Better nutrition for Don Bosco Bombo schools in Uganda.

(MissionNewswire) Poor youth gaining their education through Don Bosco Bombo schools, located in Bombo, Uganda, had access to better nutrition thanks to a partnership between Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, and Rise Against Hunger, an international humanitarian organization growing a global movement to end hunger.

The rice-meal shipment was distributed in the second quarter of 2022.

The region, like the rest of East Africa, saw big economic changes in 2022. Prices of basic commodities, especially fuel and food, increased and impacted the management of Don Bosco schools. In particular, prices of basic food staples have almost doubled due to the economic crises after the COVID-19 pandemic and the change of weather that caused food scarcity.

Salesians operate a secondary school, vocational training center, boarding house and parish in Bombo. The local community is mainly poor and relies on agriculture and informal businesses. Salesians provide education and pastoral programs.

“Our community needs basic support to be able to fulfill our educational mission,” explained Father Thomas Cyprian, rector of Salesians of Don Bosco Bombo Namaliga mission. “Rise Against Hunger meals helped us to manage the food crises in our institutions and greatly assisted in making the last quarter successful. The impact of the food crisis was not felt so much as a result. Our beneficiaries continued their teaching and learning activities without interruption.”

Martha Nafuuna, age 18, was one of the recipients. She is from a poor family that is not able to afford private schooling and chose to join Don Bosco Vocational Training Center in Bombo to gain an education. Nafuuna recalled her life before receiving Rise Against Hunger meals. “Before this donation, I could not see my future in this school. Many students were worried and forced to drop out because the school had reached its capacity and was not able to provide housing or food to the students.”  

Nafuuna gratefully acknowledges the impact Rise Against Hunger meals have had on her life. Receiving the meals saved her from having to drop out and she can continue working toward her career aspirations. The meals provided her with a balanced lunch and have improved her general well-being. Her concentration in class has improved and she feels fuller for longer periods in the day because of the nutritious diet the meals offer. She and her classmates, with whom she shares the meals, found the meals delicious.

Nafuuna added, “Thanks to Rise Against Hunger meals, I can focus on my coursework so that one day I will find employment to sustain my family and improve their livelihoods. I want to be a professional fashion designer and I have confidence that I will.”

Nearly 21 percent of the population in Uganda lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. This number rises to 33 percent for those living in the northern region where poverty is greatest. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its United Nations Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 159 out of 189 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Don Bosco Bombo

Salesian Missions – Uganda

World Bank – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Poor students stay in school with rice-meal shipment first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire)  Salesian missionaries at Don Bosco Children and Life Mission (Don Bosco CALM), located in the town of Namugongo just northeast of the city of Kampala, Uganda, received funding for five dairy cows thanks to a partnership between Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, and the DD Lynch Family Foundation, an organization that gives to Catholic causes to end human suffering.

With the funding, Salesians bought five dairy cows to provide milk for children in their programs. Four of the cows are now pregnant. An earlier donation by the DD Lynch Family Foundation provided the funding for a modern cowshed so the cows live in good conditions and are cared for by a veterinary doctor and a full-time shepherd.

The project will be sustainable because the cows will multiply, increasing milk productivity. This prevents malnutrition among the children who live in the orphanage and attend the primary school at Don Bosco CALM. Most of the children cared for by the Salesians were once living on the street and are HIV positive or in some other vulnerable situation.

“Salesians at Don Bosco CALM face challenges in feeding the children, paying for their school fees and scholastic materials, and providing medical assistance,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions. “These cows will have a significant impact on the Salesians’ ability to provide nutrition for the children, something that is needed. We appreciate the DD Lynch Family Foundation for supporting the children that we serve.”

Nearly 21 percent of the population in Uganda lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. This number rises to 33 percent for those living in the northern region where poverty is greatest. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its UN Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 159 out of 189 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate, but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Don Bosco CALM

Salesian Missions – Uganda

World Bank – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Funding purchases 5 dairy cows for milk for children first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Students with Don Bosco Vocational Center, operating inside of Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in Uganda, celebrated the feast day of St. John Bosco, the Salesian founder, on Jan. 31. Throughout the day, 250 students from various courses—agriculture, solar energy, construction, motorcycle mechanics, sewing, carpentry, blacksmithing, hairdressing and motor vehicle driving—enjoyed a celebration together that included music by a new Salesian brass band. Teaching and administrative staff also enjoyed the festivities.

The celebration began with the first Catholic Mass since the beginning of the school year, and then members of the Salesian community shared their experience of St. John Bosco with the youth. The day also featured several competitions and contests where students could earn points to trade for personal items like soap, toothbrushes, and sandals. They could also trade points for candy, drinks and cookies.

Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within the camp. While some have left because of the pandemic, Salesians have remained.

Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much needed psychosocial support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, there are children attending Salesian primary and secondary schools, and more than 700 families are supported by other initiatives. To date, the vocational center has trained more than 600 youth, most of them refugees who have returned to South Sudan to contribute to their country.

A recent introduction of upcoming courses brought together many people who are interested in what the center has to offer. Father Ubaldino Andrade, rector of the Salesian community in Palabek, said, “This fact testifies that the young people of the refugee camp are hungry for an education that allows them to offer their families a better quality of life and to contribute to the reconstruction of their country.”

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational centers in Uganda had been closed for nearly two years, which was one of the longest closure rates in the world. When the country’s president allowed educational centers to reopen, many were unable because they no longer had the resources and teaching staff to operate. Many teachers had to turn to other professions in order to help support their families. In addition, some school buildings had been turned into rental homes during the pandemic. Salesian educational centers continue to be a place where youth are nurtured, and they can access the skills to achieve self-sustainability.

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

ANS – Uganda – Celebrating Don Bosco in Palabek, always with young people in mind

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: 250 students at refugee camp celebrate together first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) A new basketball court is now available to youth at Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in Uganda. The idea of creating a space for youth to play sports began in 2019 when a benefactor gave a basketball to the youth. At the time, there was no place where they could use it. From that day forward, youth have been waiting to see a court built where they could play and connect with their peers.

“Sports are more than just recreation for youth,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Playing team sports encourages leadership skills as well as teaches youth to work as part of a team. Youth also learn important social skills and have opportunities for growth and maturity.”

Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within the camp. While some have left because of the pandemic, Salesians have remained.

Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much needed psychosocial support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, there are children attending Salesian primary and secondary schools, and more than 700 families are supported by other initiatives.

Salesians run a special sponsorship program to help youth attend school outside of the camp. Many children and older youth have to walk 10 to 15 kilometers (approximately 6.2 to 9.3 miles) each day to reach the schools. The sponsorship program enables Salesians to take youth to boarding facilities outside of the camp and closer to the schools. Youth are able to live and study there, as well as have access to healthy nutrition and recreational activities.

For those seeking education inside the camp, Salesians also operate the Don Bosco Vocational Center where youth can access the skills to achieve self-sustainability. To date, the center has trained more than 600 youth, most of them refugees who have returned to South Sudan to contribute to their country.

Father Ubaldino Andrade, rector of the Salesian community in Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp, said, “Youth at the refugee camp are hungry for an education that allows them to offer their families a better quality of life and to contribute to the reconstruction of their country. At the technical and vocational level, many young refugees want to go out to work so they can learn a trade and head back to their country of origin, which is South Sudan for many of them. Their goal is to help contribute to the reconstruction of the country, destroyed by many years of violence and war.”

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

ANS – Uganda – A basketball court in Palabek to bring young people closer to sport

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: New court helps youth connect at refugee camp first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Vocational Center, operating inside Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in Uganda, offers education and vocational training to help young refugees prepare for employment. There are courses in mechanics, sewing, construction, agriculture, hairdressing and solar energy. The center provides support for 56,000 refugees and 11,000 Ugandans from the northern region.

Don Bosco Vocational Center has become a place where youth are nurtured, and they can access the skills to achieve self-sustainability. To date, the center has trained more than 600 youth, most of them refugees who have returned to South Sudan to contribute to their country.

The recent introduction of upcoming courses brought together many people who are interested in what the center has to offer. Father Ubaldino Andrade, rector of the Salesian community in Palabek, said, “This fact testifies that the young people of the refugee camp are hungry for an education that allows them to offer their families a better quality of life and to contribute to the reconstruction of their country.”

Fr. Andrade added, “At the technical and vocational level, many young refugees want to go out to work, they want to learn a trade, that in most cases, allows them to return to South Sudan and contribute to the reconstruction of the country, destroyed by many years of violence and war.”

He highlighted a recent success. “We have the case of a student who learned mechanics and then took a driving course. She returned to South Sudan and is working as a driver in an agency, with a salary of $700 per month, far above the minimum wage in Uganda.”

Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within the camp. While some have left because of the pandemic, Salesians have remained.

Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much needed psychosocial support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, there are children attending Salesian primary and secondary schools, and more than 700 families are supported by other initiatives.

Salesians also run a special sponsorship program to help youth attend school outside of the camp. Many children and older youth have to walk 10 to 15 kilometers (approximately 6.2 to 9.3 miles) each day to reach the schools. The sponsorship program enables Salesians to take youth to boarding facilities outside of the camp closer to the schools. Youth are able to live and study there, as well as have access to healthy nutrition and recreational activities.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Uganda – Palabek Refugee Camp: Don Bosco Vocational Center offers Education

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Young refugees prepare for employment first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Poor youth and their families in Uganda had access to better nutrition thanks to a partnership between Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, and Rise Against Hunger, an international relief organization that provides food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable. The rice-meal shipment, which was sent in 2020, was shared among three programs of Don Bosco Children and Life Mission (Don Bosco CALM) including projects in Bombo, Kamuli, and CALM Namugongo.

The rice-meals helped 300 families have better nutrition over five months of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. This was particularly important as many of these families had no way to earn even a meager income for food during this time. The Rise Against Hunger meals were sometimes the only nutrition they had.

Kirabo, a seventh-grade student at Don Bosco CALM, was one of the recipients of the rice-meals. Kirabo was found abandoned at the entrance of the Church of Salesians of Don Bosco Bombo Namaliga as a baby. The parish priest contacted the local council chairperson who advised him to report the case to the police. Kirabo was then taken to a home for infants at the missionaries of charity sisters in Kampala. When he was 5 years old, Kirabo was transferred to Don Bosco CALM for rehabilitation and care with other boys.

Kirabo is healthy because he receives Rise Against Hunger meals and cared for in the Don Bosco community. He has big plans in his life. “I want to work harder to become a bank manager in Centenary Bank in the future,” Kirabo explained. Kirabo also acknowledged the big impact the Rise Against Hunger meals has brought to his life.

Kirabo’s teacher at Don Bosco Nursery and Primary School has also seen how healthy nutrition has benefited the students. Elizabeth Anzoo said, “I started teaching Kirabo right from the opening of the institution in 2016. Kirabo is a bright humble boy who likes education. Besides that, his hobby after enjoying Rise Against Hunger meals is soccer. All in all, the time I have spent in this institution, Rise Against Hunger meals have greatly improved the well-being of the children at Don Bosco CALM and in other Don Bosco communities in Uganda.”

The rice-meal donation was able to feed more than just students in Don Bosco programs. Entire families were supported with the 2020 donation. Father Elie Nyandwi, director of Don Bosco Primary School and vice-legal representative of Salesians of Don Bosco in Uganda, said, “It is really important for the Salesians to feed poor children and their families whenever it is possible. Last year, due to COVID-19 we were urged to distribute all the Rise Against Hunger meals to feed our beneficiaries and their families. Each family managed to get three boxes of meals throughout the whole year.”

Nearly 21 percent of the population in Uganda lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. This number rises to 33 percent for those living in the northern region where poverty is greatest. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its United Nations Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 159 out of 189 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Don Bosco CALM

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: 300 families receive healthy nutrition thanks to rice-meal shipment first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries living and working at Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in Uganda are able to provide education to refugee children thanks in part to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp is currently home to more than 56,000 refugees and asylum seekers. It was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within the camp. While some have left because of the pandemic, Salesians have remained.

