indicates more than 2.2 million people in South Sudan have fled their homes over the past two years, including some 600,000 who have sought refuge in neighboring countries. Last year, according to the report, a new pattern of violence emerged in which government forces adopted scorched-earth tactics burning entire villages, killing their inhabitants, destroying crops and looting livestock. The civil war, which started in northern and eastern states has now spread to the south.

During the first year of the war, fighting was initially between Nuer and Dinka ethnic communities aligned with the rival leaders but of late a wider array of armed groups and communities have been drawn into the increasingly lethal violence. The international aid agencies’ report also detailed the severity of human rights violations and abuses that have increased with the continuation of hostilities in the country and noted that attacks that have singled out and killed children as well as subjected them to sexual violence. Further, the United Nations estimates that as a result of the conflict, 2.8 million people are currently facing “acute” food and nutrition insecurity in South Sudan’s Greater Upper Nile states.

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Sources:

NY Times – U.N Finds South Sudan Increasingly in Turmoil

World Bank – South Sudan 

The post SOUTH SUDAN: Salesian Missionaries at Don Bosco Gumbo are Providing School Supplies and Food Aid to Those Internally Displaced first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Led by young adults from the St. Vincent de Paul parish, pre-novices from the Salesian community and volunteers, the camp program encouraged a holistic, balanced lifestyle designed to help campers develop a strong foundation of mind, body and spirit. It also provided local youth the opportunity to spend their vacation time in a positive, healthy environment.

The camp opened by registering campers and assigning them to one of four teams. During the course of the 10 days, the teams competed in recreational activities and sports with an emphasis on developing a healthy sense of competition and camaraderie. Each day began with a morning assembly that included positive messages of hope, joy, peace and love followed by morning classes in English and Arabic. After a mid-morning breakfast, campers engaged in sports and recreational activities including games and art, speech, singing and dance competitions.

“Youth living in poverty in South Sudanese communities have difficulty excelling and remaining in school,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian youth programs, like summer camps, provide positive role models, structured activities, a safe place to get off the streets and a nonviolent, supportive environment in which to engage with peers.”

Don Bosco Gumbo includes a church parish, secondary school and youth center and provides education and social development services for poor youth and their families. For some students, the secondary school at Don Bosco Gumbo is their only option for continued studies.

Don Bosco Gumbo is one of the host sites for the Salesian Lay Missionaries program which provides lay volunteers to work alongside Salesian priests and sisters on various projects throughout the world. Since the program started in 1981, more than 350 lay missioners have served in 20 countries on projects that range from youth ministry to agriculture to nursing.

South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world with 55 percent of its population living in poverty, according to the World Bank. The country celebrated its third year of independence last July but is facing an ongoing civil war that started in December 2013 and has resulted in a dire humanitarian crisis.

The civil war has left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands more. Close to 80,000 people have sought refuge at several UN compounds across the country. In the capital of Juba, 80 percent of those displaced are women and children. More than 350,000 people have fled to neighboring countries risking their lives and leaving everything behind.

Salesian missionaries assist those internally displaced through programs across South Sudan and in neighboring Kenya at the Kakuma refugee camp. More than 44 percent of refugees at the camp are from South Sudan and arrived after escaping conflict and violence.

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Sources:

ANS – South Sudan – Don Bosco Gumbo Summer Camp 2015

World Bank – South Sudan 

The post SOUTH SUDAN: Salesian Summer Camp Provides Activities for 270 Marginalized Youth first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The two Covenants together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights form the International Bill of Human Rights and outline the civil, political, cultural, economic and social rights that are the birthright of all human beings. The theme of Human Rights Day 2015 is “Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always” which aims to promote and raise awareness of the two Covenants on their 50th anniversary. The day also marks the kick-off of a year-long campaign that will promote the theme of rights and freedoms – freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.

According to the United Nations, many people around the globe remain unaware of the existence of the International Bill of Human Rights and many countries still have much to do to build political institutions, judicial systems and economies that allow people to live with dignity. Through education and social development programming, Salesian missionaries in more than 130 countries around the globe fight to ensure that all youth know their rights, are able to fully participate in their communities and have their voices heard.

Whether it’s combating child labor, assisting homeless youth or building schools where children previously had no access to education, Salesian missionaries are on the front lines educating youth on their rights and ensuring access to programs and services they need. Working in more than 5,300 Salesian primary and secondary schools around the globe, missionaries educate children in some of the poorest places on the planet. Education provides vulnerable youth a sense of personal dignity and self-worth and helps to break the cycle of poverty. At Salesian schools, young children gain an education, learn about their rights and freedoms and participate in sports and other activities all in a safe environment that encourages learning and growth.

“Education is always our primary focus,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. “We know youth are dealing with much more than just needing access to education. Salesian programs are tailored to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Homeless and malnourished youth are simply not able to focus effectively on their studies while they struggle to meet their basic needs. Salesian programs also provide food and shelter so students are able to focus on the education provided.”

In honor of Human Rights Day, Salesian Missions highlights its unique educational programs that are helping poor youth receive an education, understand their rights and find a path out of poverty, bringing them hope for the future.

CAMBODIA

In a country where less than half of children finish primary school, more than 50,000 children have received the encouragement and support needed to complete an elementary education through the Don Bosco Children Fund since its inception in 1992. The Don Bosco Children Fund assists poor youth between the ages of 6 and 15 who are either unable to go to school or have had to drop out due to poverty. Through the fund’s program, youth not only receive support to continue their education, they also receive a monthly assistance package consisting of goods and cash. Social workers ensure that participants make progress and remain in school and those with special aptitude are further supported and encouraged to pursue college coursework. During the 2013-2014 school year, the Don Bosco Children Fund supported 4,426 students in Cambodia’s government-run schools and another 637 students in schools managed by Don Bosco Schools Battambang.

INDIA

The Child Rights Education and Action Movement Project operated out of the city of Bangalore reached out to poor youth in both urban and rural areas of the State of Karnataka in southwestern India to create a culture that will support and uphold the protection of children’s rights. The goal was to encourage and enhance youth participation in the development process of promoting children’s rights and ensuring their care and protection. The project included the formation of more than 450 child rights clubs and the training of 900 teachers and 22,500 children in human rights education. The clubs aim to impart children’s rights awareness to about 75,000 children within a three year period.

SIERRA LEONE

Salesian Missions in Madrid, Spain recently released a report titled, Right to Protection of Children in Sierra Leone, which detailed a number of child rights violations that have been occurring in the country in the wake of the Ebola epidemic. According to the report, youth are faced with the devastating repercussions of Ebola including forced child labor, child abuse and more than 12,000 children who have been left orphaned. In Sierra Leone’s capital city, Freetown, Don Bosco Fambul, one of the country’s leading child welfare organizations, has been working for the prevention and detection of child rights violations as well as providing care and social integration for children and youth at-risk. Since 2010, the organization has provided a countrywide phone counseling service and since the outbreak of Ebola in 2014, the counseling line has turned into a widely used resource for Ebola prevention and support. More than 25,000 calls about Ebola have been answered and fielded. The data gathered as a result of the calls has helped the country’s national registration office identify Ebola hotspots and crisis regions. Through the hotline, Don Bosco Fambul brought hope to the children and adolescents of one of the poorest countries in the world during a terrible time of crisis.

SOUTH SUDAN

As a result of violence and a struggle to gain independence, much of South Sudan had been reduced to rubble. Infrastructure including hospitals, churches, schools and social program buildings were almost totally destroyed. Given the inability of the government to solve the problem, two Salesian priests decided that the best way to help the fledgling nation was through education. At the time of independence, more than 70 percent of the country’s children did not attend school. The “One Hundred Village Schools for South Sudan” project started in 2012 and since that time, 60 primary schools, comprised of four classrooms and a teacher’s office, have been built across the Salesian dioceses in the country. These schools are currently educating 13,500 children. The remaining 40 schools are expected to be completed by 2017.

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Sources:

Salesian Missions

UN – Human Rights Day 2015

The post HUMAN RIGHTS DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Education, Child Rights Programs first appeared on MissionNewswire.

As a result of the violence and struggle to gain independence, much of South Sudan had been reduced to rubble. Infrastructure including hospitals, churches, schools and social program buildings were almost totally destroyed. Given the inability of the government to solve the problem, Fr. Donati and Bro. Comino decided that the best way to help the fledgling nation was through education. At the time of independence, more than 70 percent of the country’s children did not attend school.

The missionaries, with support from the Salesian Missions South Korea office, build small schools with assistance from the local community which also provides the school furnishings. Local experts help the missionaries decide where a new school should be built and then local labor is used in the construction with materials including iron, wood and concrete provided by neighboring Uganda. Each school takes up to four months to build. Fr. Donati and Bro. Comino carry out inspections of the construction and the schools’ operations.

“There were many difficulties at the beginning of the project,” says Bro. Comino. “Many people were skeptical, but the then Rector Major, Father Pascual Chávez, gave us the green light to start construction. In the summer of 2015, we had the pleasure of informing him personally that 60 schools had been opened.”

