United Nations - MissionNewswire

2015 UNAID World AIDS Day Report

UNAIDS – World AIDS Day 2015

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INDIA: Salesian Human Rights Clubs Impact 32,420 Students across Two of India’s States

MissionNewswire — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 17:18:45 +0000

(MissionNewswire) In February, a national convention of Salesian human rights clubs (also known as child rights clubs) was held in Hyderabad, the capital city of southern India’s Telangana state. Organized by the Salesian-run People’s Action for Rural Awakening (PARA), human rights club representatives from Salesian programs in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana came together to elect leaders for state-level human rights committees and discuss human rights issues in India.

PARA has set up 759 human rights clubs in 587 schools impacting 32,420 students in the two states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Human rights clubs are part of PARA’s Human Rights Education Program that is carried out in cooperation with the United Nations sponsored Institute of Human Rights Education.

“Youth in every region and in every culture around the globe are entitled to basic human rights,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Through educational programming, Salesian missionaries fight tirelessly each day to make sure the voices of marginalized youth are heard. Human rights clubs help to enhance this work and make sure every child knows his or her human rights and is able to become a part of the development process.”

Youth in India, especially those living in poverty, are faced with child abuse, neglect, exploitation and forced child labor at an alarming rate, according to UNICEF. India has the largest number of child laborers under the age of 14 in the world and many are forced into dangerous occupations and live on the streets. In 2010, India passed a landmark law mandating that all children between the ages of 6 and 14 be in school, but according to UNICEF, millions of children remain in the workforce. Full implementation of the law was to go into effect in 2013, but child workers can still be found in almost every industry in India. The problem is enforcing the law, particularly in high poverty regions of the country.

UNICEF also notes that millions of girls in India face discrimination, exploitation and sexual and physical abuse because of their age and their gender. A UNICEF report, “Hidden in Plain Sight 2014”, details the incidence and prevalence of interpersonal violence against children and highlights global figures and data from 190 countries. The UNICEF report notes that violence against children is often so prevalent and deeply ingrained in societies that it can go unseen and is many times accepted as the norm.

Because physical and sexual violence is hidden from public view and tolerated in some societies, it is challenging to gather true statistical data on the magnitude of the problem. In India, a total of 48,338 child rape cases were recorded from 2001 to 2011 but researchers are aware that many more cases go unreported. Fear of social stigma and further victimization often stop children and their families from reporting these crimes.

With more than 400 million poor people, or one-third of the world’s poor, according to UNICEF, ensuring youth have access to education in order for them to find stable employment at the appropriate age and break the cycle of poverty, is a priority in the country. Although more than 53 million people escaped poverty between 2005 and 2010, most remain vulnerable to falling back below the poverty line.

The goal of PARA’s human rights clubs is to ensure that youth are aware of their basic human rights as well as the resources available for prevention and ongoing support. PARA’s advocacy efforts with the government have resulted in more than 167,000 government teachers trained in human rights education. In addition, human rights lessons have been added to mainstream state school text books. Human rights clubs tackle issues relating to child marriage, sexual assault and exploitation, child labor, school dropout rates and the rights to nutrition, clean water and sanitation and adequate infrastructure for home and school.

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Sources:

Don Bosco India – National Convention of Human Rights Clubs in Schools

Salesian Missions – India

UNICEF – Hidden in Plain Sight September 2014 Report

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ETHIOPIA: Salesian Missionaries Working with VIS Volunteers are Helping to Provide Water to 12,000 During Drought

MissionNewswire — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 01:34:01 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries and volunteers with the International Volunteers for Development (VIS) are concerned that a devastating drought affecting Ethiopia is forcing residents to flee the country making them vulnerable to illegal migration (particularly to Europe and the Middle East), exploitation and human traffickers who are already taking advantage of the crisis.

Ethiopia is experiencing the worst drought the country has seen in more than 50 years. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently announced that agricultural assistance for the upcoming rainy season in Ethiopia is essential to help the drought-affected people as one of the strongest El Niño events on record continues to have devastating effects on the lives and livelihoods of farmers and herders. The agency reported that humanitarian needs in the country have tripled since the beginning of 2015 as the drought has led to successive crop failures and widespread livestock deaths. According to the United Nations, agricultural production in the affected regions has fallen by 50 to 90 percent and the Ethiopian government has declared a state of emergency.