Salesians offer education to refugee children in the camp. There are 100 children in primary school, 54 in secondary school and 25 older youth in the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center where they learn skills in sewing, solar energy, mechanics, agriculture, construction and hairdressing.

Salesians also run a special sponsorship program to help youth attend school outside of the camp. Many children and older youth have to walk 10 to 15 kilometers (approximately 6.2 to 9.3 miles) each day to reach the schools. The sponsorship program enables Salesians to take youth to boarding facilities outside of the camp closer to the schools. Youth are able to live and study there, as well as have access to healthy nutrition and recreational activities.

For older youth who want to learn technical skills not offered at the Don Bosco Training Center in the camp, Salesians also offer a sponsorship program. The program brings young refugees to other centers outside of the camp where they can learn plumbing, blacksmithing, driving, animal care and other skills.

Father Ubaldino, rector of the Salesian community in Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp said, “At the technical and vocational level, many young refugees want to go out to work, they want to learn a trade, that in most cases, allows them to return to South Sudan and contribute to the reconstruction of the country, destroyed by many years of violence and war.”

“We have the case of a student who learned mechanics and then took a driving course. Now she returns to South Sudan and is working as a driver in an agency, with a salary of $700 per month, far above the minimum wage in Uganda,” Fr. Ubaldino added. “We are very grateful to our donors who have helped many children and young people make the dream of a good education come true, allowing them and their families to live a more dignified life.”

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Refugee youth receive educational sponsorship thanks in part to donor funding from Salesian Missions first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries living and working at Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in Uganda are addressing food shortfalls for refugees. Salesians have been encouraging donations of seeds so refugees can plant and harvest their own food in community gardens that have been set up. Recently, a harvest took place from the work done and donations over the last several months. JuWe Vereinigung Don Bosco Werk in Switzerland has collaborated in these efforts.

While the camp is receiving some direct food donations, Salesian missionaries wanted refugees to take part in helping to solve the food shortage. Refugees, with Salesian support, are cultivating their own food including cereals, vegetables, and some cash crops such as sim sim, groundnuts and sunflower. Community gardens have been launched on farm land rented from local Ugandans. Salesians have provided several hundred kilos of maize, beans, soya beans, sim sim, groundnuts and many assorted vegetable seeds. They have also provided tons of cassava cuttings.

Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp is currently home to more than 56,000 refugees and asylum seekers. It was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within Palabek. While some have left because of the pandemic, Salesians have remained.

Even before COVID-19, living conditions in Palabek were not easy. Food distribution was scarce and there were difficulties in accessing drinking water. With the arrival of the pandemic, everything has become even more complicated. The amount of food delivered to refugees once a month has been reduced by 30 percent, classes and activities were suspended, and episodes of violence, alcoholism, and teenage pregnancies began.

Earlier this year, Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, provided food, 300 blankets for those with disabilities, cookware and other items for people in need. The funding also paid for transportation costs from Kampala to Palabek, gas for transport vehicles around the camp and motorbike repairs. Other funding provided incentives to social workers who are working in the camp under difficult circumstances.

“With Salesian Missions support we have been able to provide food and other necessities for people in need, particularly those with disabilities,” said Father Ubaldino, a Salesian missionary working at Palabek. “This donation is greatly appreciated because there is hunger and malnutrition and other nutritional deficiencies among the refugees. This creates much frustration, anger and other social disturbances. With this donation and others, Salesians have distributed many tons of food and clothing, especially to the poorest.”

Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much needed psychosocial support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, there are over 700 children attending Salesian primary and secondary schools, and more than 700 families are supported by other initiatives. Salesian missionaries also launched a vocational training center to offer life skills and other training to help young refugees prepare for employment.

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Sources:

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Refugees help solve food shortage first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries with Don Bosco Namugongo in Kampala, Uganda, are responding to the needs of people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Uganda is still in lockdown due to the recent deadly second wave. Health experts with the Uganda Medical Association have noted that 80 percent of people infected do not know they have the virus.

Most people in Uganda are no longer working because of the restrictions imposed by the government to contain the spread of the virus. This has impacted families who are daily wage earners and who are now left with no income.

Father Elie Nyandwi, director of Don Bosco Namugongo, said, “Salesians couldn’t remain relaxed and comfortable as we witnessed many people suffering due to hunger. Our Salesian community, with its limited resources, is assisting the poor during this critical moment by visiting and giving some food to the most vulnerable families.”

Other Salesian collaborators around the mission also are joining in to help feed the poor. There is a WhatsApp group where information is shared, and people are giving the little they have or are helping to distribute the food items, including maize flour, beans and cooking oil.

Fr. Nyandwi added, “As of now, the situation has gone beyond our capacity. For instance, on July 1, we identified 50 of the most vulnerable families from our neighborhood to be assisted. These families couldn’t reach the Salesian community due to the restrictions imposed by the lockdown. We organized some food to be delivered and offered 2 kg of beans and 2 kg of maize flour since the number kept increasing drastically. We also cut about 30 bunches of bananas from our garden with some vegetables and shared with them. We thank and appeal to all generous people who can participate and join us to help the needy in this period of lockdown.”

The cost of hospital care for those with COVID-19 is incredibly high in Uganda. Fr. Nyandwi explained, “Doctors have advised the people who have tested positive but have no symptoms to avoid moving outside their homes unless when seeking medical care. For now, the hospitals, both private and public, are overcrowded. The medical bill for patients remains exorbitant whereby some private hospitals do not fear charging up to 5 million Uganda shillings per day ($1,500 USD). Only a few rich people are able to raise such a big amount. That is why most of the patients remain at their homes and treat themselves with lemon juice mixed with ginger. These patients also steam herbs and eucalyptus leaves. Don Bosco Namugongo has a eucalyptus plantation that is visited frequently by both Salesians and neighbors searching for leaves.”

Nearly 21 percent of the population in Uganda lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. This number rises to 33 percent for those living in the northern region where poverty is greatest. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its U.N. Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 159 out of 189 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate, but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Uganda – Food distribution to vulnerable during lockdown in Uganda facing deadly 2nd Covid-19 wave

Salesian Missions – Uganda

World Bank – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Families impacted by pandemic lockdown receive food first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries living and working at Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in Uganda have been able to provide food aid and other critical supplies to people at the camp thanks to funding sent in November 2020 from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp is currently home to more than 56,000 refugees and asylum seekers. It was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within Palabek. While some have left because of the pandemic, Salesians have remained.

Even before COVID-19, living conditions in Palabek were not easy. Food distribution was scarce and there were difficulties in accessing drinking water. With the arrival of the pandemic, everything has become even more complicated. The amount of food delivered to refugees once a month has been reduced by 30 percent, classes and activities were suspended, and episodes of violence, alcoholism, and teenage pregnancies began. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warns that unless urgent action is taken to address the situation, levels of acute malnutrition, stunting and anemia are expected to rise, especially among children.

At Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in Uganda, Salesians have distributed many tons of food and clothing, especially to the poorest.

With Salesian Missions funding, Salesians have been able to provide food, 300 blankets for those with disabilities, cookware and other items for people in need. The funding also paid for transportation costs from Kampala to Palabek, gas for transport vehicles around the camp and motorbike repairs. Other funding provided incentives to social workers who are working in the camp under difficult circumstances.

“With Salesian Missions support we have been able to provide food and other necessities for people in need, particularly those with disabilities,” said Father Ubaldino, a Salesian missionary working at Palabek. “This donation is greatly appreciated because there is hunger and malnutrition and other nutritional deficiencies among the refugees. This creates much frustration, anger and other social disturbances. With this donation and others, Salesians have distributed many tons of food and clothing, especially to the poorest.”

In addition, students at Don Bosco Vocational Training Center in Palabek were happy to receive a bus thanks to donors from Salesian Missions of Madrid, Spain. These youth are now able to explore initiatives and new opportunities away from the settlement.

Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much needed psychosocial support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, there are over 700 children attending Salesian primary and secondary schools, and more than 700 families are supported by other initiatives. Salesian missionaries also launched a vocational training center to offer life skills and other training to help young refugees prepare for employment.

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Sources:

Photos courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Refugees receive critical supplies first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries living and working at Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in Uganda have been able to provide food aid to 800 people at the camp thanks to funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp is currently home to more than 56,000 refugees and asylum seekers. It was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within Palabek. While some have left because of the pandemic, Salesians have remained.

Even before COVID-19, living conditions in Palabek were not easy. Food distribution was scarce and there were difficulties in accessing drinking water. With the arrival of the pandemic, everything has become even more complicated. The amount of food delivered to refugees once a month has been reduced by 30 percent, classes and activities were suspended, and episodes of violence, alcoholism, and teenage pregnancies began. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warns that unless urgent action is taken to address the situation, levels of acute malnutrition, stunting and anemia are expected to rise, especially among children.

“With Salesian Missions support we have been able to make around 800 bags with food in the month of November,” said Father Ubaldino, a Salesian missionary working at Palabek. “We will be able to provide almost the same quantity for Christians in the camp in addition to providing blankets, buckets, cooking oil and soap.”

With support from Salesian Missions, Salesian missionaries made and distributed bags with food to refugees in Uganda.

Fr. Ubaldino added, “This donation is greatly appreciated because there is hunger and malnutrition and other nutritional deficiencies among the refugees. This creates much frustration, anger and other social disturbances. Salesians have distributed many tons of food and clothing, especially to the poorest. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many families have also been supported with seeds and agricultural tools.”

In addition to providing food directly, Salesian missionaries are working to counter the food shortage through the cultivation of food including cereals, vegetables, and if possible, some cash crops such as sim sim, groundnuts and sunflower. The goals are to promote kitchen gardens of vegetables and fruits, hire land from the local Ugandans, and create agreements to work together with the host community. Salesians have provided several hundred kilos of maize, beans, soya beans, sim sim, groundnuts and many assorted vegetable seeds. They have also provided tons of cassava cuttings.

Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much needed psychosocial support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, there are over 700 children attending Salesian primary and secondary schools, and more than 700 families are supported by other initiatives. Salesian missionaries also launched a vocational training center to offer life skills and other training to help young refugees prepare for employment.

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Sources:

Photos courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Refugees receive critical food aid, support for farming first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries at the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center in the Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in Uganda launched the “Facial masks for refugees and host community” project on July 8. Since that time refugees have made and distributed more than 24,000 masks, earning praise and recognition from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The camp currently houses 56,000 people.

Salesians, alongside refugees in the camp, have been engaged in coronavirus prevention efforts since the start of the pandemic. Don Bosco Technical School was launched in Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in January 2019. Despite limited material resources, some young volunteers from the sewing workshop began to make masks.

In the first months of the pandemic alone, more than 10,000 masks were distributed to the refugee population and administrative staff of the settlement. Uganda’s minister for refugees, Hilary Onek, visited the settlement in July and praised the Salesian project. She said, “The Don Bosco Center was very innovative and a pioneer in the production of masks not only in the settlement, but throughout the nation.”

Salesian missionaries also distributed seeds for farming, hygiene products and clothing. Father Ubaldino Andrade, Salesian at Palabek, said, “We had to start almost from scratch in Palabek.” Authorities in the settlement are working with Salesians to launch new income-generating activities for refugees. Success in manufacturing face masks for the refugee community could be the first step toward making uniforms for schools and other agricultural activities.

Even before COVID-19, living conditions in Palabek were not easy. Food distribution was scarce and there were difficulties in accessing drinking water. With the arrival of the pandemic, everything has become even more complicated. The amount of food delivered to refugees once a month has been reduced by 30 percent, classes and activities were suspended, and episodes of violence, alcoholism and teenage pregnancies began. The UNHCR warns that unless urgent action is taken to address the situation, levels of acute malnutrition, stunting and anemia are expected to rise, especially among children.

In addition to providing food directly, Salesian missionaries are working to counter the food shortage through the cultivation of food including cereals, vegetables, and if possible, some cash crops such as sim sim, groundnuts and sunflower. The goal is to promote kitchen gardens of vegetables and fruits, hire land from the local Ugandans, and create agreements to work together with the host community. Salesians have provided several hundred kilos of maize, beans, soya beans, sim sim, groundnuts and many assorted vegetable seeds. They have also provided tons of cassava cuttings.

Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much needed psychosocial support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, there are over 700 children attending Salesian primary and secondary schools, and more than 700 families are supported by other initiatives. Salesian missionaries also launched a vocational training center to offer life skills and other training to help young refugees prepare for employment.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Uganda – UN awards Salesian missionaries’ work in Palabek for production of masks during pandemic

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Refugees make more than 24,000 masks to aid pandemic efforts first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) The Catholic News Service is reporting that 1.4 million refugees in Uganda are facing hunger because of aid disruption, loss of income and rising food prices linked to the COVID-19 crisis. Salesian missionaries living and working at the Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp are seeing the effects first hand. They have been supporting refugees since the opening of the camp in 2016.

Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp is currently home to nearly 46,000 refugees and asylum seekers. It was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within Palabek.

Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much needed psychosocial support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, there are over 700 children attending Salesian primary and secondary schools, and more than 700 families are supported by other initiatives. Salesian missionaries also launched a vocational training center to offer life skills and other training to help young refugees prepare for employment.

Since the pandemic hit, conditions at Palabek have deteriorated with a loss of food and wages. The U.N. Refugee Agency warns that unless urgent action is taken to address the situation, levels of acute malnutrition, stunting and anemia are expected to rise, especially among children.

Adol Majok, a 38-year-old single mother, told her story to the Catholic News Service. She arrived at Palabek three years ago after her husband was killed during fighting in Pajok, South Sudan. After she was settled in the camp, Majok opened a small tea stall business where she sold tea, bread, biscuits, roasted peanuts, cakes and other food. Since the pandemic began, business has dried up along with her means to support her family.

Majok said in the Catholic News Service article, “My children are starving. They haven’t eaten anything for the last three days. They are going to die unless I get them food to eat.”

Salesian missionaries at Palabek are helping refugees with food, clothing and other essential goods. Salesian Father Lazar Arasu, director of Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Services, told Catholic News Service, “Refugees who are among vulnerable groups should be remembered because COVID-19 robbed them of the little that they had. They are suffering because they are the worst hit by the pandemic. The food ration has reduced because of the lockdown. But we are trying our best to help them with everything during this hard time.”

In addition to providing food directly, Salesian missionaries are working to counter the food shortage through the cultivation of food including cereals, vegetables, and if possible, some cash crops such as sim sim, groundnuts and sunflower. The goal is to promote kitchen gardens of vegetables and fruits, hire land from the local Ugandans, and create agreements to work together with the host community. Salesians have provided several hundred kilos of maize, beans, soya beans, sim sim, groundnuts and many assorted vegetable seeds. They have also provided tons of cassava cuttings.

“Because refugees do not have sufficient land but are interested in cultivating larger pieces of land, we have put them in groups and hired land for them from the local Ugandan neighbors,” explained Fr. Arasu. “Where necessary we have also plowed the land for them. When the locals are inspired to till more land, we also ended up helping them.”

Fr. Arasu is also concerned about the psychological impact of COVID-19. He told the Catholic News Service that he is worried that the economic hardship might further exacerbate mental health conditions in refugee populations. Providing information, counseling and psychosocial support for vulnerable refugees is something the Salesians have been doing and will continue to do.

“Refugees need our support and prayers all the time. They have experienced a lot. Many have been tortured, lost their loved ones, lost properties and even (been) raped,” said Fr. Arasu in the Catholic News Service article. “We are offering pastoral care and counseling to refugees during the pandemic to make them feel wanted.”

Salesians will continue to assess the ongoing situation at Palabek and work within their networks to provide support to those most in need.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Don Bosco Palabek

Catholic News Service – COVID-19 robbed refugees ‘of the little that they had,’ says Salesian

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp Facebook

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Salesian missionaries are providing food support to refugees in Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in wake of the devastating hunger crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries at the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center in the Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in Uganda hosted the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) launch of the “Facial masks for refugees and host community” project on July 8. Salesians, alongside refugees in the camp, have been engaged in coronavirus prevention efforts such as making masks. The camp currently houses 56,000 people.

The Honorable Hilary Onek, minister for relief, disaster preparedness and refugees in the Ugandan Cabinet, said, “Don Bosco Palabek has been a pioneer in the production of face masks and was very innovative, not only in the Palabek settlement but throughout northern Uganda and across the nation.”

Despite very limited resources in Palabek, refugees began making masks and distributed them free of charge to other refugees and to all community workers. Charles Uma, administrative director of the Lamwo district, said, “When the lockdown in Uganda was declared on March 18, I received a generous number of masks from Palabek for district use.”

Felicitas Nebril, UNHCR regional manager, noted in her speech at the launch event, “This activity is the best example of refugees involved in socio-economic activities. Palabek has contributed to the well-being of refugees and local communities. You have become, in fact, the role models for the host community.”

Nebril also encouraged refugees to use the face masks regularly to maintain the settlement’s zero-COVID status. To date, a group of 20 girls has produced at least 10,000 masks of different shapes and sizes and will continue to produce others and distribute them for free.

In his speech, Onek said, “The eyes of Don Bosco’s missionaries were sharp in seeing the needs and challenges of the people. When the government had not provided funding for the masks for refugees, missionaries started production. By doing it in our district and in this new training center, you have made us proud.”

He thanked the Salesians for bringing the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center to this extreme corner of the country, a place that had been neglected for several decades. He noted, “You will raise well-prepared young people, both refugees and locals, and bring peace and harmony throughout the area.”

Salesian missionaries launched a vocational training center to offer life skills and other training to help young refugees prepare for employment. Young refugees can attend vocational training courses for free. Depending on the discipline, some courses run for 3-6 months while others run as long as a year. Salesian missionaries have also set up a job placement office that helps students make contact with companies that are hiring, prepare resumes and prep for interviews, and find internships and on-site training opportunities.

During this period of isolation, the Salesians living and working in Palabek have been engaged in implementing numerous COVID-19 prevention measures with the support of Don Bosco Jugendhilfe Weltweit and other supporters.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Uganda – Don Bosco Palabek pioneer in production of facial masks

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Salesian missionaries host UNHCR to launch ‘Facial masks for refugees and host community’ project at Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries at the Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in Uganda are working to provide prevention information and food support in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been no coronavirus deaths in Uganda to date, but there are 696 confirmed cases of infection.

It’s difficult to raise awareness among a population that has not yet personally witnessed the impact of a pandemic of this type, according to the Salesians active in the refugee camp. The camp currently houses 56,000 people who remain at great risk.

Father Jeffrey Albert, one of the Salesian missionaries living and working at Palabek, said, “Movements are found among refugees from South Sudan sneaking through the unofficial borders and from other refugee camps. About 50 of the transiting truck drivers who went to South Sudan have tested positive for coronavirus. We are concerned because refugees at the Palabek Refugee Settlement Camp are not following rules and regulations that could control the spread.”

Medical services provided to refugees have always been poor. There are only three health units, with minimal facilities. The facilities are used by those in the refugee camp and by the several thousand Ugandans who live in the surrounding areas. Now, due to the lockdown, providing medical services is even more difficult, and there is an increase in diseases such as stomach ulcers and other problems related to poor nutrition.

The closure of schools at the national level also affected the 11 primary schools and the secondary and technical schools, which serve more than 25,000 school-age refugee children and older youth. Because they are staying at home with less food than before and without lessons or any kind of distraction, children and youth are nervous and at times unruly.

The lockdown has also impacted food rations, decreasing them by 30 percent. It’s nearly impossible for families to have enough food to maintain themselves for the month. Father Lazar Arasu, head of the Salesian mission at Palabek, said, “This can also generate frustration, anger and other social unrest.”

Salesians are working to provide food to hungry people asking for food support. They are also handing out prevention materials inside the camp, in the surrounding community and across the border.

Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much-needed psycho-social support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, more than 700 children are attending Salesian primary and secondary schools and more than 700 families are supported by other initiatives.

Salesian missionaries also launched a vocational training center to offer life skills and other training to help young refugees prepare for employment. Young refugees can attend vocational training courses for free. Depending on the discipline, some courses run for 3-6 months while others run as long as a year. Salesian missionaries have also set up a job placement office that helps students make contact with companies that are hiring, prepare resumes and prep for interviews, and find internships and on-site training opportunities

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Sources:

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

ANS – Uganda – Breaking point: the life of refugees in the time of Covid-19

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Salesians at Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp focus on prevention efforts and food support first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries and refugees at the Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp in Uganda are facing food shortages as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In April, refugees in the camp received 70 percent of their regular food ration. Because of the pandemic, there has been a lack of funding from international bodies and the food rations will be reduced further. Children will be further pushed into malnutrition and stunted growth, and their mothers into stress and worry.

Father Lazar Arasu, director of Don Bosco Palabek, said, “Once an elderly refugee leader came to his little grass hut carrying his meager portion of monthly ration of food consisting of 12 kilograms of maize flour, 9 kilograms of beans, and 900 milliliters of oil and broke down to tears. I tried to console him and inquired about the cause of his tears. With a heavy heart, he said, ‘Father, I am a leader, I have grown-up children, I lived a respectful life, but now I am forced to stand in queue and given this meager quantity of food that should take me for a month, It is a big humiliation for me to receive this food. I should be the one feeding others.’”

Salesian missionaries at Palabek are working to counter the food shortage through the cultivation of food including cereals, vegetables, and if possible, some cash crops such as sim sim, groundnuts and sunflower. The goal is to promote kitchen gardens of vegetables and fruits, hire land from the local Ugandans, and create agreements to work together with the host community.

Five Salesian missionaries live and work in Palabek along with the refugee population, so they can assess the need directly to provide solutions they know will work. As most organizations have left due to the uncertainty of COVID-19 and resulting lockdown, Salesians are the first service providers in action. They have provided several hundred kilos of maize, beans, soya beans, sim sim, groundnuts and many assorted vegetable seeds. They have also provided tons of cassava cuttings.

“Because refugees do not have sufficient land but are interested in cultivating larger pieces of land, we have put them in groups and hired land for them from the local Ugandan neighbors,” explained Fr. Arasu. “Where necessary we have also plowed the land for them. When the locals are inspired to till more land, we also ended up helping them. We thank our partners Don Bosco Jugendhilfe Weltweit for their support in this project.”

Uganda has become home for more than 1.3 million refugees—82 percent of whom are women and children—in the wake of the ongoing conflict in South Sudan, according to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. Millions have fled South Sudan and nearly 400,000 have died as a result of armed clashes. Many of those who have fled to Uganda have taken refuge at the Palabek Refugee Settlement in northern Uganda.

According to UNHCR, Palabek is currently home to nearly 56,000 refugees and asylum seekers. It was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within Palabek.

Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much-needed psycho-social support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, more than 700 children are attending Salesian primary and secondary schools and more than 700 families are supported by other initiatives.

Salesian missionaries also launched a vocational training center to offer life skills and other training to help young refugees prepare for employment. Young refugees can attend vocational training courses for free. Depending on the discipline, some courses run for 3-6 months while others run as long as a year. Salesian missionaries have also set up a job placement office that helps students make contact with companies that are hiring, prepare resumes and prep for interviews, and find internships and on-site training opportunities.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Don Bosco Palabek

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Salesian missionaries provide seeds and farming support at Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp to help mitigate food shortage first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries at Don Bosco CALM, located in the town of Namugongo just northeast of the city of Kampala in Uganda, are working to keep youth in their programs safe while assessing what is happening with street children in the surrounding community. Salesians with Don Bosco CALM have also offered food support to the vulnerable families of beneficiaries of their programs.

For the street children in Uganda, the situation due to the COVID-19 virus has is very tense. Youth cannot access clean water and have no money to buy soap or sanitizers. Recently, a survey conducted by the government of Uganda within the districts of Kampala, Jinja, Mbale and Iganga indicated that there are more 30,000 street children.