On average, each school accommodates 300 to 350 students in first through eighth grade. All classes are operated in partnership with seven area Catholic dioceses which also provide many of the teachers. In order to further encourage the development of dedicated, qualified teachers, especially among young women who can most directly benefit from the economic opportunity afforded by the profession, the project also established a teachers’ training institute in the village of Yambio. Here, theoretical concepts augment the practical experience that teachers gain in the classroom.

The next project Fr. Donati and Bro. Comino are undertaking is the development of an agricultural school to help teach local communities how to cultivate their own land. One of the biggest needs in South Sudan is more and better agriculture production. Nearly 80 percent of vegetables, fruit and cereals are imported from Uganda where the same type of land is available as in South Sudan.

The goal is to train youth in agricultural production to decrease the amount of imports needed in the country while engaging them in stable employment. The government of South Sudan has given the missionaries ​​2,500 hectares of land to start the agricultural school. The hope is for the school to become a model that demonstrates the land’s richness and ability to provide food. A recent warning from the United Nations noted that South Sudan has close to 4 million people at-risk of hunger.

“It is a question of creating a mindset to entice people to cultivate the land,” adds Bro. Comino. “It could also be a great response to those who are driven by hunger to emigrate, by making them independent and aware that they can cultivate the land and meet their food needs without having to look elsewhere. The food is there, under their feet.”

South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world with 55 percent of its population living in poverty, according to the World Bank. The country celebrated its third year of independence last July but is facing an ongoing civil war that started in December 2013 and has resulted in a dire humanitarian crisis.

The civil war has left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands more. Close to 80,000 people have sought refuge at several UN compounds across the country. In the capital of Juba, 80 percent of those displaced are women and children. More than 350,000 people have fled to neighboring countries risking their lives and leaving everything behind.

Salesian missionaries assist those internally displaced through programs across South Sudan and in neighboring Kenya at the Kakuma refugee camp. More than 44 percent of refugees at the camp are from South Sudan and arrived after escaping conflict and violence.

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Sources:

ANS – RMG – South Sudan: education and culture

World Bank- South Sudan

Salesian Missions – Emergency in Sudan

The post South Sudan: Salesian Missionaries Have Built 60 Primary Schools Educating 13,500 Students first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Each year, June 20 marks World Refugee Day, a day that honors the plight of millions of refugees and internally displaced people around the globe. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, noted that at the end of 2014, more than 50 million people had been forced from their homes worldwide. Almost 80 percent of those displaced are women and children.

Established in 2001, World Refugee Day is coordinated by UNHRC and focuses on honoring the courage, strength and determination of men, women and children forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence. Each year, the day focuses on a particular theme that highlights specific circumstances faced by refugees. This year’s theme, “Get to know a refugee – Ordinary people living through extraordinary times,” aims to bring the public closer to the human side of the refugee story.

“All around the world we are seeing families fleeing violence,” said High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres in a recent statement about World Refugee Day. “The numbers are massive – but we must not forget that these are mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. People who led ordinary lives before war forced them to flee. On this World Refugee Day, everyone should remember the things that connect all of us – our common humanity.”

To mark World Refugee Day 2015, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight programs around the globe that provide life-changing education and support for refugees and internally displaced people in need that were developed by Salesian Missions and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Salesian Missions, headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, is the U.S. Development Arm of the international Salesians of Don Bosco.

COLOMBIAN REFUGEES

In recent years, more than 450,000 people have fled the violence of Colombia to neighboring Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama and Costa Rica. Salesian Missions’ New Beginnings initiative, which started in 2011, has provided more than 1,000 Colombian refugees in these four countries vocational and human development training as well as job placement services.

Many of the Colombian refugees began the program with no marketable skills. Without the prospect of a job, it was hard for them to create stability for their families and build new lives. The New Beginnings program grants each refugee 260 hours of technical training as well as 40 hours of human development workshops. The training programs, coupled with the job placement services, allowed these victims of violence and chaos to start over and build a stable, hopeful future for themselves, their families and their new communities.

SRI LANKAN REFUGEES IN INDIA

For the fifth year, Salesian Missions has received funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration to conduct its New Beginnings program for Sri Lankan Refugees in Tamil Nadu, India. To date, close to 2,500 refugees have received vocational training scholarships through the program. Since 1983, ethnic violence in Sri Lanka has forced tens of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils from their homeland in search of safety and a new life in Tamil Nadu, India. According to UNHCR, there are close to 140,000 Sri Lankan refugees in 65 countries, with almost 70,000 in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu.

Refugees face many challenges as they begin to make a new life in their host countries. Sri Lankan Tamils are unique in that their host population in Tamil Nadu is also ethnically Tamil. While Sri Lankan refugees share a common language and customs with their host community, they still struggle to gain marketable skills and find livable wage employment.

Since 2010, Salesian Missions has been providing its New Beginnings program for young male and female Sri Lankan refugees who have been living in refugee camps in 15 target districts in India. In 2015, Salesian missionaries are serving 550 individuals by providing vocational training through a network of nine Salesian-run Don Bosco schools spread across Southeast India. In addition, 550 women are benefiting from refugee camp-based small business incubator programs. The New Beginnings program provides market-conscious vocational and technical skills training that results in livable wage employment, allowing trainees to better support themselves and their families. Many refugees enter the program with few, if any, job prospects or with a history of low paid part-time work experience which is typically unskilled and often dangerous and exploitative.

REFUGEES IN KENYA

Kakuma was established in 1992 near Kenya’s border with South Sudan and was a place of refuge for unaccompanied minors fleeing warring factions in what was then southern Sudan. Today, the Kakuma refugee camp has more than 180,000 refugees, well over the 120,000 person capacity for which it was built. More than 44 percent of the refugees at the camp are from South Sudan and arrived after fleeing the country to escape conflict and violence.

Kakuma is operated by UNHCR in collaboration with Salesian missionaries in the country as well as several other humanitarian organizations. The camp offers refugees safety, security and life-saving services such as housing, healthcare, clean water and sanitation. Salesian missionaries at Kakuma refugee camp operate the Holy Cross Parish and the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center where 1,044 young men and women are receiving critical employment and life skills. There are many courses available and those studying welding, carpentry and bricklaying often utilize their new skills helping to build infrastructure within the camp. Salesian missionaries are currently seeking funding to build a new school on a donated plot of land at the refugee camp in order to meet the growing demand.

Salesian missionaries at the camp also operate the Helping Children to be Children program which gathers refugee children and leads them in games, songs and classes held outdoors on the camp grounds. As part of the program, children are offered the opportunity to draw and learn to speak English. Close to 3,000 children benefit from this Salesian program which currently has no steady funding and is run primarily by refugee volunteers.

SYRIAN 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 English language skills 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.

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Sources:

World Refugee Day 2015

The post WORLD REFUGEE DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Educational Programs Assisting Refugees around the Globe first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Kakuma was established in 1992 near Kenya’s border with South Sudan and was a place of refuge for unaccompanied minors fleeing warring factions in what was then southern Sudan. Today, the Kakuma refugee camp has more than 180,000 refugees, well over the 120,000 person capacity for which it was built. More than 44 percent of the refugees at the camp are from South Sudan and arrived after fleeing the country to escape conflict and violence.

Kakuma is operated by UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, in collaboration with Salesian missionaries in the country as well as several other humanitarian organizations. The camp offers refugees safety, security and life-saving services such as housing, healthcare, clean water and sanitation. According to UNHCR, for the third year in a row, Kakuma continues to receive record numbers of refugees from South Sudan. By late December 2014, there were more than 42,000 new arrivals in Kakuma. Without a lasting ceasefire and peace and reconciliation in South Sudan, UNHCR predicts the steady influx into Kenya is likely to continue throughout 2015.

The World Food Programme distributes 9,300 metric tons of food for 500,000 refugees in northern Kenya each month at a cost of $9.6 million. Unless more than $12 million is raised, there will be a critical food gap during August and September of this year.

“We are very worried about how this cut may affect the people who rely on our assistance,” says Thomas Hansson, World Food Progammes’s acting country director for Kenya, in a statement in the Thomas Reuters Foundation article. “But our food stocks are running out, and reducing the size of rations is the only way to stretch our supplies to last longer. We hope that this is only a temporary measure and we continue to appeal to the international community to assist.”

Salesian missionaries at Kakuma operate the Holy Cross Parish and the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center where 1,044 young men and women are being trained in critical employment and life skills. There are many courses available at the training center and those studying welding, carpentry and bricklaying often utilize their new skills helping to build infrastructure within the camp.

“Don Bosco Vocational Training Center is the only formal technical training center in the Kakuma refugee camp,” says Father Luke Mulayinkal who oversees the Salesian work at Kakuma. “There are so many who are being prepared for a livelihood and for nation building in their home countries or in the countries in which they will be settled. At the end of their year studies, the students receive a Kenya Government Certificate which holds much value for the refugees.”