As a result, food insecurity and malnutrition rates are alarming in the country with FAO reporting that some 10.2 million people are now food insecure. One-quarter of all districts in Ethiopia are officially classified as facing a food security and nutrition crisis. In addition, the country’s first rainy season is delayed and, with Ethiopia’s main agricultural season fast approaching, farmers need immediate support to help them produce food between now and September for millions facing hunger.

The UN has estimated that nearly 500,000 people leave the country every year or twice that number if consideration is given to illegal migration and victims of trafficking. Due to the drought and food insecurity, many families are leaving the countryside and making their way to cities.

“In the cities, many Ethiopians will receive no help and often do not even find a place to sleep. In this situation there is a significant risk that many will fall victim to traffickers and become exploited and enslaved,” says Father Estifanos Gebremeskel, Superior of the Salesian Vice-Province of Ethiopia.

Using deep wells built by VIS volunteers in recent years, Salesian missionaries and volunteers are currently distributing water to schools, hospitals and first aid clinics, centers for street children, women’s refuges and diocesan centers. The goal during this emergency phase is to support the 12,000 residents of the Somali, Tigray and Oromia regions and those living in the South.

“A crisis of this magnitude calls for a swift response,” says the President of VIS. “We work alongside the Salesians in collaboration with local institutions and associations to help people overcome this terrible drought. They need emergency responses, but we also need to build infrastructure that can last over time.”

A Stop Human Trafficking Campaign, supported by VIS and the Association of Don Bosco Missions in Turin, Italy, is actively providing education and awareness programs to combat trafficking of potential migrants. The campaign also aims to establish development projects in the country to address the root causes of migration.

Salesian missionaries have a long history of providing educational and support services to poor youth in Ethiopia. Missionaries operate six primary schools, three secondary schools and six vocational training centers in the country. At all these Salesian-run educational facilities, youth are able to gain an education while accessing services including family sponsorship and school feeding programs. These supports reinforce the missionaries’ goal of keeping youth in school as long as possible. In addition, water and sanitation issues are regularly assessed by missionaries working in programs throughout the country and new water well projects are planned and implemented as needs arise.

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Sources:

ANS – Ethiopia – 10 million people at risk of hunger: human traffickers ready to take advantage of the drought

UN News Center – Ethiopian farmers need urgent assistance amid major drought, warns UN agency

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Women’s Education, Empowerment Programs

MissionNewswire — Wed, 09 Mar 2016 02:28:46 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions joins the United Nations and its international partners in celebrating International Women’s Day, celebrated each year on March 8. The day celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women around the globe while focusing the world’s attention on areas requiring further action.

The 2016 theme for International Women’s Day is “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality.” This year the U.N is reflecting on how to accelerate and build momentum for the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its new commitments under the UN Women’s Step It Up initiative. This new initiative asks governments to make national commitments that will close the gender equality gap – from laws and policies to national action plans and adequate investments.

Some key targets of the 2030 Agenda include: ensuring that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes; ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere; eliminating all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation; and eliminating all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

“On this International Women’s Day, I remain outraged by the denial of rights to women and girls – but I take heart from the people everywhere who act on the secure knowledge that women’s empowerment leads to society’s advancement. Let us devote solid funding, courageous advocacy and unbending political will to achieving gender equality around the world. There is no greater investment in our common future.”— UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon’s statement on International Women’s Day.

Salesian missionaries living and working in more than 130 countries around the globe are focused on achieving gender equality through programs targeted specifically for young women and girls. These programs strive to empower young women and girls by providing opportunities for education and training that lead to livable wage employment.

“Young women and girls face many disadvantages and barriers to accessing education and achieving financial independence despite their huge potential,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. “It is very important for girls to attend school and gain an education. Girls that are empowered though education are more often able to achieve financial independence, marry at an older age and make better and healthier choices that affect not only themselves, but their families and communities as well.”

In honor of International Women’s Day, Salesian Missions is proud to share some of its programs around the globe that empower young women and girls.