“Before the virus, it was common to find street children sitting on verandas around most parts of the Kampala, waiting for the traffic to stop vehicles so they could beg,” explained Father Elie Nyandwi, director of Don Bosco CALM. “Others survived by searching dust or garbage bins for food while others pickpocketed unsuspecting people. Some others sold illegal drugs and stole from houses or shops around or beyond Kampala.”

Fr. Nyandwi sent Felix Rugaba, one of the social workers from Don Bosco CALM, out on his bicycle to assess how street children are coping with the current situation in Kampala.

Rugaba found children in hideouts in desperate conditions, wondering how they will survive the coming days. Talking to them was not easy because they fear most outsiders. Rugaba managed to talk to two street children who asked him not to reveal their names.

He spoke to a 15-year-old boy, Richard (not his real name), who revealed that life in the lockdown is not easy because they have nowhere to go and don’t know what to eat. In addition, Richard is also worried about the virus. He said, “We do not have water to drink, to wash our body, we do not have soap or sanitizers to wash our hands…the government should send us these items to help us survive in these difficult moments.”

Rugaba also spoke to a 12-year-old girl, Justine (not her real name), who also wonders how she will survive in this tough situation. She left home when she was 10 years old after being mistreated by her mother. Justine is worried about what will happen to her in the coming days. She said, “The government should help us because we have nowhere to go.”

Salesians at Don Bosco in Uganda are concerned about the street children and are looking for any local or foreign support to help ensure that street children are safe and have access to the services they need to survive the virus.

Nearly 21 percent of the population in Uganda lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. This number rises to 33 percent for those living in the northern region where poverty is greatest. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its UN Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 159 out of 189 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate, but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Don Bosco CALM

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Salesians at Don Bosco CALM assess needs of street children during the coronavirus pandemic first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) More than 2,300 poor youth across three Salesian programs in Uganda had access to better nutrition thanks to a partnership between Salesian Missions and Rise Against Hunger, an international relief organization that provides food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable. The rice-meal shipment, which was sent during the fourth quarter of 2019, was shared with Don Bosco Children and Life Mission (Don Bosco CALM) in the town of Namugongo, Don Bosco Nursery and Primary School in Bombo, and Don Bosco Vocational School in Kamuli.

The rice-meals are provided to students at schools and children at the orphanage to ensure they have the energy and focus to gain an education and participate in social programs. Don Bosco CALM welcomes and gives hope to 165 children.

“Most of our beneficiaries are from the street, HIV positive and other vulnerable children,” said Father Elie Nyandwi, director of Don Bosco CALM and the Don Bosco Primary School. “Our financial, human and logistic resources are scarcely enough. We face challenges in feeding children, paying their school fees, scholastic materials, medical assistance, and paying monthly salaries for our workers. Since we started receiving the Rise Against Hunger meals, our organization can now breathe and save some money for solving some other children’s problems.”

Rise Against Hunger partners with Salesian Missions, which works to identify needs and coordinate delivery of 40-foot shipping containers full of meals, supplemented with additional supplies when available. The partnership was developed in 2011 and since that time, shipments have been successfully delivered to 20 countries around the globe. The meals and life-saving aid have helped to nourish poor youth at Salesian schools and programs and care for those in need of emergency aid during times of war, natural disasters and health crises.

Today, 34 million people live in Uganda with half under 15 years of age. Many children and older youth have to deal with diseases such as malaria, respiratory infections, diarrhea and HIV/AIDS. The number of Ugandans living below the poverty line declined from 31.1 percent in 2006 to 19.7 percent in 2013, where it stands today.

Close to 67 percent of Ugandans are either poor or highly vulnerable to poverty, according to UNICEF. While the country has seen some economic growth, as well as improvement in its Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 163 out of 188 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Don Bosco CALM

Rise Against Hunger

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: More than 2,300 poor youth from 3 Salesian programs receive better nutrition thanks to Rice Against Hunger rice-meal shipment first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries at Don Bosco Palabek, within the Palabek Refugee Settlement in Uganda, are providing much needed psycho-social support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educated 743 students in 2019 with 222 graduating at the end of the year. Currently, there are 521 students in the four kindergartens. Salesian missionaries also started the Child Sponsorship program in 2019 with 63 refugee students, providing the financial support for them to attend primary, secondary and vocational schools.

Uganda has become home for more than 1.3 million refugees—82 percent of whom are women and children—in the wake of the ongoing conflict in South Sudan, according to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. Millions have fled South Sudan and nearly 400,000 have died as a result of armed clashes. Many of those who have fled to Uganda have taken refuge at the Palabek Refugee Settlement in northern Uganda.

According to UNHCR, Palabek is currently home to nearly 46,000 refugees and asylum seekers. It was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within Palabek.

Helping to ensure refugees are learning skills for employment, Salesian missionaries also operate a vocational training center to offer life skills and other training. Depending on the discipline, some courses run for 3-6 months while others run as long as a year. Salesian missionaries have also set up a job placement office that helps students make contact with companies that are hiring, prepare resumes and prep for interviews, and find internships and on-site training opportunities.

The vocational training center educated 230 students in 2019 with 193 students completing their courses and graduating by the end of the year. Young women graduated from courses in tailoring and salon services such as hairdressing. Young men studied automobile mechanics, motorcycle repair training and solar installation. Agriculture classes are also taught to all students no matter their primary area of study.

To further ensure refugees can earn a living, Salesian missionaries are helping refugees with saving and lending with 20 village savings groups and eight farmers groups that were provided seeds and farm tools within the settlement. Men, women and youth are engaged in the village savings groups.

Through savings meetings, key issues like gender-based violence prevention, business strategy, farming and nutrition, and other topics were discussed. Most of the members have appreciated the approach because they are able to share important information with each other for the benefit of individuals, their families and the community at large. Through the group formation and interventions at the zone level (neighborhoods) of the settlement, there is peace.

“Salesian missionaries are working to ensure that refugees at Palabek have an opportunity for education during their time in the camp,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Refugees have left behind nearly everything they had to protect themselves and their families. Being able to offer them support and education helps them to prepare for the future and build connections in their new community.”

Nearly 21 percent of the population in Uganda lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. This number rises to 33 percent for those living in the northern region where poverty is greatest. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its UN Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 159 out of 189 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate, but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

World Bank – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Salesian missionaries educate close to 1,000 students in nursery schools and vocational training in 2019 first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Robert Ocan, 33 years old, is a refugee at the Palabek Refugee Camp who assists Salesian missionaries with educational projects. Before he arrived at Palabek, Ocan was a professor of chemistry and mathematics in Pajok, South Sudan, which is located 15 kilometers from the border with Uganda. When war reached the almost 50,000 people living there in April 2017, Ocan had to flee for his safety, but he didn’t go alone.

Married with two young children, Ocan heard the rebel gunfire in the city center. As soon as he did, he organized not only his family’s escape but also the escape of almost 7,000 other people. Thanks to his mobile phone, he warned the schoolteachers to bring the children into the bush. Ocan recalled, “They ran and escaped with what they were wearing and had no water or food with them.”

When Ocan was young, he also had to flee with his parents during the war of independence in Sudan. But this time, when Ocan fled to Uganda, everything was easier because the country is welcoming refugees. Ocan noted, “UNHCR buses took us to Palabek, the last refugee settlement that was opened in northern Uganda.”

Uganda has become home for more than 1.3 million refugees—82 percent of whom are women and children—in the wake of the ongoing conflict in South Sudan, according to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. Millions have fled South Sudan and nearly 400,000 have died as a result of armed clashes. Many of those who have fled to Uganda, like Ocan and his family, have taken refuge at the Palabek Refugee Settlement in northern Uganda.

According to UNHCR, Palabek is currently home to nearly 46,000 refugees and asylum seekers. It was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within Palabek.

“Robert is the mediator of any conflict among the refugees, but also the highest authority of the refugees before those who manage the settlement. He has continuous meetings with UN authorities and the prime minister’s office and regularly visits every part of the camp to check that everything is in order,” explained Mariatzu, a refugee who arrived with him from Pajok.

Ocan receives no salary for his work. He is also involved in all the educational projects that the Salesians have undertaken in Palabek. Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much-needed psycho-social support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, there are over 700 children attending Salesian primary and secondary schools, and more than 700 families that are supported by other initiatives.

Salesian missionaries launched a vocational training center to offer life skills and other training to help young refugees prepare for employment. Young refugees are able to attend vocational training courses for free. Depending on the discipline, some courses run for 3-6 months while others run as long as a year. Salesian missionaries have also set up a job placement office that helps students make contact with companies that are hiring, prepare resumes and prep for interviews, and find internships and on-site training opportunities.

“I have a hope of peace because Don Bosco is contributing to creating a new generation of young people,” said Ocan. “Don Bosco offers education, a great humanitarian and pastoral service and, above all, gives us hope for the future and trust in our capacities.”

Ocan’s dream, as with many refugees, is to return to South Sudan but acknowledges that it will take a few years. He added, “It is not enough for peace agreements to be signed. Clashes must end, free elections must be held, whoever wins must be recognized as the winner, a government must be formed and we all must start working together for peace. To do all this, at least five years must pass.”

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Sources:

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

ANS – South Sudan – Robert Ocan, the hero who saved over 7,000 people from death

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Refugee from South Sudan saved more than 7,000 in his community and is now working to help Salesian missionaries at Palabek Refugee Settlement first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) In January, Salesian Father Martín Lasarte and Marco Fulgaro, a lay collaborator, visited Palabek Refugee Settlement in Uganda to oversee and verify the Salesian educational-pastoral work that has been carried out over the last two years.

Uganda has become home for more than 1.3 million refugees—82 percent of whom are women and children—in the wake of the ongoing conflict in South Sudan, according to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. Millions have fled South Sudan and nearly 400,000 have died as a result of armed clashes. Many of those who have fled to Uganda have taken refuge at the Palabek Refugee Settlement in northern Uganda.

According to UNHCR, Palabek is currently home to nearly 46,000 refugees and asylum seekers. It was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within Palabek.

Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much-needed psycho-social support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, there are over 700 children attending Salesian primary and secondary schools and more than 700 families that are supported by other initiatives.

Salesian missionaries launched a vocational training center to offer life skills and other training to help young refugees prepare for employment. Young refugees are able to attend vocational training courses for free. Depending on the discipline, some courses run for 3-6 months while others run as long as a year. Salesian missionaries have also set up a job placement office that helps students make contact with companies that are hiring, prepare resumes and prep for interviews, and find internships and on-site training opportunities.

The vocational training center currently has 450 students, 400 refugees and 50 host community Ugandans. The majority of students are young women and mothers who are finally having an opportunity to learn a skill. They are taking courses in tailoring, cosmetology and salon services such as hairdressing. Young men are learning automobile mechanics and motorcycle repair training. Agriculture classes are taught to all students no matter their primary area of study.

“Salesian missionaries are working to ensure that refugees at Palabek have an opportunity for education during their time in the camp,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Refugees have left behind nearly everything they had to protect themselves and their families. Being able to offer them support and education helps them to prepare for the future and build connections in their new community.”

Salesian missionaries also operate in communities outside of Palabek including a refugee settlement in Kyaka. Their goal is to provide more locations for educational and pastoral work as more resources become available.

Close to 67 percent of Ugandans are either poor or highly vulnerable to poverty, according to UNICEF. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its UN Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 163 out of 188 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate, but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Uganda – Palabek: new missionary frontier

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Salesian missionaries providing education and support to close to 3,000 youth in Palabek Refugee Settlement first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Poor youth in Uganda had access to better nutrition thanks to a partnership between Salesian Missions and Rise Against Hunger, an international relief organization that provides food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable. The rice-meal shipment, which was sent during the third quarter of 2019, was shared with Don Bosco Children and Life Mission (Don Bosco CALM) in the town of Namugongo. The Salesian organization provides services to close to 165 children and 230 students attending the Don Bosco Nursery and Primary School.

The rice-meals are provided to students at schools and children at the orphanage to ensure they have the energy and focus to gain an education and participate in social programs. Don Bosco Children and Life Mission is a home that welcomes and gives hope to 165 children.