In addition to the critical food shortfalls, Kakuma is running out of space. By the end of August 2014, the camp was unable to accommodate new arrivals and UNHCR sought to secure new land for its expanded operations. With the influx of refugees into the camp and a need for technical education, Salesian missionaries at Kakuma are struggling to meet the demands of students seeking training. While land has been provided to build a new facility, funding still needs to be raised to complete the project.

“Since the influx of refugees and the critical food shortages, Salesian missionaries have many needs here,” adds Fr. Mulayinkal. “We need to expand our services to meet the growing demand for shelter, nutrition, education, social support and infrastructure to run our programs. Right now we do what we can for as many as we can but the demand continues to grow.”

Headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, has launched a donation appeal to aid Salesian missionaries at Kakuma in building a new training facility as well as funding ongoing humanitarian assistance for those displaced. As Salesian missionaries in Kenya continue to provide safety and shelter for displaced families, they are reaching out for support so they may continue to help those in need.

To give to relief efforts helping those in need throughout Africa, go to SalesianMissions.org and select “African Crisis Emergency Fund” on the donate page.

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SOURCES:

Photo: Matija Kovac/Wikimedia Commons

Thomas Reuters Foundation – Funding shortfall forces U.N. to cut refugee food rations in Kenyan camps

UNHCR – Kakuma Refugee Camp 2015

The post KENYA: World Food Program Cuts will Affect Nearly 1,000 Participating in Salesian Programs at Kakuma Refugee Camp first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Fighting between armed Dinka pastoralists and local youth started in Maridi on Sunday evening, June 7th. Nine people were killed and several others injured during clashes that forced people to flee from their homes in search of safety. The violence also caused local markets and schools to close temporarily.

“On Sunday night at 9:47 p.m. there was a loud explosion followed by gunshots,” reported local Salesian missionaries living and working in the town. “On Monday morning we had school as usual and every so often we could hear some sporadic gunfire coming from the city. At 10:30 that morning we had to suspend classes and ask the pupils to go home. By 11:00, Maridi was under attack. Everybody fled to Rastigi, Civicon and other villages. A good number have fled into the woods.”

Missionaries also reported that one of the two warring factions in South Sudan arrived at the scene well-armed while the locals who came out to defend themselves were armed only with bows and arrows. The Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco, an order of Salesian nuns who operate an educational program in Maridi, sent their students home as soon as the conflict started. Many of the sisters are caring for the sick and wounded who have come from the local Maridi Hospital while also harboring locals seeking safety and shelter at the sisters’ medical clinic.

On Monday night, gunfire could still be heard near the Salesian compound in Maridi. By Tuesday morning, the situation seemed calm and the streets in and around Maridi were deserted.

Salesian Lay Missioner Ariel Zarate from Oak Lawn, Illinois is in her second year of service at the Maridi mission and shared her observations of the conflict in an email to the Salesian Missions lay missioners director.

“The media definitely exaggerates, however things are tense. When I first read some recent news about an uptick of violence in South Sudan there was nothing to report but that seems to have changed a bit,” explains Zarate. “Two nights ago some cattle were killed which sparked some violence in the town about 5 km away. Things are tense and some indiscriminate killing has been happening but mostly there in town. We are still assessing the situation. I’m being cautious and taking no risks, just waiting for things to settle down.”

Salesian missionaries are continuing to provide what services they can as they continue to assess the situation. Classes and other programs will resume once the area is deemed safe for both students and staff.

South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world with 55 percent of its population living in poverty, according to the World Bank. The country will celebrate its fourth year of independence in July but is facing an ongoing civil war that started in December 2013 and has resulted in a dire humanitarian crisis leaving thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.

Close to 80,000 people have sought refuge at several UN compounds across the country. In Juba, the largest city and capital of the country, 80 percent of those displaced are women and children. More than 350,000 people have fled to neighboring countries risking their lives and leaving everything they had behind.

Salesian missionaries provide education, social development services, nutrition programs and health clinics for poor youth and their families in South Sudan. For some, the education offered at Salesian schools is the only opportunity to gain an education and the skills necessary for future employment.

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Sources:

ANS – South Sudan – Tension and Gunfire in Maridi

Sudan Tribune – South Sudan parliament forms investigation team over Maridi fighting

*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.

The post SOUTH SUDAN: Salesian Classes Canceled in Wake of New Tensions in South Sudan first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Don Bosco Gumbo is one of the host sites for the Salesian Lay Missionaries program which provides lay volunteers to work alongside Salesian priests and sisters on various projects throughout the world. Since the program started in 1981, more than 350 lay missioners have served in 20 countries on projects that range from youth ministry to agriculture to nursing.

In August 2013, Salesian lay missioners Michael Gotta and Patrick Sabol began work at the Salesian secondary school, parish and youth center in Gumbo. The two men had a range of responsibilities while in Gumbo including administrative duties at the school and interviewing prospective students.

“The most rewarding part of my work at the Salesian center was learning about the people,” says Gotta. “They came from many different places and brought a great cultural diversity which we got to experience. We also shared some of our own culture with them.”

During their time in South Sudan, Gotta and Sabol taught in the secondary school which serves youth and young adults between the ages of 14 and 30. Classes are offered to students beyond typical secondary school age because of the unavailability of schooling in much of South Sudan and the years of interruption by war. Students who were forced to leave school due to war are able to return and continue their education even into adulthood.

When Gotta and Sabol started teaching at the school there were 65 students. After fighting broke out in the country in December 2013, those internally displaced by war flowed into the city increasing school enrollment to 180 students. When fighting escalated, Salesian lay missionaries, including Gotta and Sabol, were moved to Kenya temporarily for their safety.

“Seeing the suffering, particularly when the fighting began, was one of the most challenging things we faced while we were there,” explains Sabol. “We had many of those who were internally displaced at the Salesian compound. When we arrived in August, the South Sudanese were still experiencing the joy of their newly won independence and then in December it all began to fall apart.”

South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world with 55 percent of its population living in poverty, according to the World Bank. The country celebrated its third year of independence last July but is facing an ongoing civil war that started in December 2013 and has resulted in a dire humanitarian crisis.

The civil war has left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands more. Close to 80,000 people have sought refuge at several UN compounds across the country. In the capital of Juba, 80 percent of those displaced are women and children. More than 350,000 people have fled to neighboring countries risking their lives and leaving everything behind.

Salesian missionaries assist those internally displaced through programs across South Sudan and in neighboring Kenya at the Kakuma refugee camp. More than 44 percent of refugees at the camp are from South Sudan and arrived after escaping conflict and violence.

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Sources:

ANS – United States – Returned SLMs Reflect on their experience in South Sudan

Salesian Lay Missioners

World Bank – South Sudan 

*Any goods, services or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.

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Salesian missionaries at Kakuma operate the Holy Cross Parish and the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center where 1,044 young men and women are  being trained in critical employment and life skills. There are many courses available at the training center and those studying welding, carpentry and bricklaying often utilize their new skills helping to build infrastructure within the camp.

“Don Bosco Vocational Training Center is the only formal technical training center in the Kakuma refugee camp,” says Father Luke Mulayinkal, who oversees the Salesian work at Kakuma. “There are so many who are being prepared for a livelihood and for nation building in their home countries or in the countries in which they will be settled. At the end of their year studies, the students receive a Kenya Government Certificate which holds much value for the refugees.”

Today, the Kakuma refugee camp has more than 180,000 refugees, well over the 120,000 person capacity for which it was built, with more refugees arriving every day. More than 44 percent of the refugees at the camp are from South Sudan and arrived after fleeing the country to escape conflict and violence. According to UNHCR, for the third year in a row, Kakuma continues to receive record numbers of refugees from South Sudan. By late August 2014 there were more than 42,000 new arrivals in Kakuma. Without a lasting ceasefire and peace and reconciliation in South Sudan, UNHCR predicts the steady influx into Kenya is likely to continue into 2015.

Kakuma is running out of space. By the end of August 2014, the camp was unable to accommodate new arrivals and UNHCR sought to secure new land for its expanded operations. With the influx of refugees into the camp and a need for technical education, Salesian missionaries at Kakuma are struggling to meet the demands of students seeking training.

Recently, A plot of land was provided for the Salesian missionaries to develop an additional vocational school to accommodate the growing numbers. While the land has been secured, it still has to be fenced off, new buildings constructed and machines and equipment purchased for the classrooms. Once the school is completed, it will offer classes for adults in carpentry, welding, sewing and the English language. Salesian missionaries are currently seeking funding to build the new vocational center and equip its workshops and classrooms.

“Since the influx of refugees, the Salesians have many needs here,” adds Fr. Mulayinkal. “We need to expand our services to meet the growing demand for shelter, nutrition, education, social support and infrastructure to run our programs. Right now we do what we can for as many as we can but the demand continues to grow.”

Headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, Salesian Missions—the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco—has launched a donation appeal to aid this project as well as ongoing humanitarian assistance for those displaced. As the Salesians in Kenya continue to provide safety and shelter for displaced families, they are reaching out for support so they may continue to help those in need.

To give to relief efforts helping those in need throughout Africa, go to SalesianMissions.org and select “African Crisis Emergency Fund” on the donate page.

Sources

ANS – Kenya – The war in South Sudan continues and the Kakuma refugee camp is overcrowded

UNHCR – Kakuma Refugee Camp 2015

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Offering one-year intensive training programs in auto mechanics, general mechanics, welding, electricity, building, carpentry and plumbing, the technical school trains its students in the skills necessary to become qualified professionals. Career counseling and job placement services help students make the transition from the classroom into the workforce with more than 75 percent of graduates finding employment in their chosen field.

In response to a need for more advanced professional training in 2004, the technical school expanded its offerings to include more extensive three-year degree programs. Since then, more than 300 students have successfully completed three-year degree programs with 80 percent of those graduating finding stable employment in their field of study.

Many students who attend the technical school are escaping the violence of a civil war that has torn apart South Sudan and disrupted its education system. Joseph, a 15 year old boy, was forced to abandon his home and flee to a refugee camp where he found few opportunities to gain an education. Since being accepted into the Don Bosco Technical Center, he is being educated and learning a trade, giving him the opportunity for future employment and a productive, stable life. He is one of 400 boys who attend the school from around the country.

“Access to education provides opportunities to youth they may never have imagined possible,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian programs are able to meet the diverse needs of students, allowing them to focus on their studies while gaining life skills that help them make better decisions and find future employment.”

With more than 46 percent of its population living in poverty, the Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world, according to UNICEF. Low incomes and food deficiencies are commonplace and ongoing violence and civil unrest exacerbate already harsh conditions. Despite these challenges, more youth are in school today than ever before with school attendance up to 73 percent compared to 68 percent in 2008. There remain, however, some 3.2 million children between the ages of six and 16 out of school with the highest rates among nomadic populations, those living in rural areas and in the poorest households.

School enrollment and retention is affected by weak curriculums in Sudanese schools and inadequate educational materials and teacher training (according to UNICEF, more than 40 percent of teachers are untrained). Ongoing conflict and the high cost of education, particularly in rural areas where parents have to pay school fees, also affect enrollment rates.

“All youth deserve a chance at a better life,” adds Fr. Hyde. “At Don Bosco Technical School, Salesian missionaries help youth overcome barriers to success while teaching them how to take responsibility for their own lives. By providing youth an education and the necessary skills to find and retain employment, they are able to support themselves and help their communities.”

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Sources

Don Bosco Vocational Training Centre – El Obeid

UNICEF – Poverty in Sudan 

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The civil war has left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands more. Close to 80,000 people have sought refuge at several UN compounds across the country. In Juba, the largest city and capital of the country, 80 percent of those displaced are women and children. More than 350,000 people have fled to neighboring countries risking their lives and leaving everything they had behind.

South Sudan just entered its rainy season, and being a country with few paved roads, the flooded and muddy streets hamper relief efforts. UNICEF and the World Food Program recently issued a warning that South Sudan is falling rapidly into a nutrition crisis that could result in the deaths of more than 50,000 children from malnutrition over the course of this year. Over 7 million people are at risk of food insecurity and 4.9 million of them are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.

The current rainy season also presents a looming health crisis in the country. In May, a cholera outbreak was confirmed bringing with it the imminent threat of a health emergency. With only 15 percent of people having access to adequate sanitary latrines and 30 percent without access to safe water, the rainy season increases the risk of diseases, in particular diarrheal diseases.

Salesian missionaries have been working in Tonj, a town in the northwest region of South Sudan, for several years. Their focus has been on providing education and social development services for poor youth through the operation of primary and secondary schools and youth centers. In addition, the missionaries operate several medical clinics, including a leprosy clinic.

Recently, the Salesians of South Sudan, in collaboration with the Tonj Project Onlus, completed the first stages of construction on a new hospital in Tonj. The hospital will care for the poor and the sick in Tonj and its surrounding communities. The Tonj Project Onlus, founded by Salesian Father Omar Delasa of the Lombardy-Emiliana Province in Italy, provided volunteers who helped in the planning and construction of the hospital.

“Medical care is a very important part of Salesian work around the globe,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian missionaries care for the sick in over 90 clinics and hospitals in the more than 130 countries we serve. Many of the hospitals and clinics are located in rural areas where access to medical care is limited.”

The new hospital in Tonj opened in late July after four years of planning and construction. The current facility consists of maternity and surgical wards and a residence for medical and administrative staff. The hospital will begin operation in the coming weeks, and the fully completed building will open in 2015.

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Sources:

ANS – South Sudan – First stage of construction works for the new hospital in Tonj completed

UNICEF – In South Sudan, response to looming threats of disease and malnutrition is a race against time and the elements

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“There is no let-up in the number of humanitarian crises that need our attention, or indeed in their severity,” Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos told a news conference in Geneva.

“Most recently, of course, we have Iraq and the large numbers of displaced people in the last few days and the situation in Ukraine is also worsening.”

Ms. Amos, who is also UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the crisis in Syria continues to dominate international response efforts with 9.3 million people in need and 2.8 million people who have become refugees in neighboring countries.

“Violations of humanitarian and human rights law continue unabated by all parties to the conflict in Syria. And 241,000 people remain under siege in areas where almost no aid can go in, and there are few ways for people to get out.”

Resolution 2139, adopted by the Security Council earlier this year with the intention of boosting humanitarian access into Syria, “has had little impact and access remains extremely difficult.”

She also highlighted the crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR), where over half of the population – or 2.5 million women, children and men – urgently need protection and relief to meet their most basic needs.

While the strategic response plan in CAR targets 1.9 million people for humanitarian aid, Ms. Amos said violence and insecurity is cutting off entire communities and aid workers themselves have been attacked.

In South Sudan, some 1.5 million people have been uprooted by violence in the past six months alone and the situation continues to deteriorate. “Despite the ceasefire, we are seeing ongoing violence and conflict. With the onset of the rains, cholera has broken out and malaria is taking its toll on children and on adults alike,” Ms. Amos reported.

Aid agencies have just released a new plan to help 3.8 million people in South Sudan by December with emergency healthcare, food, clean water, sanitation and shelter. “There is no time to waste if we are to avoid a famine later in the year,” said the UN humanitarian chief.

Meanwhile, there are continuing challenges in countries like Yemen, where nearly 15 million are in need of aid; Somalia where one million remain internally displaced and in a state of extreme vulnerability; and Sudan, where UN agencies and non-governmental organizations are targeting five million people as needs grow, especially in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

“This year, we asked for a record $16.9 billion, the highest amount ever requested in a single year. As of today, we have received 30 per cent of that funding, or $5.2 billion. We still have to raise $11.7 billion,” Ms. Amos stated.

“Humanitarian organizations will continue to try to scale up efforts – our capacity is stretched to the limit. We need the continued support of the international community, we need not just the funding, but we also need the access if we are going to do our jobs effectively.”

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Photo: Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos arrives for a news conference in Geneva. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

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Around 150,000 South Sudanese have fled to Ethiopia since conflict broke out in the world’s youngest nation in December.  Nine out of ten of the arrivals are women and children who often walk for weeks to reach safety.

“It’s a massive emergency,” Antoine Foucher, MSF’s head of mission in Ethiopia, told Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

“One child out of ten coming into our hospitals is actually dying for a variety of reasons ranging from late referrals to very bad health status that is practically not curable.”

The refugees are fleeing hunger as well as conflict, with food becoming increasingly scarce in South Sudan.

Fighting between government forces and rebels has driven 1.5 million South Sudanese from their homes and left 3.5 million, or a third of the population, suffering acute or emergency-level food shortages, the United Nations says.

FIGHTING OFF ILLNESSES

One in four of the children who arrive in Ethiopia are malnourished, Foucher said. In this weakened state, it is difficult for their bodies to fight off illnesses such as measles, diarrhoea and respiratory infections.

The start of the rainy season will aggravate the situation, worsening sanitary conditions and the incidence of malaria.

“It’s a race against time,” said Foucher. “We have a one month window of opportunity… to bring the conditions up to standard if we want to avoid a catastrophe on the catastrophe.”

MSF has two hospitals treating the refugees. In Lietchuor camp, seven percent of the children who are admitted die. In their hospital in the town of Itang, 10km from Kule camp, the death rate is 18 percent.

Ethiopia was home to just 50,000 South Sudanese refugees before the war erupted. Aid agencies have been struggling to cope with the sudden influx, which has been as high as 15,000 arrivals per day.

The population of the camps could reach 350,000 by the end of the year, the United Nations refugee agency has said.

TRANSIT CAMPS

New arrivals sometimes have to wait up to a month at transit sites before being resettled in the permanent camps, about 50km away.