BOLIVIA

Started in 1992, the Casa Maín girl’s home in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, provides shelter, nutritious meals and schooling for girls and young women with little access to education and those who were once living on the streets. Currently, there are more than 160 girls living and being educated at the home. Casa Maín is comprised of three houses and the girls are divided among them by age. The youngest girls, attending elementary school, live together in one house supported by several volunteer students from the secondary school. A second house provides shelter and peer support for girls attending secondary school while a third house is for young women attending the local university. The university students enjoy a setting that allows them to finish their degrees in higher education in a stable environment while learning how to live independently.

In addition to academic classes, the young women and girls at the home learn skills in communication and conflict management. Additional classes in dance, gymnastics and crafts are provided in the evenings and on weekends. Recently, the organization offered a three-week technology workshop to teach the girls basic computer skills including typing, word processing and drawing.

INDIA

Women from the slums of Mumbai, a densely populated city on India’s west coast, graduated from a Salesian-run 45-day skills training course. The women took courses in basic computing, English, tailoring, garment making, beauty care, hair dressing and mehndi (henna) application. The goal of the training was to help participants become better prepared for employment.

The Don Bosco Development Society in Mumbai which works to empower women in poverty to gain the skills and confidence they need to seek work, facilitated the training. For many of the participants, this was the first time they received educational training since the basic education they received when they were young. Salesian missionaries conducting the program modeled it after Skill India, an initiative by the Government of India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. After the course was completed, many of the students noted that through the course they gained a sense of self-worth that they had not had before. They also felt that the skills and confidence they gained would enable them to earn a living and support their families.

SENEGAL

Center Kër Don Bosco officially opened at the end of January in Dakar, the capital and largest city in Senegal. The new center provides education, vocational training and apprenticeship opportunities to disadvantaged youth and women living in the Yoff district on the outskirts of the city.

Focused specifically on helping women gain opportunities in the workforce, the center is offering two literacy classes as well as a safe space for studying. Women in Senegal are often heads of households but lack the training and confidence to try to enter the workforce or advance into higher paying jobs. The center’s goal is to help women connect with their peers and provide access to employment training to boost confidence and improve employment prospects.

SIERRA LEONE

As part of the rehabilitation program at the Girls Shelter, young women take coursework in hotel management, hairdressing and tailoring. This training helps to empower them to overcome the discrimination they have faced, gain a greater awareness of their rights and boost their work prospects. It also helps to build character while allowing the young women the freedom to make decisions that affect their lives and their health. Recently, both the trainers and the students in these programs were able to present their skills and products to the general public at an exhibition in Freetown.

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Sources:

International Women’s Day 2016

UN – International Women’s Day 2016

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SOUTH SUDAN: Salesian Missionaries at Don Bosco Gumbo are Providing School Supplies and Food Aid to Those Internally Displaced

MissionNewswire — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 13:31:14 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries at Don Bosco Gumbo, located in the town of Gumbo on the outskirts of Juba, the largest city and capital of South Sudan, have been continuing their work in the area despite violence and increasing famine in the country. Recently, missionaries have begun providing food aid to the more than 3,000 internally displaced people who are accessing shelter and services at Don Bosco Gumbo. Last month, 29 additional families arrived after fleeing violence in other regions of the country.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Sources:

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

World Bank – South Sudan

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ETHIOPIA: Water Well Projects Provide Safe Drinking Water and Improved Sanitation during Recent Droughts

MissionNewswire — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 00:31:26 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Since June 2011, Ethiopia has been plagued by a persistent drought that has damaged agricultural production and contributed to an increase in malnutrition, especially among the most vulnerable members of the population. The United Nations has estimated that 14 million people are at risk and more than 10 million are in need of emergency food aid. In an effort to bring relief to Ethiopians, Salesian missionaries across the country have been working to construct wells and improve sanitation.

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

The construction of a simple well improves the health of residents, increases agricultural production and leads to a better quality of life for families, especially for girls and women. Women and children often bear the primary responsibility for water collection in the majority of households and globally, spend 140 million hours a day collecting water. Children in communities without access to local wells are forced to walk for hours to collect drinking water—water that often proves contaminated and seriously sickens those who consume it. Many others are unable to attend school regularly because they must spend time searching for distant wells.

Salesian well projects in Ethiopia utilize construction techniques compatible with cultural traditions, practices and customs of the region and use locally sourced materials. The new wells will improve sanitation and provide safe drinking water and water for agriculture and food production.