“Most of our beneficiaries are from the street, HIV positive and other vulnerable children,” says Father Elie Nyandwi, director of Don Bosco CALM and the Don Bosco Primary School. “Our financial, human and logistic resources are scarcely enough. We face challenges in feeding children, paying their school fees, scholastic materials, medical assistance, and paying monthly salaries for our workers. Since we started receiving the Rise Against Hunger meals, our organization can now breathe and save some money for solving some other children’s problems.”

One recipient, 9-year-old Ivan Kato is a student in primary four at the Don Bosco Primary school. He lives at Don Bosco CALM with his twin brother Derrick Kakuru. They were both orphaned after their mother died in a road accident, shortly after giving birth to the twins. Kato and Kakuru were rescued by Samaritans Sisters who cared for them until they reached the school age.

Kato eats with moderation. At school, he is more concentrated on his academics. Kakuru likes toys and cartoon movies and has excelled at being a critical thinker. He often asks tough questions, recently even asking the origin of God. He is dreaming of becoming an architect in order to build a big and beautiful house for his family.

Today, 34 million people live in Uganda with half under 15 years of age. Many children and older youth have to deal with diseases such as malaria, respiratory infections, diarrhea and HIV/AIDS. The number of Ugandans living below the poverty line declined from 31.1 percent in 2006 to 19.7 percent in 2013, where it stands today.

Close to 67 percent of Ugandans are either poor or highly vulnerable to poverty, according to UNICEF. While the country has seen some economic growth, as well as improvement in its Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 163 out of 188 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Don Bosco CALM

Rise Against Hunger

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Poor youth attending programs at Don Bosco Children and Life Mission receive healthy nutrition thanks to donation of Rise Against Hunger rice-meals first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) Two months after the premiere of the documentary “Palabek: Refuge of Hope” from award-winning filmmaker Raúl de la Fuente on Oct. 17 in Madrid, Spain, more than 20,000 students attending high school, bachelor’s degree courses and Salesian vocational training centers in Spain have seen the documentary and listened to Salesian Father Ubaldino Andrade speak about the film. The students have come to understand the difficult experiences faced by the refugees. They have also participated in activities that stand in solidarity with them.

Uganda has become home for more than 1.3 million refugees—82 percent of whom are women and children—in the wake of the ongoing conflict in South Sudan, according to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. Millions have fled the country and nearly 400,000 have died as a result of armed clashes. Many of those who fled to Uganda have taken refuge at the Palabek Refugee Settlement in northern Uganda.

The Palabek Refugee Settlement is currently home to 34,000 people. It was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within Palabek.

In his presentation to the students, Fr. Andrade noted, “The camp is like the courtyard of your school, but you can’t leave it, and 100, 200, up to 300 thousand people live there. Palabek is a settlement of 20 square km, where each family receives a plot of 30 square meters to build its hut and sow something there.”

He added, “Those who reside there are people who have fled war and certain death. They have left their lives, family, work, clothes, home. They arrive with nothing to start from scratch and then have to survive with difficulty just to have a little water, they are without money and with insufficient quantity of food, which is given to them once a month and is always the same.”

In the village there are mostly women and children, often escaping from war, having to walk at night up to the border. Fr. Andrade explained, “But despite everything, they are always happy, they smile, they want to talk, they greet you, they share what little they have and the younger ones appreciate the education they receive. The children of Palabek do not have to take anything to school, because there are no pens, notebooks or backpacks, in some cases they have to travel many kilometers on foot to attend classes. But the Salesians offer breakfast and food to all the children who attend the settlement schools, around 13,000 in number.”

In closing his presentation to the students, Fr. Andrade explained that there are many ways to help Salesian missionaries and refugees at Palabek. He said, “The first is through prayer, which does miracles. The second is to understand and convey the message that when we talk about refugees, migrants or unaccompanied minors, we’re not talking about suspect persons, thieves or terrorists, as some say, but they are people who have fled to save their lives. The third way to help is with money or solidarity initiatives, such as writing letters in English for the children there, or recording a video and sending it through the Salesian Mission Office Madrid and the Salesian Jóvenes y Desarrollo Foundation. The fourth way, for those who are a little older, is to go to Palabek as a volunteer. We are waiting for you there and I guarantee you that your life will change.”

Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much needed psycho-social support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, there are over 700 children attending Salesian primary and secondary schools and more than 700 families that are supported by various other initiatives.

Young refugees are also able to attend vocational training courses for free. Depending on the discipline, some courses will run for 3-6 months while others will run as long as a year. Salesian missionaries have also set up a job placement office that will help students make contact with companies that are hiring, prepare resumes and prep for interviews, and find internships and onsite training opportunities.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Spain – Nearly 20,000 students of Salesianos have seen “Palabek” film documentary, listened to Fr Andrade

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

The post UGANDA: More than 20,000 students view the new documentary “Palabek: Refuge of Hope” first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UGANDA

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian Mission Office Madrid and the Salesian Jóvenes y Desarrollo Foundation presented a new documentary “Palabek: Refuge of Hope” from award-winning filmmaker Raúl de la Fuente on Oct. 17, in Madrid, Spain. Other screening locations will follow in Spain and other European cities in the coming weeks.

Uganda has become home for more than 1.3 million refugees—82 percent of whom are women and children—in the wake of the ongoing conflict in South Sudan, according to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. Millions have fled the country and nearly 400,000 have died as a result of armed clashes. Many of those who have fled to Uganda have taken refuge at the Palabek Refugee Settlement in northern Uganda.

The Palabek Refugee Settlement is currently home to 34,000 people. It was officially set up in April 2016 to reduce congestion in larger refugee camps in the northwestern corner of Uganda. Several agencies are involved in providing food and education within Palabek.

Salesian missionaries at the settlement are offering much needed psycho-social support and pastoral care for thousands of Christian residents. They also operate four nursery schools that educate more than 1,000 children. In addition, there are over 700 children attending Salesian primary and secondary schools and more than 700 families that are supported by various other initiatives.

Young refugees are also able to attend vocational training courses for free. Depending on the discipline, some courses will run for 3-6 months while others will run as long as a year. Salesian missionaries have also set up a job placement office that will help students make contact with companies that are hiring, prepare resumes and prep for interviews, and find internships and onsite training opportunities.

Ordinary life in the camp is the main theme of the documentary, with a focus on the daily difficulties and uncertainty of the future of these people. The film offers moving stories of refugees arriving from all over the world and shows the dreams that keep them alive, along with the work that the Salesians do with them, offering education, support and hope.

Alice and Gladys, two young refugees and mothers, have started a new life in the settlement of Palabek thanks to the study opportunities offered to them by the Salesians. Thanks to a scholarship, Alice is finishing high school in a village near Palabek, while Gladys is the only girl who attends the Motorcycle Repair course of the Don Bosco Technical School.

“This new documentary sheds light on the realities faced by those who have had to leave everything behind to save their own lives and now live with the painful difficulties of being separated from their families and waiting for peace to be able to return home,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Close to 67 percent of Ugandans are either poor or highly vulnerable to poverty, according to UNICEF. While the country has seen some economic growth, as well as improvement in its Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 163 out of 188 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Spain – “Palabek. Refugio de esperanza”, documentary about refugees’ life and dreams

Don Bosco Palabek Refugee Resettlement Camp

Salesian Missions – Uganda

Salesian Missions – Spain

UGANDA: Young women from South Sudan are learning the skills needed to earn a living at Palabek Refugee Settlement

The post UGANDA: Salesian Mission Office Madrid and Salesian Jóvenes y Desarrollo Foundation present the new documentary “Palabek: Refuge of Hope” first appeared on MissionNewswire.

While 86 percent of people living in Uganda make their living through farming, more youth are seeking jobs in urban areas often leaving small agricultural plots of land in rural areas uncultivated. The soil in Uganda is fertile with two rainy seasons and two harvests per year. In 2013, a first attempt was made to involve youth in the cultivation of the land through an agricultural project raising geese and ducks, pigs, goats and cows. After two years, the raising of the animals was successful but the farming of the land did not yield enough vegetables to feed the students at the school.

In 2015, with better farming techniques and better cultivation of the land, the farm produced cabbage, carrots, onions, beans, corn, manioc, eggplant, peppers and sweet potatoes in abundance. Recently, the program expanded to include a piggery with three pigs, one of which produced eight piglets that will be raised on the school farm. With a goal of eventually raising more than 200 pigs, construction has begun on the piggery in order to house a larger population of pigs and install water pipes to be used for cleaning as well as providing drinking water for the animals.

“The Don Bosco Children and Life Mission is in a constant state of improvement to increase its agriculture output in order to provide nutritious food for its students,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Thanks to this agricultural project, many youth have also learned a trade that guarantees them future employment and the ability to help their communities.”

With the addition of more quality teachers, the agriculture program continues to expand its training. The goal of the school is to provide young farmers with a basic education as well as advanced studies in the latest agricultural practices and modern technologies while moving towards efficiency in farming by exploring and testing new techniques in agriculture, horticulture, floriculture and animal husbandry. The school provides both classroom education and hands-on agriculture and livestock training on a working farm on the school campus.

Close to 67 percent of Ugandans are either poor or highly vulnerable to poverty, according to UNICEF. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 163 out of 188 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

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Sources:

ANS – Uganda – Agricultural education for young people of Don Bosco Kampala

Don Bosco Children and Life Mission

Human Development Report

UNICEF – Uganda 

The post UGANDA: Salesian Missionaries Provide Agriculture Training to 140 Students first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The donated meals are provided to students during the school day and serve as an incentive for families to send their children to school. As a result of the donation, students are thriving. Many have gained weight, grown taller, suffered fewer illnesses and become more focused on their studies. Teachers are seeing better student performance in class and two programs have increased enrollment rates as a result of the feeding program.

“Access to nutritious meals allows youth to be better prepared to take part in school activities and focus on their education,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Prepared students are more likely to learn valuable skills that will help them gain employment and break the cycle of poverty in their lives while enabling them to give back to their communities.”

Stop Hunger Now partners with Salesian Missions (in New Rochelle, N.Y.) which works to identify needs and coordinate delivery of 40-foot shipping containers full of meals supplemented with additional supplies when available. The partnership was developed in 2011 and since that time, more than 60 shipping containers, including more than 16 million rice-meals, have been successfully delivered to 19 countries around the globe. The meals and life-saving aid has helped to nourish poor youth at Salesian schools and programs and care for those in need of emergency aid during times of war, natural disasters and health crises.

“The partnership with Stop Hunger Now allows Salesian Missions to expand its services for youth in need,” adds Fr. Hyde. “Operating feeding programs for youth in Salesian schools whose families cannot afford to feed them is very important and integral to the success of our students and their ability to gain an education.”

The recent Stop Hunger Now shipment also contained 54 boxes of soccer clothing and equipment. Sports programs are an integral part of many Salesian centers around the globe and encourage teamwork while imparting valuable leadership skills. They also teach important social skills and provide opportunities for participants to grow and mature.

The Don Bosco Children and Life Mission, the primary recipient of the donation, provides more than 200 at-risk boys aged 8 to 17 access to primary, secondary and technical education along with sports programming, youth clubs, guidance counseling and life skills training. Students also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of extracurricular activities including Jazz band, brass band, acrobatics and Youth Alive Uganda, an organization that works with youth to promote social skills and values.

Each year, Youth Alive Uganda works with Salesian students to organize a festival to showcase singing, drama and poetry performances and fine arts exhibits. These arts activities help students express themselves and realize their individuality while developing skills and talents outside of the classroom.