“This period is naturally very critical because this is the moment when they do need the most intensive care,” said Foucher.

“MSF teams provide medical care in these transit camps, treating the children, some of whom die within the first days following their arrival.”

Conditions in the camps are little better, with half of the refugees living under plastic sheeting and a severe shortage of water and latrines.

“After several weeks in the camps, where living conditions are very precarious, they do not get any better,” MSF said, highlighting the prevalence of diarrhoea and pneumonia among hospitalised children.

In humanitarian emergencies, people are supposed to receive 20 litres of water per person per day. At the Burubiey transit centre, it is only seven litres.

Each latrine should be shared by a maximum of 20 people. At Kule 1 camp, MSF said, there are 288 people per latrine.

“If the situation is not improved – in terms of water supplies, in terms of latrines availability, in terms of shelter – then the medical unit that has been deployed by MSF will only be able to tackle the consequences,” Foucher said.

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by Katy Migiro

PHOTO: Children displaced by the fighting in Bor county, stand on the side of a boat in Awerial county, Lakes state, in South Sudan, January 15, 2014. REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu

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Kakuma is operated by UNHCR in collaboration with Salesian missionaries in the country as well as several other humanitarian organizations. The camp offers refugees safety, security and life-saving services such as housing, health care, clean water and sanitation. As some of the world’s most vulnerable youth, young refugees often survive devastating violence and a struggle to find food and shelter only to find themselves in refugee camps with little opportunity for education. Many arrive with few means of supporting themselves and no sustainable livelihood.

Salesian missionaries at Kakuma refugee camp operate the Holy Cross Parish and the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center where 1,044 young men and women are receiving critical employment and life skills. There are many courses available and those studying welding, carpentry and bricklaying often utilize their new skills helping to build infrastructure within the camp.

“Don Bosco Vocational Training Center is the only formal technical training center in the Kakuma refugee camp,” says Father Luke Mulayinkal, who oversees the Salesian work at Kakuma. “There are so many who are being prepared for a livelihood and for nation building in their home countries or in the countries in which they will be settled. At the end of their year studies, the students receive a Kenya Government Certificate which holds much value for the refugees.”

With a recent influx of refugees into the camp and a need for technical education, the Salesian missionaries at Kakuma are struggling to meet the demands of students seeking training. The goal, if funding can be secured, is to reopen a second technical training center which had closed in 2008 when the camp population shrunk to 20,000 as a result of many refugees being able to return to their homes. The camp started growing again in 2011, and has increased in population each year, putting a strain on programming and creating a need to reopen previously offered services. Today, students must wake very early in the morning and walk a few miles to get to the Don Bosco Center. Many others must wait until there is room in the training programs to accommodate them.

Salesian missionaries at the camp also operate the Helping Children to be Children program, which gathers refugee children and leads them in games, songs and classes held outdoors on the camp grounds. Children are also offered the opportunity to draw and learn to speak English. Close to 3,000 children benefit from this Salesian program, which currently has no steady funding and is run primarily by refugee volunteers.

At Kakuma, refugees often do not have the money to buy nutritious food or milk and many children go without milk for a very long time. On the occasions the Helping Children to be Children program gains access to funding, it purchases balls for the children’s games as well as biscuits, sweets and milk for the refugees. Recent funding allowed the Salesian programs to provide milk to the children at the camp as well as a cabbage each to 225 families.

“Since the influx of refugees, the Salesians have many needs here,” adds Fr. Mulayinkal. “We need to expand our services to meet the growing demand for shelter, nutrition, education, social support and infrastructure to run our programs. Right now we do what we can for as many as we can but the demand continues to grow.”

Recently, Salesians at Kakuma began building a new chapel for the refugees. Once completed, it will be the sixth Salesian chapel at the camp and will be used as place of prayer and social support. An additional $10,000 is need to complete the project.

Headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, Salesian Missions—the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco—has launched a donation appeal to aid this project as well as ongoing humanitarian assistance for those displaced. As the Salesians in Kenya continue to provide safety and shelter for displaced families, they are reaching out for support so they may continue to help those in need.

To give to the relief efforts helping those in need throughout Africa, go to SalesianMissions.org and select “African Crisis Emergency Fund” on the donate page.

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Sources:

UNHCR – UNHCR – 2014 Country Operations Profile – Kenya

Salesian Missions – Kenya

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The UN refugee agency told reporters it was working with its partners to improve conditions in Ethiopia’s western Gambella region– flying in new tents, building camps and moving refugees to higher ground as the rainy season approaches.

On Monday the first flight in an airlift of 4,000 emergency tents arrived at Gambella airport. Those 400 tents were being sent to Lietchuor refugee camp, 125 kilometres from Gambella town, on Tuesday.

The remaining tents will arrive on six flights over the coming days for distribution to other camps operated by UNHCR and Ethiopia’s Administration of Refugees and Returnees Affairs (ARRA) in Gambella Regional State.

UNHCR has now finished relocating refugees who were living in flood-prone areas in Kule camp, 42 kilometres from Gambella town, to higher ground. A similar relocation will start at Leitchuor camp on Tuesday. With the rainy season approaching, some parts of the camps were already affected by flooding.

Last weekend, UNHCR and ARRA started clearing the area for a new camp close to Kule on land donated by the Gambella regional administration. It will accommodate up to 30,000 refugees and be located on high ground. The camp is expected to be ready by the end of April.

“Refugees continue to arrive from South Sudan into the Gambella region at a rate of 800 to 1,000 people per day, mainly through the Pagak border point,” UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming told a news briefing.

Some 95 percent are women and children from the Upper Nile State, with many citing fear and food scarcity as the main reasons for their flight. Many women reported men are forcibly recruited, while others have been killed.

“Some refugees have walked up to three weeks to cross the border and malnutrition rates among children remain high,” Fleming said.

More than 4,000 malnourished children are in nutrition programmes in the camps, while some 3,500 lactating women are receiving supplementary feeding. However, UNHCR reported a slight easing in the number of arrivals in Ethiopia since WFP began airdrops of food in South Sudan itself.

With the ongoing influx and the rainy season imminent, regional authorities have granted space on higher ground at the Pagak border point to build a transitional reception centre. The new centre will accommodate up to 5,000 people and provide accommodation while refugees are registered and receive vaccinations, health, nutrition, and other basic services.

UNHCR has deployed a helicopter to transport vulnerable people – the elderly, the disabled, pregnant and lactating women, newborns and sick people – from the Akobo border point to the Lietchuour refugee camp.

Most refugees arriving to Akobo travel by boat up to 15 hours to Burubiey, another entry point, from where they are eventually settled in refugee camps. Some 190 vulnerable people unfit to make that boat trip have been moved to Leitchor camp in 11 flights over the past two weeks and the 30-minute flights are continuing.

Some 86,000 refugees fleeing South Sudan’s current conflict now reside in four camps — Kule, Lietchuor, Pugnido and Okugo — with a further 9,600 still to be relocated from border points.

UNHCR and partners need to raise USD 102 million to meet the basic needs of South Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia. Of this, UNHCR requires USD 43.6 million, with only 12 percent so far funded.

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PHOTO: © UNHCR/L.F.Godinho

South Sudanese refugees, who fled to Ethiopia after internal ethnical conflicts erupted in their homeland in December 2013, carry essential aid items back to their tents in Kule Camp.

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“In the situations of both South Sudan and CAR, we are extremely concerned about the safety of refugees and displaced people, particularly with access being affected by the fighting and insecurity,” UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesperson Adrian Edwards told a news briefing in Geneva.

“Today’s appeals reflect the worsening situations in both cases, with hundreds of thousands of people now affected.”

Of the new funding, $59 million are targeted for South Sudan, where well over 1,000 people have been killed and some 300,000 others driven from their home since fighting erupted between Government and opposition forces less than a month ago.

The remaining $40.2 million is destined for CAR, where thousands of people are estimated to have been killed, nearly 1 million driven from their homes, and 2.2 million, about half the population, need humanitarian aid in a conflict which erupted when mainly Muslim rebels launched attacks a year ago and has taken on increasingly sectarian overtones as mainly Christian militias take up arms.

Both requests by UNHCR, which are for the period to the end of March, follow appeals launched by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on 31 and 24 December respectively on behalf of all UN agencies for $209 million for South Sudan and $152.2 million in immediate support for a 100-day plan for CAR.

Mr. Edwards said the situation has continued to deteriorate in South Sudan, where the number of people fleeing to neighboring countries has quickly increased to some 43,000 people, and Uganda now seeing between 4,000 and 5,000 arriving every day. Inside the country some 232,000 people have been driven from their homes, including 60,500 sheltering at 10 UN bases.

He said the appeal included projections of additional displacement between now and April. “It anticipates that refugee numbers could rise to 125,000 and that the number of people displaced within South Sudan could reach 400,000″, he noted. UNHCR emergency operations include

Today’s supplementary appeal for CAR aims to support more than 1 million people, including 86,400 refugees in neighboring countries and 958,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In both countries, the crises have displaced tens of thousands more people over the past three weeks and “insecurity makes assisting them more expensive, having to resort to airlifts for example when roads are not safe,” Mr. Edwards stressed.