Residents of the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia are experiencing chronic food insecurity made worse by recurring periods of drought, low soil fertility and an unsustainable use of natural resources. Agriculture is the primary source of sustenance and survival for communities in this region and the onset of drought has negatively impacted all aspects of family life. In order to address this situation and provide access to clean, safe water, Don Bosco Missions in Turin, Italy is planning to implement a well project. Each well equipped with pump is expected to cost just over $11,000 U.S.

A collaborative project between Salesian missionaries and International Voluntary Service for Development (VIS) volunteers began in 2011 and has successfully completed five wells in the Gambella area of Ethiopia. The wells are operated by a hand pump and are between 50 and 60 meters deep, guaranteeing water to local villages that will benefit close to 1,200 people. To ensure that the wells last as long as possible, a village committee has been set up to oversee their management and maintenance.

Salesian missionaries have a long history of providing educational and support services to poor youth in Ethiopia. Missionaries operate six primary schools, three secondary schools and six vocational training centers in the country. At all these Salesian-run educational facilities, youth are able to gain an education while accessing support services including family sponsorship and school feeding programs. These supports reinforce the missionaries’ goal of keeping youth in school as long as possible. Missionaries at these programs continue to assess water and sanitation issues for the programs and surrounding villages. New water well projects are planned and implemented as needs arise.

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with more than 38 percent of its population living in poverty, according to Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative. Close to 85 percent of the country’s workforce is employed in agriculture but frequent droughts severely affect the agricultural economy leaving more than 12 million people chronically, or at least periodically, food insecure. In addition, more than two-thirds of the population is illiterate.

The country has 4 million orphans which account for nearly 12 percent of all children and according to UNICEF, more than half a million of these were orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS crisis that has affected the country. Thousands more children run away each year seeking a better life on the streets.

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Sources:

ANS – Spain – Wells in Ethiopia to improve the lives of people in the poorest regions

UNICEF – Ethiopia

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CAMBODIA: More than 700 Technical School Students Have Access to Better Nutrition Thanks to Rice-Meal Donation

MissionNewswire — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 15:07:23 +0000

(MissionNewswire) The Don Bosco Technical Center and the Don Bosco Hotel School in Sihanoukville, a city in southwestern Cambodia located on the Gulf of Thailand, recently received a shipment of rice-meals that benefitted more than 700 students at the two institutions. The donation was made possible through an ongoing partnership between Salesian Missions and Stop Hunger Now, an international relief organization that provides food and life‐saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable.

Both the Don Bosco Technical Center and the Don Bosco Hotel School provide two-year skill training programs to poor and orphaned youth between the ages of 17 and 22 years with limited opportunities for education. The Don Bosco Hotel School focuses on hospitality programs to prepare students for work in restaurants, at catering companies and hotels and in other areas of the tourism field. The Don Bosco Technical Center, the largest technical school in the area, offers courses in electricity, electronics, automotive repair, printing, web design, audiovisual editing and production, journalism, social communication, secretarial skills, sewing, culinary arts, hotel management and welding.

Primarily known for its social communication and journalism program, the Don Bosco Technical Center is home to the Salesian-run Audiovisual Center which operates as a teaching institution for media communications while providing audiovisual production services to the local community. Started in 2007 by Father Albeiro Rodas Samnang, rector of the Don Bosco Foundation of Cambodia, the Audiovisual Center trains youth from rural and disadvantaged communities in media communications with the goal of teaching them a viable trade that will lead to stable employment after graduation. In addition to courses in media communications, the center offers workshops facilitated by Cambodian journalists.

The donated rice-meals are provided to students during the school day, and for 161 students who are boarders at the schools, meals are provided three times a day.

“Technical students need the proper nutrition to focus on their studies and fully take part in classroom and in-field training,” 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.”

Salesian missionaries have a long history of teaching job skills to youth in Cambodia. Through the United Nations, missionaries began providing technical and vocational education to Cambodian refugees living in camps along the Thai-Cambodian border in the late 1980s. In 1993, at the invitation of the government of Cambodia, a technical School in Phnom Penh was established to republish, translate and write books and educational documents that were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge regime. The technical school contained the only working printing press in the country – and served as a model of hope through education.