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Sources:

Don Bosco Children and Life Mission

UNICEF – Uganda 

The post UGANDA: Students Receive Soccer Equipment and Rice Meals in Recent Stop Hunger Now Donation first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The Don Bosco Children and Life Mission, located just outside of Kampala, the largest city and capital of Uganda, was the primary recipient of the rice-meal donation. Through an educational program at the mission, more than 200 at-risk boys aged 8 to 17 have access to primary, secondary and technical education along with sports programming, youth clubs, guidance counseling and life skills training. The rice-meal donation will be shared with the Salesian-run St. Mary’s Secondary School and Salesian Technical School, both located in Luweero, a town in Central Uganda as well as the Salesian-run Kira Primary School, located in Kira Town, a municipality in the Wakiso District of Central Uganda.

The meals are provided to students during the school day and serve as an incentive for families to send their children to school. As a result of the donation, students are thriving. Many have gained weight, grown taller, suffered fewer illnesses and become more focused on their studies. Teachers are seeing better student performance in class and two programs have increased enrollment rates as a result of the feeding program. Included in the latest shipment of rice meals was soap, protein and nutrition bars and soccer equipment and clothing.

“Access to nutritious meals allows youth to be better prepared to take part in school activities and focus on their education,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Prepared students are more likely to learn valuable skills that will help them gain employment and break the cycle of poverty in their lives while enabling them to give back to their communities.”

The Don Bosco Children and Life Mission is in the process of increasing its agricultural productivity in order to continue to provide nutritious food to its students. Already harvesting sweet potatoes and other vegetables, the agriculture program has recently expanded to include a piggery with three pigs, one of which produced eight piglets that will be raised on the school farm. With a goal of eventually raising more than 200 pigs, construction has begun on the piggery in order to house a larger population of pigs and install water pipes to be used for cleaning as well as providing drinking water for the animals.

Close to 67 percent of Ugandans are either poor or highly vulnerable to poverty, according to UNICEF. While the country has experienced some economic growth as well as improvement in its Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, it still ranks near the bottom at 161 out of 186 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Approximately 86 percent of Uganda’s 34 million inhabitants make their living farming but nearly 40 percent of Ugandans lack access to clean water for work and household use. Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

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Sources:

Don Bosco Children and Life Mission

UNICEF – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Close to 1,500 Students Receive Better Nutrition Thanks to Rice-Meal Donation first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Don Bosco Children and Life Mission, located just outside of Kampala, the largest city and capital of Uganda, was the primary recipient of the rice-meal donation. Through an educational program at the mission, more than 200 at-risk boys aged 8 to 17 have access to primary, secondary and technical education along with sports programming, youth clubs, guidance counseling and life skills training. The rice meals were also shared with the Salesian-run Children’s Project in Luweero, a town in Central Uganda.

The meals are provided to students during the school day and serve as an incentive for families to send their children to school. As a result of the donation, students are thriving. Many have gained weight, suffer fewer illnesses and are more focused on their studies. Teachers are seeing better student performance in class and the two programs have increased enrollment rates as a result of the feeding program.

“Access to nutritious meals allows youth to be better prepared to take part in school activities and focus on their education,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Prepared students are more likely to learn valuable skills that will help them gain employment, break the cycle of poverty in their lives and enable them to give back to their communities.”

Included in the shipment of rice meals, coordinated by Salesian Missions, were donated books and soap as well as a box of sports equipment donated by the soccer team at Oswego State University in New York. The sports equipment donation was facilitated by Paul Kwoyelo, a student at the university and member of its men’s soccer team. A former student of the Salesian-run St. Mary’s School in Uganda, Mr. Kwoyelo was eager to do something to support the Ugandan students.

“It’s been said to never forget where you came from and I was a student at St. Mary’s seven years ago,” said Kwoyelo in a note he sent to the students with the donation. “The Don Bosco community has played a big role in my life. Throughout my four years at St. Mary’s, I grew as a student, a Christian and a friend. I currently reside in the United States where I am studying computer science at a university. I find myself always reflecting over the wonderful times I had at St. Mary’s. I vividly remember the time when a package was delivered to the boys boarding from the United States. The package brought smiles to everyone’s faces and I have forever cherished that momentous occasion.”

“In the past few years, I have been fortunate enough to have met some great people in the U.S, including my coach and the Oswego State men’s soccer team,” added Kwoyelo.  “With the collaboration of these generous individuals, we were able to put together a package with the goal of making annual shipments to specific locations. I hope this package brings the same joy I once had, back when I was a student, and I hope it motivates everyone to keep working hard.”

Close to 67 percent of Ugandans are either poor or highly vulnerable to poverty, according to UNICEF. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 161 out of 186 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Approximately 86 percent of Uganda’s 34 million inhabitants make their living farming but nearly 40 percent of Ugandans lack access to clean water for work and household use. Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

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Sources:

UNICEF – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Salesian Students Have Better Nutrition Thanks to Rice Meals Donation from Stop Hunger Now first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Currently, the two existing kindergarten classes at the elementary school are filled beyond capacity. The crowded classrooms make it challenging for students to learn and difficult for teachers to provide the individual attention students need most. In addition, the limited space reduces the number of new students the school can accept. To address this need, the Don Bosco Elementary School is currently seeking funding to build and furnish another kindergarten classroom.

“Students learn better when they are in a comfortable structured environment with low student to teacher ratios,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “The addition of a new kindergarten classroom will allow for improved learning environments in the existing classrooms and the ability to enroll new students.”

Don Bosco Elementary School is among the more than 3,200 Salesian schools around the globe that demonstrate the power of education as an effective means of breaking the cycle of poverty while giving the most vulnerable youth a sense of personal dignity and self-worth. Salesian-run vocational, technical, professional and agricultural schools provide practical skill training helping youth to become productive, contributing adults in their communities.

In Uganda, Salesian schools not only provide a space for learning, they also help meet the basic needs of their students. Elementary and secondary schools offer a feeding program where meals are provided to students during the school day and serve as an incentive for families to send their children to school. Access to nutritious meals makes students better prepared to take part in school activities and focus on their education.

“We have seen the devastating results of conflict on individual lives, families and countries but we are also seeing how people, especially poor youth in Uganda, are making enormous efforts to overcome the challenges that they’ve faced to build better lives for themselves,” says Father Mark Hyde, “Access to education is critical for youth to learn and develop the skills for employment and success later in life.”

Close to 67 percent of Ugandans are either poor or highly vulnerable to poverty, according to UNICEF. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 161 out of 186 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Approximately 86 percent of Uganda’s 34 million inhabitants make their living farming but nearly 40 percent of Ugandans lack access to clean water for work and household use. Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

Sources

UNCIEF – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Don Bosco Elementary School Planning Additional Kindergarten Class to Meet Growing Need first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Close to 67 percent of Ugandans are either poor or highly vulnerable to poverty, according to UNICEF. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 161 out of 186 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Approximately 86 percent of Uganda’s 34 million inhabitants make their living farming but nearly 40 percent of Ugandans lack access to clean water for work and household use. Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

The donated meals from Stop Hunger Now are helping to enhance the educational environment for poor youth at three Salesian programs in Uganda. Students in elementary, technical and vocational schools in Kampala, Luweero and Kamuli were among the recipients.

The schools serve vulnerable children and focus on ending the cycle of poverty through education and workforce development opportunities. Through primary, secondary and technical schools, Salesian missionaries in Uganda focus their efforts on helping poor youth obtain an education and later, the job skills necessary for stable employment.

“We have seen the devastating results of conflict on individual lives, families and countries but we are also seeing how people, especially poor youth in Uganda, are making enormous efforts to overcome the challenges that they’ve faced to build better lives for themselves,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Don Bosco Children and Life Mission, located just outside of Kampala, the largest city and capital of Uganda, was the primary recipient of the rice-meal donation. Through an educational program at the mission, more than 200 at-risk boys aged 8 to 17 have access to primary, secondary and technical education along with sports programming, youth clubs, guidance counseling and life skills training.

The meals are provided to students during the school day and serve as an incentive for families to send their children to school. As a result of the donation, students are thriving. Many have gained weight, suffer fewer illnesses and are more focused on their studies. Teachers are seeing better student performance in class as well as less conflict among students.

“Access to nutritious meals allows youth to be better prepared to take part in school activities and focus on their education,” adds Fr. Hyde. “Prepared students are more likely to learn valuable skills that will help them gain employment, break the cycle of poverty in their lives and enable them to give back to their communities.”

With programs in more than 130 countries around the globe and extensive knowledge and experience with aid shipments, Salesian Missions has one of the largest networks currently working with Stop Hunger Now. Salesian Missions’ programs make up an integral part of the existing infrastructure in many countries and the organization plays an important role in making sure aid from the United States reaches its destination country and gets into the hands of those who need it most.

“The partnership with Stop Hunger Now allows Salesian Missions to expand its scope of services to youth in need,” says Jessica O’Connor, property and logistics officer at the Salesian Missions Office for International Programs. “Operating feeding programs for youth in Salesian schools whose families cannot afford to feed them is very important and integral to the success of our students and their ability to gain an education.”

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Sources

UNICEF – Uganda

The post UGANDA: Salesian Missions Coordinates Delivery of Stop Hunger Now Meals to Vulnerable Youth Taking Part in Educational Programs first appeared on MissionNewswire.

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

The post KENYA: Salesian Missionaries Provide Hope, Education and Nutrition to Youth in Kakuma Refugee Camp first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Don Bosco Children and Life Mission, St. Mary’s Secondary School, St. Joseph’s Primary School and Sacred Heart Sisters School will utilize the books for years to come.

“A new book in the hands of a student opens him or her up to the opportunities that are available through education,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco headquarted in New Rochelle, NY. “While this is true whether it takes place down the street or across the globe, it is especially powerful in places like Uganda.”

More than 550 boxes of books were donated to the four schools, covering a variety of subjects including geography, science and music, and have been made available in the classrooms and school libraries at these primary and secondary institutions.

“The books bring a great value to our school and academic performance,” says Barshir Sadick, a student at Don Bosco Children and Life Mission, one of the secondary schools that was a primary recipient of the donation. “Some of the books are quite colorful with drawings and images that the young students in the primary grades have also found fascinating and enjoyable.”

Don Bosco Children and Life Mission is located just outside of Kampala, the largest city and capital of Uganda, and provides services to more than 200 at-risk boys aged 8 to 17. The program offers primary, secondary and technical education along with sports programs, youth clubs, guidance counseling and life skills training. The donated books will aid the students in their academic pursuits.

As each boy at the mission grows and develops, he moves through different stages of the program until reaching the final goal of leading an independent, productive life.

“We have seen the devastating results of conflict on individual lives, families and countries but we are also seeing how people, especially poor youth in Uganda, are making enormous efforts to overcome everything that they’ve faced and build better lives for themselves,” adds Fr. Hyde.

Close to 67 percent of Ugandans are either poor or highly vulnerable to poverty, according to UNICEF. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 161 out of 186 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Approximately 86 percent of Uganda’s 34 million inhabitants make their living farming but nearly 40 percent of Ugandans lack access to clean water for work and household use. Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

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Sources

UNICEF – Uganda

Salesian Missions – Uganda 

The post UGANDA: Donated Books Help Improve Educational Opportunities for Poor Youth first appeared on MissionNewswire.

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

The post UNITED NATIONS: Refugee exodus from strife-torn South Sudan picks up momentum, UN reports first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Pregnancy-related deaths remain an acute problem in many places, despite overall global declines in rates of maternal mortality. Every day, nearly 800 women die from complications in pregnancy or childbirth, and 99 percent of these deaths occur in developing countries. These deaths are largely preventable with interventions and training to prevent or treat complications such as hemorrhage, infection, and obstructed labor, and with increased access to reproductive health services and emergency care.

We traveled to Zambia because it has a disproportionately high rate of maternal mortality – an estimated 440 women dying for every 100,000 live births, which is 20 times higher than the U.S. But Zambia, as well as Uganda, is also the site of a new program, called Saving Mothers, Giving Life (SMGL), designed to reduce maternal mortality by up to 50 percent in selected districts in a year.

SMGL builds on the fact that most maternal deaths result from one or more of three delays: in seeking care, in arriving at a health facility, and in receiving appropriate care. SMGL is working to address those delays by supporting linkages between communities and health facilities through Safe Motherhood Action Groups (SMAGs); by improving communications and transportation in the districts to speed the care and referrals of pregnant women; and by training and hiring health care providers, while improving equipment and standards of care at health facilities.