UNHCR emergency operations include registering, sheltering and protecting refugees, providing supplies to displaced people, designing and managing camps for them, and protecting the most vulnerable among them.

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Photo: Displaced civilians of Bangui take shelter in the shell of an aircraft at the city’s airport. UNHCR/S. Phelps

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“But our goal is to go as quickly as possible and we are grateful to those countries who are helping us to do the transportation because that’s no small feat,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous told reporters after briefing the Security Council on the situation in the world’s youngest country, where well over 1,000 people have been killed and some 300,000 others driven from their home since fighting erupted between Government and opposition forces nearly a month ago.

The time-frame is longer than Mr. Ladsous outlined on 30 December when he said it was hoped all reinforcements for the UN peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) that the Council authorized to protect civilians – almost doubling the force to nearly 14,000, including utility and tactical helicopters – would be on the ground within three weeks.

But although he said today that getting the whole surge there could take between four and eight weeks, he stressed that “we are making very substantial progress,” and it was hoped to have a significant number of formed police units, some of which are already deployed and operational, on the ground over the coming days.

This will allow UNMISS peacekeepers who lack the necessary vehicles and are currently deployed on UN bases and camps to defend 60,000 people seeking shelter there, to take on “more proactive patrolling around the bases and beyond because, of course, the situation in terms of violation of human rights remains terrible critical,” he added.

Mr. Ladsous said “we know” that the death toll will “be very substantially in excess of the 1,000 figures that we know for sure,” while there are probably 250,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). At least 42,800 others are estimated to have fled to neighbouring countries.

“The priorities now for the UN are very clearly in this situation: to focus on the protection of civilians, on human rights and on helping our humanitarian colleagues to access those populations,” he stressed. “These are the three items on which UNMISS is really concentrating all its efforts right now.”

During the more than three hour briefing, the Council also heard from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative to the African Union, Haile Menkerios, by video link from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where Government and opposition representatives are meeting in talks in talks mediated by the East African regional organization, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), with an immediate ceasefire and the release of political detainees held by the Government at the top of the agenda.

Mr. Ban’s Special Representative in South Sudan, and head of UNMISS, Hilde Johnson also briefed the 15-member body from Juba, South Sudan’s capital.

Asked about denial of access for UN peacekeepers, which the Government guaranteed in the accord setting up UNMISS, specifically flying into Bor in Jonglei state, site of some of the fiercest fighting and displacement of civilians, Mr. Ladsous said “this is being corrected and this has been taken up rather forcefully with the Government.”

Asked why UNMISS forces have so far remained on their bases and not gone further afield when fighting and human rights abuses have been reported, he replied: “In view of the fact that they only have limited equipment, that is a Limitation. So this is why we don’t send them on long-range patrols on the vehicles that they don’t have yet.

“This is why we are concentrating in the first place on the protection of UN bases and camps. But as the strength augments, as the equipment augments, then it will be possible to put them into full blown duties.”

He was also asked about reports that the South Sudanese Government objected to certain nationalities taking part in the UNMISS reinforcement; “The situation has improved in the sense that the messages have been more open, so there’s still work to do, but anyway we are in a position of deploying those troops that we intended to deploy to South Sudan.”

The Council briefings came as UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos announced $15-million allocation from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). “Conditions for the South Sudanese fleeing hostilities in their country are getting worse by the day,” she said. With this CERF funding, UN humanitarian agencies will be better able to meet the needs of people desperately seeking shelter and safety.”

South Sudan, which only gained independence in 2011 after seceding from Sudan, erupted in fighting on 15 December when President Salva Kiir said soldiers loyal to former deputy president Riek Machar, dismissed last July, reportedly launched an attempted coup.

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Photo: Civilians fleeing the fighting and seeking refuge, wait outside a compound of the UN Mission in Bor (December 2013). UN Photo/Hailemichael Gebrekrstos

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As of yesterday, 23,546 South Sudanese refugees had arrived in Uganda since the conflict erupted a month ago in the world’s youngest country, which only gained independence in 2011 after seceding from Sudan, when President Salva Kiir said soldiers loyal to former deputy president Riek Machar, dismissed last July, reportedly launched an attempted coup.

“They are now crossing at a rate of up to 2,500 people a day,” UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming told a news briefing in Geneva.

These new arrivals come at a time when UNHCR’s Uganda office is trying to cope with a continuing influx of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “We still have 8,000 new Congolese arrivals at three reception centers in western Uganda, so our staff and our supplies are stretched,” Ms. Fleming said.

Smaller but growing numbers of South Sudanese refugees are also fleeing to other neighboring countries. More than 5,300 refugees have been registered in Ethiopia – though the number is likely higher as the remote border area is hard to access. In north-west Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp, where as many as 300 South Sudanese are now arriving daily, UNHCR staff registered 3,173 new arrivals by Sunday evening.

The situation in Sudan remains less clear. At least several hundred South Sudanese have crossed the border, and perhaps several thousand. But with many groups, including nomads and rebels, active in the area, it is difficult to know exactly how many are refugees, Ms. Fleming said.

Representatives of Mr. Kiir and Mr. Machar are meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in talks mediated by the East African regional organization, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), with an immediate ceasefire at the top of the agenda.

Inside South Sudan, UNHCR is operating with a reduced staff of 200 people because of fighting and insecurity throughout much of the country, but it continues to supply services to some 230,000 existing refugees at 10 camps in South Sudan.

“We have also been taking on increased responsibilities for the 57,000 civilians taking refuge in 10 UN compounds throughout the country,” Ms. Fleming stressed. “We are helping lead efforts to protect especially vulnerable people like women and children. And we have brought in experts in areas such as site planning and camp management.”

Yesterday a chartered flight arrived in Juba, the capital, carrying essential relief items from UNHCR’s stockpiles in Nairobi, including 12,500 blankets, 2,500 sets of cooking pots and other kitchen equipment, and 4,000 plastic sheets to shelter 20,000 displaced people in and around the capital.

In Maban, north-eastern South Sudan, just four UNHCR international staff and 11 national staff have been working with partners and refugees to serve 120,000 refugees in four camps, making sure that health services remain available and water pumps are still working.

UNHCR and the UN World Food Program (WFP) together have distributed food rations to the refugees for 45 days instead of the normal 30 days, so that they will be able to eat if services are disrupted.

“We are also in the process of distributing soap in all four camps. Given the dangerous and fast-changing nature of operating in South Sudan, we are stretching resources and working to fill any gaps in service,” Ms. Fleming said.

The agency is also preparing to return personnel to Yida in Unity state, where three national staff and partners have been continuing to serve the 77,000 refugees in Yida and Ajuong Thok camps close to the border with Sudan. But that plan is contingent on the deployment of additional UN peace-keepers.

Operating in Unity state remains dangerous and unpredictable and last week UNHCR lost six pick-up trucks to looters, who also helped themselves to barrels of fuel and spare parts for vehicles and water pumps in Yida.

The South Sudan Government has declared a state of emergency in Unity and Jonglei states. With opposition forces now controlling Bor, the Jonglei capital, a large government military contingent has moved north to Pariang, close to Yida and Ajuong Thok camps.

“As a result, we are greatly worried about any effects of the fighting on the refugees and on our ability to serve them. We remind all parties to the conflict that refugee camps must remain civilian in character,” Ms. Fleming said.

On other fronts, the UN Mission in South Sudan, UNMISS, continues to protect approximately 62,000 civilians at its bases, with humanitarian actors providing relief and support. This includes nearly 30,000 at its two Juba bases, a UN spokesperson said today.

The Mission also reports that the situation in Juba continues to be tense. In addition to protecting civilians in its bases, Mission troops are conducting day and night patrols in the capital. UNMISS notes continued instability and fighting in a number of locations, including around Bor and in areas in Unity State.

In Jonglei State, the Mission reports fighting south of Bor and sporadic gunfire in the vicinity of its compound. It also says that a number of explosions have been heard this morning southeast of the city.

In Unity State, the Mission undertook a patrol to Pariyang and observed that most villages along the road from Mayom Junction to Pariyang appeared burnt or looted. Severe food, water and shelter shortages were also reported to the Mission by local officials.

The spokesperson said that UNMISS chief Hilde Johnson, continues to meet with senior Government officials as well, as with opposition leaders, to ensure full cooperation with the Mission to enable it to implement its mandate to protect civilians.

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See this United Nations article at its original location >

Photo: A family of South Sudanese civilians shelter at a UN base in Juba. UNHCR has been taking on increased responsibilities for the 57,000 civilians taking refuge in 10 UN compounds throughout the country. UNHCR/K. McKinsey

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MSF said it had taken 11 months to procure affordable drugs to vaccinate children against pneumonia in Yida refugee camp in South Sudan due to bureaucratic and legal red tape.