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Sources:

Don Bosco Technical Center

Don Bosco Hotel School

Stop Hunter Now

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DR CONGO: Two Water Projects are Ensuring Fresh Clean Water for Salesian Students

MissionNewswire — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 20:57:26 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Close to 4,000 youth, parents, Salesian staff and community members will benefit from two water projects underway at Salesian training and vocational centers in the city of Lubumbashi in the southeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Salesian-run Kansebula St Jean Bosco Institute and Chem Chem Center have nearly completed the renovation of existing water systems which were outdated, wasting energy and had insufficient quantities of water.

While the city of Lubumbashi has both agricultural and mineral resource wealth, the area faces numerous economic and social challenges. The city and surrounding areas have close to 8.2 million people, most living in poverty. More than 60 percent of the population is less than 20 years old. A large percentage of children and young adults have dropped out of school because they are unable to pay for tuition, uniforms and school supplies. This leaves many young adults unemployed and living on the streets.

The Kansebula St Jean Bosco Institute and the Chem Chem Center are providing educational opportunities for at-risk youth living in poverty within in the community. The Kansebula Institute emphasizes a human science curriculum while the Chem Chem Center specializes in agricultural training. Both facilities prepare youth for the workforce but face challenges around energy and water sources due to their remote locations. Neither facility has water services provided by its town or government and must rely on local resources such as wells and rivers.

Salesian missionaries began the two water projects to ensure clean fresh water for the students and the sustainability of the water sources for their facilities. At Kansebula, the project consists of erecting a high water tower and two 2,500 liter water tanks in connection to the existing water system. Once completed, this project will improve water management and protect the water pump in use. At Chem Chem the project entails upgrading the existing water system to allow proper quantities of clean water for students. This is being accomplished by deepening the existing well, erecting a high water tower and installing two 2,500 liter water tanks.

According to UN-Water, the United Nations inter-agency coordination mechanism on all freshwater related issues, 1.3 billion people cannot access electricity, 768 million people lack access to improved water sources and 2.5 billion people have no improved sanitation, worldwide. For those who have no access to clean water, water related disease is common with more than 840,000 people dying each year from water related diseases.

In response to this crisis, Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, has made building wells and supplying fresh, clean water, a top priority for every community in every country in which Salesian missionaries work. The two projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are just two of many underway.

“Water is essential for life,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. “From helping to ensure our communities have access to clean water for drinking and agriculture to helping build a hydro-electric power station, Salesian missionaries working in 132 countries around the globe are always looking to expand their services to meet the needs of the poor youth and families they serve.”

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been plagued by intense civil war and internal conflict since the outbreak of fighting in 1998. As a result, there have been close to 5.4 million deaths, according to the International Rescue Committee. Most deaths resulted from non-violent causes such as malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition, all typically preventable under normal circumstances but often fatal in times of conflict. Close to 1.5 million people have been internally displaced or have become refugees in neighboring countries after having fled the country to escape the continued violence.

Young people make up about 19 percent of the country’s population but account for 47 percent of deaths during this conflict. Poverty is rampant, according to UNICEF, and 72 percent of rural households and 59 percent of urban households are poor. Nearly 40 percent of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition and most of the population lives with moderate to serious food insecurity. The 2013 Human Development Index ranked the Democratic Republic of the Congo 186th out of 187 countries and territories listed.

Salesian missionaries have been working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for more than 100 years ensuring that the most vulnerable children are not forgotten. Primary and secondary education schools and programs lay the foundation for early learning while Salesian trade, vocational and agricultural programs provide youth with an opportunity for a stable and productive future.

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Sources:

UNICEF – DR Congo

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

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CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Pope Francis Wraps Up Africa Trip with Visit to War-Torn Central African Republic

MissionNewswire — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 23:55:17 +0000

(MissionNewswire) At the end of November, Pope Francis ended a six-day trip to Africa which included stops in Kenya and Uganda, with a stop in the war-torn Central African Republic. Despite concerns about his personal safety, the Pope visited the country where more than 6,000 people have died since violence initially broke out in December 2012 between Séléka rebels and Christian anti-balaka militia groups.