Although the U.S. government has been a driving force behind SMGL, it is a public-private partnership. The U.S. Agency for International Development leads SMGL for the U.S. Government, in partnership with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Peace Corps, and the Department of Defense.  The other SMGL partners include the governments of Norway, Zambia, and Uganda, the Merck for Mothers program, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Every Mother Counts.

SMGL has generated excitement, but its implementers know that there is no quick fix for reducing maternal mortality. Accordingly, the initiative faces significant challenges to national scale up and to sustainability, and many experts believe that the changes required will take years – not months — to achieve.

Effectively addressing maternal mortality — in Zambia and elsewhere — will demand ongoing commitment, from national governments and international partners – and investments in community awareness, in improving health facilities and transportation, and in expanding women’s access to health services, including family planning programs. As Professor Chomba said, we want to get to a point where “every woman can look forward to labor, and not say, I may die.”

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This originally appeared on Smart Global Health.

Posted by Janet Fleischman and Julia Nagel, Center for Strategic and International Studies on Thursday, March 14th 2013

The post USAID: Saving Mothers: A New Initiative to Address Maternal Mortality first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Salesian Missions is one of the many nonprofit organizations working in collaboration with the United Nations and UNICEF to help the world’s poorest youth break the devastating cycle of poverty. Salesian Missions  holds a “Special Consultative Status” with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

To mark the day, UNICEF released the paper Generation 2025 and beyond: The critical importance of understanding demographic trends for children of the 21st century. This report forecasted a four percent increase in the global population of children by 2025, but added that child population-growth will shift significantly to countries in the South.

Almost one in three children under the age of 18 will be born in Africa, the study reported. It went on to note that deaths of children under the age of five will continue to increasingly occur in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in pockets of poverty and marginalization of heavily populated, low-income countries, and in least developed nations.

“What is important is whether the world, as it prepares for the post-2015 agenda, takes account of this fundamental and unprecedented shift,” said a co-author of the study, David Anthony of UNICEF in a recent press release. “We must do everything possible so these children get an equal chance to survive, develop and reach their full potential.”

“For least developed countries, serious consideration must be given to how to meet the needs of children, especially in health and education,” UNICEF said in the release.

The UNICEF report recommends targeting investments to areas where children will be born; focusing on neglected groups, especially in high-population, middle-income countries; reaching the poorest and most isolated households; and urgently tackling the issue of old age dependency.

In honor of Universal Children’s Day — focusing on the new UNICEF report — Salesian Missions is proud to highlight programs providing hope and opportunity for youth that focus on the health and education for the world’s poorest.

Cambodia

More than one third of Cambodians live below the poverty line – surviving on less than $1 a day –according to UNICEF. To provide youth with greater opportunity, Salesian Missions partnered with the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Education to open six vocational training centers. Approximately 1,300 youth ages 16 to 21 are preparing for their futures in two-year vocational training programs.  With their diploma, students take with them skills in mechanics, welding, computers, printing and communication – as well as the hope for a new Cambodia. New programs are already beginning supporting providing more youth a path out of poverty. At Don Bosco Vocational Center Kep first year students have already commenced programs in social communication, front office assistance, housekeeping and tailoring and electricity.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia is home to more than four million orphans, or 12 percent of all children.  More than half a million of these were orphaned as a result of AIDS, according to UNICEF.  The CARING Orphans and Vulnerable Children project in Ethiopia is funded by USAID to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. The program increases access to youth orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, and provides holistic care, community reintegration, and support for 60,000 orphans, street youth and children who have been made vulnerable due to HIV/AIDS. To date, more than 13,000 orphans and vulnerable children have received services ranging from shelter and care, formal education, non-formal education and economic empowerment activities.

India

Building the skills of India’s rapidly rising workforce is a key focus for reducing poverty, according to the World Bank. Nearly 44 percent of India’s work force is illiterate and only 17 percent has secondary schooling. To increase the potential of India’s youth, Salesian Missions is facilitating four projects dedicated to skills training in rural areas. The projects are a collaboration between Bosco Academy for Skills and Employment (BASE) and the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) of the Indian government. Young people are trained in their interest areas, taking into consideration their unique capacities, skills and talents. Choices include welding, chauffeuring, auto mechanics, data entry operation, desktop publishing, secretarial skills, retail sales, IT services and others.

South Africa

In South Africa, youth are saying “yes” to learning job skills through the Don Bosco “Youth Employment Skills” project (YES). The YES project began in 2002 with a grant from USAID, focused on youth who want to enter the job market. Youth study four sets of skills: computer literacy and office management, computer maintenance and repair, bricklaying, and tiling and mosaic. They also learn life skills, set personal goals and learn resume writing and interview skills. A full-time job placement counselor works with the business sector regarding potential job opportunities. Empower girls through education South Africa has one of the world’s highest crime rates, according to UNICEF. While violence impacts everyone, gender-based violence is a significant problem. Girls who live on the street face violence, drug addiction, abuse and other dangers. The “Unwind Your Mind” camps are specifically-designed to encourage girls to talk about what brought them to the street and consider their goals for the future. They also looked at the importance that young women play in society.

Uganda

Uganda ranks 157 out of 182 countries in the 2007 Human Development Index. The people of Uganda are working to rebuild after decades of war which left many displaced, as well as to combat the serious increase of HIV/AIDS, which has left millions of children orphaned. The Don Bosco Children & Life Mission offers hope to at risk boys, ages 8 to 17, through a variety of programs. As they grow and develop, boys move through different stages until they reach the final goal of an independent, productive life.

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Sources:

Salesian Missions – Our Work

UNICEF –  On Universal Children’s Day, look to the future, says UNICEF

Unicef paper – Generation 2025 and beyond: The critical importance of understanding demographic trends for children of the 21st century

The post UNIVERSAL CHILDREN’S DAY: Salesians Highlight Programs that Bring Hope to the World’s Poorest Youth by Providing Education, Opportunity to Break the Cycle of Poverty first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Each year focuses on a particular theme. This year the United Nations chose Ending the Violence of Extreme Poverty: Promoting Empowerment and Building Peace, which was chosen to highlight the link between poverty and social unrest. It also focuses on the need to provide people with the necessary skills to contribute to society.

“Poverty is easy to denounce but difficult to combat,” says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a recent UN article highlighting International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. “Those suffering from hunger, want and indignity need more than sympathetic words; they need concrete support.”

Ban further stressed in the article that that during times of economic austerity it is even more crucial to put policies in place that will protect the most vulnerable.

“As governments struggle to balance budgets, funding for anti-poverty measures is under threat. But this is precisely the time to provide the poor with access to social services, income security, decent work and social protection,” he says in the UN article. “Only then can we build stronger and more prosperous societies—not by balancing budgets at the expense of the poor.”

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty has been observed annually since 1993. The UN General Assembly designated this day to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in every country.

During the last decade, millions have overcome extreme poverty and have improved access to health care and education. Extreme poverty rates have decreased in every region of the world. More than 39 million children attend primary school and access to clean water has increased to 89 percent. But in spite of these important gains, several critical gaps remain.

Poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction, and a ‘Global Partnership for Development’ were further noted in the UN article as the eight Millennium Development Goals selected by world leaders at the UN summit in 2000.

The Salesians working at the ground level within communities ravaged by poverty see their efforts and these improvements first hand.

“Whether giving food and shelter to street children or building schools and teaching job skills to youth in poverty, the Salesians are giving youth hope for a new future,” says Fr. Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Our work gives youth the access to learn employable skills and provides the opportunity for them to break the cycle of poverty in their lives.”

Here are some highlights of Salesian programs around the globe that fight extreme poverty by providing hope and opportunity to youth and their communities:

CAMBODIA:

In Cambodia—through the Don Bosco Children’s Fund—the Salesians provide assistance to children ages six to fifteen who are at risk of dropping out of school due to extreme poverty. Each year approximately 5,000 children receive assistance in the form of medicine, nutritional meals, clothing and personal items. Many children have lost one or both parents to HIV and are currently living with extended family members with elderly grandparents or neighbors. Often they receive little direct supervision, leaving them extremely vulnerable to outside influences. Without support from the Don Bosco Children’s Fund, many children would be forced to beg or turn to street crime in order to support themselves.

COLOMBIA:

In Colombia, 18 percent of school age children have no access to education. One town that previously lacked access is Condoto, a remote village nestled in the middle of a tropical rainforest in western Colombia. Most of the 30,000 inhabitants are descendents of Africans who escaped the slave trade. Mining is the main source of income – with low pay and harsh working conditions. There, Salesian Missions has built the first and only schools in the area which are improving the lives of the students and all members of the communities – and will continue to do so for generations to come.

ECUADOR:

In Ecuador, at Salesian “Project for Street Children” sites throughout the country, vulnerable and at-risk children gain an all-around education that allows them to take the lead in developing their own skills and potential. The project uses an active presence on the streets, technical training and schools and the support of families and communities that care for the boys and their rehabilitation. Specialized programs for youth in need include: prevention of addiction and care for addicts, rehabilitation of youth gang members and hostels that provide an alternative to living on the street. Thousands of children and adolescents are supported each year.

ETHIOPIA:

More than 150 street children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia have a place to call home. And 750 more at-risk children benefit from a variety of programs designed to instill confidence and self-respect. That’s because exciting plans are underway for a new Salesian Center that will feature dormitories, classrooms, a recreation hall and cafeteria. When it opens, the Center will serve hundreds of needy children by providing the immediate basics of food and shelter.

GUATEMALA:

In Guatemala, more than 21 percent of the population had an income of less than $1 a day in 2004 – no improvement since 1989 according to the Pan American Health Organization. Extreme poverty is often associated with rural life. Rural Q’echi (Mayans) are among the rural populations looking to improve their lives.  Through Salesian Missions programs, they are focusing on increasing the capacity of their communities. With the assistance of the Q’echi promoters, community groups are educated in self management for projects benefiting family and community. Salesians also work through the Foundation for Advancement of Indigenous Women in Guatemala (Talita Kumi) to raise the status of women and empower them to become household and community decision-makers.

KENYA:

In Kenya, homeless youth join “Bosco Boys” programs dedicated to creating positive change. Three centers provide services for youth at different stages. Bosco Boys Kariua runs a nursery school and weekend program where street children gather for sporting events and to wash their clothes. Bosco Boys Langata is a rehabilitation center where new boys can overcome addictions and behaviors learned on the street. Bosco Boys Kuwinda provides education and training opportunities for street children, as well as poor children from the neighborhood.

MEXICO:

In Mexico City, girls and mothers face severe dangers living on the streets. Through the “Yolia” program, girls and women become regulars at the day center. There, they have meals, receive tutoring, obtain therapy, and learn job skills such as jewelry making and hair styling. Some girls may also choose to live in the residential area, where they receive additional education and services while building a sense of dignity and self worth.

SIERRA LEONE:

Sierra Leone is still recovering from a brutal 10-year civil war.  More than 500,000 people were displaced and more than 60,000 children were orphaned and homeless. In the 2008 Human Development Index, Sierra Leone ranks last among 179 countries for the well-being of its people. The Don Bosco Fambul program aims to change the lives of children. It directly addresses issues facing street children – including emotional trauma from the war and lost family. With the goal of reuniting with their families, youth participate in a 10-month program which includes counseling and medical care – as well as education. These young people attend classes during the day, according to their level of ability and any previous schooling. In the evening, they are responsible for helping each other with homework.  The youth are tested each month and receive encouragement for progress — building self esteem and motivation – and hope for the future.