It said it had obtained the vaccine from pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline to start vaccinating children in Yida camp and this should lead to a substantial cut in the number of deaths.

Sudanese refugees began streaming across the border into South Sudan in June 2011, fleeing conflict between the Khartoum government and rebels in South Kordofan.

Large numbers of children died in MSF’s hospital in the camp last year. Respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia, were one of the main causes of death.

“The situation in Yida last year was excruciating, with children dying of diseases that vaccines could have protected them against,” Audrey Landmann, MSF project coordinator in Yida at the time, said in a statement.

Children in refugee camps are highly vulnerable to disease as they are often malnourished and living in overcrowded conditions with inadequate shelter, clean water or sanitation facilities.

The pneumococcal vaccine is a new vaccine, first introduced by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI Alliance) to Kenya in 2011. Pneumococcal disease, which can cause pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis, kills more than half a million people a year, half of them children under five.

BLIND SPOT

GAVI, set up in 2000, uses private and government donor backing to negotiate down vaccine prices for the developing world and then bulk-buy and deliver them to some of the world’s poorest countries.

It has made major strides in rolling out new vaccines in poor countries at affordable prices – but it does not cover vaccination in refugee and crisis-affected populations.

Pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and GSK sell their new vaccines to GAVI at a discount but do not offer the same prices to medical charities like MSF.

MSF paid GSK $7 per dose for the vaccine, compared with the $3.40 a dose GAVI pays as a result of signing a 10-year deal with Pfizer and GSK to buy millions of doses of their patented pneumonia vaccine.

Three doses are needed per child.

“Why do we keep hearing the players in the global vaccination community tell us these kids aren’t their problem?” said Kate Elder, Vaccines Policy Advisor at MSF’s Access Campaign.

“We should be making every effort for refugee children to benefit from the newest vaccines, instead of letting them languish in the global community’s blind spot.”

FRUSTRATED

At the heart of the dispute is a difference in philosophy between GAVI’s development-oriented approach and MSF’s humanitarian creed.

GAVI is focused on building up governmental vaccination programs. It funds and supports governments to develop the health systems, staff and expertise needed to immunize their children over the long term.

The governments also pay a percentage of the price of the vaccines with a view to taking on the cost themselves in future.

“The whole idea is to build up their immunization system so that they can eventually do it themselves,” said a GAVI spokesman. “We don’t just parachute in when we feel like it and start immunizing kids.”

In contrast, MSF works in some of the world’s toughest humanitarian disaster zones where there is often no government presence at all.

In South Sudan, the fledgling two-year-old government is not yet providing the pneumococcal vaccine to its own children.

In April, MSF launched a ‘Dear GAVI’ campaign on the issue of accessing low-cost vaccines for refugees and crisis-affected populations.

It said it had been “frustrated by bilateral discussions, which have been ongoing for a few years now” and that it anticipated that it “will also be a challenge” to obtain other new vaccines, like rotavirus, at the prices GAVI pays.

MSF said it was looking for a sustainable solution to the problem so that it could act swiftly in future crises.

The GAVI spokesman said GAVI did allow non-governmental organizations to deliver vaccines in some countries, such as Afghanistan, where the state is weak or does not control the entire country.

“We are discussing some flexibility on how we support fragile states,” he said.

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by Katy Migiro (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

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The meeting between the Secretary-General and the President of Tunisia, Moncef Marzouki, saw the two men discuss the North African nation’s constitution-making process and women’s empowerment, as well as the President’s efforts to promote economic recovery and regional integration within the Arab Maghreb Union. They also discussed the impact of recent attacks in Tunisia by extremists.

Libya’s democratic transformation process, as well as the security situation in the country following the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, was a topic for discussion in the Secretary-General’s meeting with President of the General National Congress of Libya, Mohamed Yousef El-Magariaf.

They also discussed continued cooperation with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), and they agreed on the importance of the Alliance of Civilizations, especially in light of the recent intolerance and violence. Mr. Ban also underlined the need for a comprehensive review of the status of conflict-related detainees, and both men agreed on the need for human rights and due process to be respected.

Senegal’s long-running conflict in its southern Casamance region, as well as the latest developments regarding the prosecution of former Chadian Head of State Hissennè Habré, were covered in the Secretary-General’s meeting with the African country’s President Macky Sall.

They also exchanged views on the situation in Guinea-Bissau, Mali and the Sahel region, and on ways for the international community to support the region in addressing these crises. In addition, they discussed the importance of international partnerships to try to alleviate the problems resulting from global climate change, as well as drought in the Sahel.

The situation in Mali was also discussed in the Secretary-General’s meeting with the Foreign Affairs Minister of Burkina Faso, Djibrill Yipènè Bassolé. In addition, they discussed the upcoming electoral process in Burkina Faso and exchanged views on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire.

In his meeting with the President of Togo, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, the Secretary-General welcomed the African leader’s efforts to engage in national dialogue with opposition parties and encouraged him to work towards the creation of a more conducive environment for the conduct of legislative elections.

Mr. Ban and the President also discussed Togo’s efforts towards the achievement of the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the areas of education and agriculture. The UN chief underscored the importance of Africa’s constant efforts towards enhanced regional unity, coordination and cooperation for peace and sustainable development – and he urged Togo to continue to play a leading role in this regard.

Meeting with the Vice-President of South Sudan, Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, the Secretary-General commended the Government, and its President Salva Kiir in particular, for reaching agreements with the Government of Sudan on post-secession issues at a meeting in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa earlier this week. The two men also discussed the current situation in South Sudan, particularly in the state of Jonglei.

Meeting with Burundi’s First Vice-President, Therence Sinunguruza, the Secretary-General thanked the African country for its contribution to peace in Somalia and welcomed its readiness to participate in peacekeeping efforts.

They also discussed the human rights situation and peace consolidation efforts in Burundi, including the establishment of the truth and reconciliation commission and preparations for the next elections.

In their meeting, the Secretary-General and the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria, Michael Spindelegger, discussed a range of issues of mutual interest, including the Western Balkans, the Alliance of Civilizations and its upcoming Annual Forum to be held in Vienna in February 2013, and efforts to reform the UN Secretariat.

The two men also agreed that it is essential for the international community to pursue mutual understanding, tolerance and cooperation through cross-cultural dialogue.

The situations in Syria and Afghanistan were among the topics discussed in the meeting between the Secretary-General and Sweden’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Bildt.

They agreed on the gravity of the situation in Syria, and the urgent need to find a solution and to address the humanitarian crisis there. Concerning Afghanistan, they discussed the upcoming elections and the importance of ensuring continued and long-term international commitment to support the Afghan people towards national reconciliation and stability.

The Secretary-General exchanged views on developments in the Western Balkans in his meeting with Slovenia’s Prime Minister, Janez Janša. They also discussed issues relating to the principle known as the responsibility to protect, and the involvement and participation of civil society in this context, in addition to discussing the situation in Syria.

Malta’s role as a strong advocate for tackling climate change, as well as its contributions to international efforts to combat piracy, was discussed in the Secretary-General’s meeting with the Mediterranean nation’s Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Tonio Borg,

They also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East and North Africa and Malta’s strategic role as “a bridge between North and South,” in addition to discussing the immigration and refugee issue in the Mediterranean region. The Secretary-General commended Malta’s efforts in this regard and recalled the importance of upholding the human rights of those affected.

The President of Albania, Bujar Nishani, emphasized his country’s commitment to UN principles and actions – especially regarding human rights, women’s empowerment and peacekeeping – in his meeting with the Secretary-General.

They discussed developments in Albania and UN-Albanian cooperation, and Mr. Ban thanked Albania for its support in piloting the UN’s Delivering as One initiative. They also exchanged views on progress in the areas of peace and stability in the region.

In the meeting between the Secretary-General and San Marino’s Minister for Foreign and Political Affairs, Antonella Mularoni, the two discussed the political and economic situation in the small landlocked nation and in Europe, with Mr. Ban thanking San Marino for its continuing support to the UN.

The Secretary-General discussed regional cooperation – particularly the need to find a mutually acceptable solution to the region’s water and energy challenges – in a meeting with Turkmenistan’s Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Rashid Meredov.

The two men also recognized the useful role of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) and its head.

Uruguay’s presidency of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council and its participation in UN peacekeeping operations were discussed in the Secretary-General’s meeting with the Latin American country’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Luis Almagro. Other topics discussed included the implementation of the Delivering as One programme in Uruguay, the issue of drug control and regional developments.

In the meeting between the Secretary-General and the Crown Prince of Brunei Darussalam, Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the two men discussed issues related to UN-Brunei cooperation and the UN-Association of Southeast Asian Nations Comprehensive Partnership.

Also on Friday, the Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, met with Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha. They exchanged views on Nepal’s peace and constitution-making process and the economic and social situation in the country, including the MDGs.

The Deputy Prime Minister expressed appreciation for the role of the United Nations in Nepal’s peace process, and briefed Mr. Eliasson on current efforts to end the political deadlock and to move forward, including possibly through new elections. The Deputy Secretary-General was encouraged by the new efforts and urged the Nepalese parties to complete the constitution-making process without delay while protecting the gains achieved so far.

The pair also exchanged views on the importance of transitional justice and international standards in the context of Nepal’s peace process, and Mr. Eliasson expressed his appreciation for Nepal’s contribution to United Nations peacekeeping.

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PHOTO: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

See this article at its original location at UN.org: http://www.un.org/News/

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The campaign includes television, radio and internet ads featuring well-known actors and public figures, and will direct audiences to visit www.usaid.gov/FWD to find more information about the crisis and a listing of U.S.-funded humanitarian organizations—including Salesian Missions—working in the Horn of Africa that are accepting donations to aid in disaster relief.

The FWD campaign was developed in response to the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. The campaign encourages Americans to do more than just donate by providing tools to spread awareness of the crisis, support the humanitarian organizations conducting the relief operations, and learn more about the solutions through President Obama’s Feed the Future initiative.

Across the eastern Horn of Africa, more than 13 million people—a number greater than the populations of Los Angeles and New York City combined—are now in need of emergency assistance to survive. The crisis is the most severe humanitarian emergency in the world today, and the worst that East Africa has seen in six decades. Crops have failed, livestock have died, and high prices in local markets prevent many people from buying what is needed to feed their families. Millions of people are affected in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, and in Somalia where tens of thousands of people have died as a result of the crisis.

Through the Feed the Future initiative, the United States Government is addressing the root causes of chronic hunger by helping foster better farming, stronger markets, and greater resilience to climate shocks.

“We know that these types of crises don’t need to happen. Through Feed the Future, we are working to end hunger around the world,” says Rajiv Shah, USAID administrator. “By partnering with governments, the private sector and smallholder farmers, we can help nations build resilient agricultural sectors and break the devastating cycle of food riots, famine and failed states.”

Despite the magnitude of the crisis, according to a national survey released today by the Ad Council, conducted online by Harris Interactive among 2,226 U.S. adults aged 18 and older in September 2011, more than half (52 percent) of the general public say that they have not seen, heard, or read anything about the drought and famine occurring in the Horn of Africa.

The campaign aims to change those numbers with television and web ads featuring Dr. Jill Biden and actors Uma Thurman, Josh Hartnett, Geena Davis and Chanel Iman. The campaign will also be engaging high-profile athletes such as Lance Armstrong and writer and television host Anthony Bourdain. In addition to the traditional ads, the campaign includes an extensive social media program via USAID’s Facebook and Twitter channels, as well as blogs and other sites.

“We are extremely proud to be among the humanitarian organizations partnering with USAID,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions headquartered in New Rochelle, NY. “We are very thankful for the Ad Council’s work on the FWD campaign and are hopeful more people will become aware of the crisis and take action to help save lives.”

Salesian Missions supports programs in South Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya which have all been affected by the crisis in the region. In refugee camps served by Salesians in the area, more than 80,000 people are in need of assistance, according to Brother Cesare Bullo, executive director of the Salesian Planning and Development Office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“They arrive after having walked more than 600 kilometers,” says Br. Bullo, emphasizing the urgent nature of the refugees’ needs. “We are working to distribute food outside the refugee camps while they are waiting to be registered,” he says, referring to the area of Dolo Ado in the Southern part of Somalia. “We estimate we can provide 2,000 daily rations which means 1,000 people will benefit from the daily distribution for at least three or four days before entering the camps.”

The Salesians specialize in assessing specific needs and identifying best possible emergency interventions to aid as many people as possible. Since they are already established in the communities working to help those in need, they are in a unique position to assess situations and respond. Amid the growing numbers of refugees and declining food and water supply at the Kakuma camp, the seemingly impossible is happening. Young people are receiving job training and children are attending school.

Salesian Missions calls on the public to make donations, as they are urgently needed to fulfill these essential life-saving projects. To make a donation, go to www.SalesianMissions.org, click on Donate Now and select “African Famine Fund.”

Salesian Missions is the U.S. arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, which operates in more than 130 countries around the globe with a focus on providing education and opportunity to youth. Since registering with USAID as a private voluntary organization, the Salesian Missions Office for International Programs has implemented 70 projects totaling more than $50 million in financial support.

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Source: USAID | Salesian Missions

The post HORN OF AFRICA: Salesian Missions Among USAID Partners, Ad Council Launches New “FWD” Campaign first appeared on MissionNewswire.

This follows decades of civil war, and a referendum this past January in which nearly 99 percent of southern Sudanese who voted chose to secede from Sudan and form an independent nation.

The new nation enters a new phase while confronting humbling realities about the state of its people. South Sudan is one of the most impoverished countries in the world, has the world’s highest maternal mortality rate and struggles with very low literacy rates (90% of the female population remain illiterate). According to the United Nations, more than half of its people feed, clothe and shelter themselves on less than one dollar a day.

In an editorial published by the New York Times on July 7, Secretary General of the U.N. Ban Ki-Moon wrote, “I came to appreciate the sheer scale of these challenges, for myself, when I first visited South Sudan in 2007 — an area of 620,000 square kilometers with less than 100 kilometers of paved road. Within this larger context, the risk of increased violence, harm to civilian populations and further humanitarian suffering is very real.”

At the same time, he points out “South Sudan has remarkable potential. With substantial oil reserves, huge amounts of arable land and the Nile flowing through its center, South Sudan could grow into a prosperous, self-sustaining nation capable of providing security, services and employment for its population.”

A new USAID mission has been designated – in the South Sudan city of Juba – to address the country’s development needs and create a transition strategy to guide activities in South Sudan.

“The lack of economic opportunity, particularly among marginalized youth, is another critical potential driver of conflict in South Sudan,” reads the USAID’s South Sudan Transition Strategy Executive Summary.

Specializing in meeting the needs of such marginalized youth, the Salesians of Don Bosco have been working in the region since 1982 – providing educational opportunities, housing, food, youth centers, health services and other needs to those otherwise without a voice or hope for the future. The Salesians’ work continued even during the most intense warfare in 1997 and 1998, followed by the starvation of many and an ongoing humanitarian crisis that continues today. The atrocities in Darfur sparked an international outcry for the entire region – as people not only fled for their lives due to violence, but also fought starvation, poverty and disease.

After the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, new opportunities arose for international humanitarian organizations to partner in the reconstruction of Sudan.

In response, the Don Bosco Network – an international network of Salesian NGOs that includes Salesian Missions in New Rochelle, NY – published a “Sudan 2007-11 Country Strategy Paper.” The paper included an outlined approach for specific interventions to help youth in the southern Sudan zone. Strategies included: improving access to schooling, especially for IDPs (internally displaced people) in the town of Wau; enabling the start-up of small enterprises in the Wau County by providing employment-oriented vocational training to youth; and promoting agro-based livelihoods in the Wau County through agricultural training and services.

As a result, Salesian involvement throughout Sudan has been further developed, including a strong presence in four of the cities in the newly formed South Sudan: Tonj, Wau, Maridi and Juba.

At St. Joseph’s Vocational Training Center in Kharotoum, Sudan, youth receive instruction in computer training, wiring, masonry, carpentry and welding.

An educational program in Tonj – which consists of a primary school for 1,200 students and educational centers in the villages – seeks to make education more easily accessible to children.  Currently there are six such village educational centers with plans in place for more. Another essential service in Tonj is a Salesian-run health center which cares for approximately 250 out-patients every day and is the only medical facility available within 125 miles.

In Wau, a Salesian vocational school trains youth in general mechanics, carpentry and plumbing in addition to promoting agricultural projects essential to the town.

These programs are examples of the many operated by the Salesians in nations throughout Africa and the entire globe, from orphanages and feeding centers to training institutes. Connecting the newly formed nation of South Sudan with the East Africa region and the world in meaningful ways, will be essential to its future.

“South Sudan must also reach out to its other neighbors,” Ban Ki-Moon wrote in his New York Times editorial. “Across the globe — and in Africa, especially — the trend is toward regional partnerships. South Sudan will be strengthened by becoming an active participant in the regional organizations of East Africa and developing durable trade and political ties throughout the continent.”

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Joseph Hobson contributed to this report.

Photos courtesy of Salesians of Don Bosco Sudan.

Sources:

USAID
– www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/countries/south_sudan/docs/south_sudan_transition_strategy_summary.pdf
– www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/south_sudan

NY Times Editorial by BAN KI-MOON (Secretary General of the United Nations)
www.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/opinion/08iht-edban08.html?_r=1&ref=sudan

VIS (Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo)
“DBN Sudan Country Strategy Paper 2007-2011”
www.volint.it/sudan/localpartner.html

The post SOUTH SUDAN: New Nation Formed, Humbling Realities Remain for Aid Agencies first appeared on MissionNewswire.