TANZANIA:

For more than 20 years, Tanzanian children and youth have had access to education through Salesian Mission facilities. Programs are developed based on the most critical needs of the community. For example, AIDS orphans who have dropped out of regular school learn a trade at a vocational school, and girls attend secondary school in Didia, where previously there had been no secondary school within 40 miles. Schools and other facilities are providing new opportunities to children, youth and families in communities throughout Tanzania where nearly one million children have been orphaned due to AIDS, according to UNICEF. Many of these children are forced to leave school due to poverty or to care for their families. At Salesian technical and secondary schools and youth centers, youth develop skills to overcome obstacles. They learn a trade of their choice and to stand on their own to create a productive life. For more than 20 years, Salesian Missions has been a leader for vocational training and currently provides education and leadership opportunities to youth in communities throughout Tanzania.

UGANDA:

Uganda ranks 157 out of 182 countries in the 2007 Human Development Index. The people of Uganda are working to rebuild after decades of war which left many displaced, as well as to combat the serious increase of HIV/AIDS, which has left millions of children orphaned. The Don Bosco Children & Life Mission offers hope to at risk boys, ages 8-17, through a variety of programs. As they grow and develop, boys move through different stages until they reach the final goal of an independent, productive life.

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Sources

UN News – On Day for Eradication of Poverty, UN highlights needs for a holistic approach to helping word’s poor

ANS – International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: Ending the Violence of Extreme Poverty

The post WORLD POVERTY DAY: Salesian Missions Reports on Programs that Fight Extreme Poverty first appeared on MissionNewswire.

According to UNICEF, it is estimated that as many as 250,000 child soldiers – some as young as eight years old – are involved in more than 20 conflicts around the world. It notes that children are too frequently used as combatants, messengers, spies and cooks, and girls in particular are forced to perform sexual services. Some youth are forcibly recruited or abducted while others are driven to join by poverty, abuse and discrimination.

Millions of children, according to UNICEF, will be injured and face life long disabilities caused by armed conflicts and political violence. More will be added to their number because of the risks of landmines in areas where armed conflict has ceased. Children in war torn areas are exposed to and involved in acts of extreme violence.

The Salesians provide services to youth in war torn localities, particularly to child soldiers, bringing them hope and healing through rehabilitation programs, education and job training.

“Childhood should be a time of innocence and education,” says Fr. Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions – the U.S. arm of Salesians of Don Bosco. “But that’s not the reality for many youth around the globe living with war and recruited as child soldiers. We provide a foundation of education for them to have better lives and a productive future.”

The Salesians have a long history of making an impact in the lives of children living in war torn areas. The emotional support, education and job placement services provided play a large role in helping youth come to terms with their circumstances while preparing them for a brighter future.

Liberia: Don Bosco Rehabilitation & Skills Training Program provides youth with rehabilitative skills training and counseling. Through classes, youth can make up for the years lost as a result of the war by gaining marketable skills enabling them to contribute to rebuilding the country. Teenagers to young adults in their mid-twenties train in carpentry, masonry, agriculture, plumbing, auto mechanics, metal works, and electricity. The program was founded in 1991 through a joint initiative with UNICEF.

Sierra Leone: More than 60,000 children were orphaned or left homeless during Sierra Leone’s civil war. Don Bosco Fambul was one of the first organizations during the war to offer shelter and food to street children and continues its work today to help reverse the effects of war. Boys ages 8-15 years are invited to become part of the program, which includes food, shelter, education and counseling – all with the goal of being reunited with their families.

Uganda: Don Bosco Children & Life Mission offers hope to at risk boys, ages 8-17, through a variety of programs. Boys attend primary schools and technical education courses to learn job skills, engage in different sports activities to keep them fit and well balanced and take part in Youth Alive Club to learn about HIV/AIDS awareness and sexuality. As they grow and develop, boys move through different stages until they reach the final of goal of an independent, productive life.

Sri Lanka: Mary Help of Christians in Sri Lanka is home to 173 girls who were soldiers during the country’s civil war. They are the innocent victims of a 25-year civil war that ended in 2009 and generated more than 200,000 young refugees. Today, these girls are safe and headed on the long path to recovery. Few people realize that 40 percent of the children kidnapped by guerrilla fighters and forced to fight in the war were girls. The youngest were enslaved as maids to cook and clean for the soldiers. As they got older, the girls were forced to act as spies and informers. By the time they reached puberty, many of the girls were trapped into abusive and humiliating marriages with guerrilla leaders.

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Photo: Students of Don Bosco Fambul in Sierra Leone.

Sources:

ANS – Education, a means for peace

Salesian Missions – Our Work

UNICEF – Child Soldiers

UN – Secretary-General’s Message on the International Day of Peace

The post INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE: Salesians Provide Education as a Means of Peace for Youth first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“I read one book. The topic was about the systems in the human body. I read about building strong bones in the body,” says one student, Mulesigwa Wyclif, who wrote about what she has learned about bones, muscles and nerves in a thank-you letter decorated along the edges with flowers. The books are available for the students to use during their study time at the library and during their free time.

“A new book in the hands of a student opens him or her up to the opportunities that are available through education. While this is true whether it takes place down the street or across the globe, it is especially powerful in places like Uganda,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Uganda ranks 157 out of 182 countries in the 2007 Human Development Index. The people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country after decades of war left many displaced. One such challenge is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS, which has left millions of children orphaned, according to UNICEF.

Recently, the war and the its effects on Africa’s children grabbed international headlines with the release of “KONY 2012,” a short film created by the U.S. nonprofit organization, Invisible Children, which focused on Ugandan guerrilla leader Joseph Kony.

“We have seen the devastating results of conflict on individual lives, families and countries. But we are also seeing how people here in Uganda are making enormous efforts to overcome everything that they’ve faced and build better lives for themselves,” says Fr. Hyde.

Another project of Salesian Missions in Uganda is the Don Bosco Children and Life Mission, located approximately 15 km from Kampala. It currently provides services to more than 210 at-risk boys, ages 8-17, through a variety of programs. These include:

• Educational programs where boys attend primary schools and technical courses to learn job skills.
• Sports to engage youth.
• Youth clubs that increase awareness around HIV/AIDS and sexuality.
• Guidance counseling and life skills training.

“As they grow and develop, boys move through different stages until they reach the final goal of an independent, productive life,” says Fr. Hyde.

In more than 130 countries around the world, Salesian Missions programs range from classroom education and feeding programs to agricultural and trade schools. They have provided orphanages and shelters for homeless youth to more than 3 million children. The focus of the Salesians’ work is on making education a reality, even for the poorest youth, while also providing the essentials such as food and housing.

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The landmark document was adopted on 10 May 2002, during the first-ever UN General Assembly session devoted exclusively to children’s issues. The event was preceded by a UN Children’s Forum, organized by UNICEF and its partners, in which more than 400 child delegates enumerated the needs and priorities of children around the world.

“Ten years ago today, at an historic special session of the UN General Assembly with 180 nations present, we heard the voices and saw the faces of children demanding a world fit for them,” said UNICEF Executive  Director Anthony Lake.

“We cannot say we have fulfilled what children asked of us. We can say we listened. And we have made progress.”

PROGRESS, BUT NOT ENOUGH

“We, the heads of State and Government and representatives of States … are determined to seize this historic opportunity to change the world for and with children,” the document begins, laying out goals in four overarching categories: promoting healthy lives;  providing a quality education; combating HIV and AIDS; and protecting against abuse, exploitation and violence.

In the ten years that have passed, there has been much improvement in the welfare of children – but not enough.

Deaths among children under age 5 have declined by one third since 1990, meaning nearly 12,000 fewer children die every day.

Yet too many children continue to die needlessly, many from causes that are both treatable and preventable.

“Child deaths have come down gradually, but by no means sufficiently,” said Richard Morgan, UNICEF Senior Adviser for the Post-2015 Development Agenda. “Child malnutrition – and particularly stunting among children – is persistent and stubborn across many countries.”

The past decade has also seen improvement in access to education. Some 90 per cent of primary-school-aged children are now enrolled in primary school, and most countries have achieved gender parity in primary education.

“Our main problem was the disparity between girls and boys. So many more boys than girls were in school,” reflected Caroline Barebwoha, who was a 15-year-old representative from Uganda at the 2002 Children’s Forum. She is now a lawyer and a youth participation consultant for UNICEF.

“Today, as I speak – especially with the help of the Girls Education Movement clubs in schools – so many more girls are in school.”

Still, only 87 per cent of children in the developing world complete their primary educations, and secondary school enrollment remains low, especially among girls.

A NEED FOR VIGILANCE

The world has achieved a steady reduction in HIV infection rates, with the global incidence rate declining by nearly 25 per cent between 2001 and 2009. Many of the most significant declines were seen in sub-Saharan Africa, stabilizing or moderating some of the biggest HIV epidemics in the world. And the number of people receiving anti-retroviral treatment has increased 13-fold between 2004 and 2009, cutting AIDS-related deaths by 19 per cent.

But officials must remain vigilant. HIV incidence rates in Eastern Asia, Western and Central Europe, and North America have remained constant, and in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, they have begun to rise.

And violence, abuse and exploitation of children remain unacceptably common.

In developing countries, one in six children is engaged in child labor. Studies from low- and middle-income countries show that as much as three quarters of children face violent discipline at home.

Large proportions of adolescent girls report experiencing sexual violence; in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a staggering 21 per cent of girls aged 15 to 19 have been sexually assaulted. And tens of millions of girls continue to be forced into marriage while still children, a practice that increases their vulnerability to domestic abuse and complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

RENEWING THE COMMITMENT TO CHILDREN

“We really had the hope and enthusiasm that it wouldn’t just be a document,” Ms. Barebwoha said of the adoption of ‘A World Fit for Children’.

“These heads of State were all committed and made promises to us,” she said.

UNICEF is working to ensure these promises are kept.

“There is much unfinished business before us,” Mr. Lake said. “This year, on this anniversary year, we are renewing our commitment to our cause: A world fit for our children and our grandchildren, a better world for all of us.”

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“Agriculture is the most effective way to drive inclusive economic growth of the poorest communities”, which too often include women and children, said Sara Immenschuh of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a partner in compiling the index.

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index is a partnership between the US government’s Feed the Future initiative, US Agency for International Development (USAID), IFPRI and Oxford University’s Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI). It uses five criteria to measure the empowerment of developing country women in agriculture, and in their own households.

Pilot programs in Bangladesh, Guatemala and Uganda studied how engaged women were in decision-making about agricultural production, what sort of access they had to resources and how involved they were in resource-related decision-making; the extent to which they controlled how income was used; whether they were able to have a leadership role in the community; and how they used their time.

If a woman scored well on four out of five indices, she was considered empowered. The results differed from country to country, and the reasons for low or high levels of empowerment also varied.

In Bangladesh, just less than a third of women were empowered, with lack of control over resources, weak leadership and influence in the community, as well as lack of control over income the main reasons.

In Guatemala, the number was less than 25 percent. The less educated a woman was and the younger she was, the more likely she was to be lagging behind in empowerment. On the other hand, the more empowered a Guatemalan woman was in agriculture, the greater the influence she had in other key areas of daily life.

Respect and resources

Lack of leadership in the community and control over use of income were the two biggest factors contributing to disempowerment in Guatemala, the report says.

In Uganda, 37 percent of women were empowered in agriculture and more than half enjoyed gender parity at home.

However, many women in Uganda said widowhood empowered them – because they did not have to waste time asking their husband’s permission to do things but just got on with them.

Ugandan women “who are empowered in agriculture also reported significantly greater decision-making and autonomy with respect to almost all domains”, says the report.

Surveys were conducted in 450 households in southern Bangladesh, and 350 each in the western highlands of Guatemala and northern, central and eastern Uganda, between September and November 2011.

One aim of the project is to help US government agencies and anti-poverty organizations to measure just how successful their programs are at fighting hunger and poverty.

“We want to improve gender parity not by disempowering men but by bringing women up to the level of men,” said IFPRI senior research fellow, Agnes Quisumbing.

Although they make up 43 percent of the agricultural labor force, women in developing countries own less land, are limited in their ability to hire farm workers and have less access to credit, among other issues.

“Without addressing those inequities, women will be unable to effectively contribute to reducing global poverty and hunger,” said Immenschuh.

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index was launched on Feb. 28, 2012, at the UN in New York.

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This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

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