The ongoing violence in the Central African Republic has resulted in more than 650,000 internally displaced people (with more than 232,000 in the capital city of Bangui alone) and 300,000 who have fled across the borders as refugees. Due to the conflict, close to 2.2 million people have needed humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations. Earlier in 2015, peace had begun to return to the country. Small markets were opened, taxi service returned and residents were able to move back and forth safely between locations. Although violence between the militias has receded, attacks on civilians remain widespread with witnesses describing them as retaliatory.

During his visit to the country, Pope Francis visited a refugee camp for those who have been internally displaced. Nearly 4,000 people, mostly women and children, live in the settlement of white tents donated by the United Nations. Here, the Pope visited mostly with the more than 500 children in the camp and offered some remarks.

“Peace without love and forgiveness isn’t possible,” said Pope Francis as quoted in a recent Crux article about his trip. “Each one of us has to do something to forge peace. I wish for all of you, and everyone in Central Africa, peace, that you can live in peace regardless of your ethnicity, culture, religion and social status.”

The Pope expressed similar messages of hope in Uganda and Kenya. According to the Crux article, the Pope’s trip to Africa underscores the importance of the continent to the Catholic Church. Africa has the fastest-growing population of Catholics and Muslims in the world, according to the Pew Research Center, with both Islam and Christianity expected to have more than twice as many followers in the region by 2050 as they did in 2010.

“Salesian missionaries work across the African continent and in more than 130 countries around the globe providing education, workforce development and social development programs for vulnerable youth and their families,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Missionaries have also been on the forefront of assisting those affected by violence and those that have been displaced in the Central African Republic.”

In the Central African Republic, Salesian missionaries operate two centers, Don Bosco Damala and Don Bosco Galabadja, both located near Bangui, the country’s capital city. The centers have provided shelter for those who have been internally displaced reaching well over 1,000 people at one time. The Salesian Center in Damala has an orphanage, youth center, professional center and high school. At the center in Galabadja, Salesian missionaries offer primary and secondary education along with a college and professional training program. A youth center and medical clinic are also available.

Both centers operate the Spaces of Peace project where youth of all ages, cultures and religions learn to live and work together peacefully. Through the project, Salesian missionaries offer sports, musical training, summer camps and other activities that promote teamwork and social skills. In addition, the program offers one meal a day to more than 1500 students during their school day, helps 700 students with school supplies and scholarships and assists 120 older youth gain the skills necessary to find and retain employment.

Salesian missionaries will continue to work diligently for the young and poor in the Central African Republic and across the African continent carrying out the Pope’s message of peace and hope while helping youth gain an education and break the cycle of poverty.

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Sources:

ANS – Central African Republic – The Pope’s Visit: a call for peace and a new way forward

Crux – Pope arrives as ‘Pilgrim of Peace’ in war-torn Central African Republic

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HUMAN RIGHTS DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Education, Child Rights Programs

MissionNewswire — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 15:20:01 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions joins the United Nations and other organizations around the globe in honoring Human Rights Day. Celebrated each year on December 10, Human Rights Day commemorates the day in 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Fifty years ago, in the aftermath of World War II, the United Nations General Assembly adopted two international treaties that would forever shape international human rights: the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

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

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

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

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

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

CAMBODIA

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

INDIA

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

SIERRA LEONE

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

SOUTH SUDAN

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

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Sources:

UN – Human Rights Day 2015

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UNIVERSAL CHILDREN’S DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Children’s Rights Education and Child Welfare Programs

MissionNewswire — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 22:33:20 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions joins the United Nations and other organizations around the globe in recognizing Universal Children’s Day. Celebrated each year on November 20, the day was established in 1954 to promote international togetherness and awareness on children’s issues worldwide. It also marks the day on which the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child was held in 1989.

The theme of Universal Children’s Day 2015 is “Promoting children’s welfare and children’s rights” and focuses on protecting and promoting children’s rights to survive and thrive while making sure their voices are heard and they reach their full potential.

“This year, I wish to emphasize the importance of ensuring that the commitments made by the international community to the world’s children are extended to a group of children who are often forgotten or overlooked: those deprived of their liberty. Far too many children languish in jail, mental health facilities or through other forms of detention. Some children are vulnerable because they are migrants, asylum seekers, homeless or preyed on by organized criminals. Whatever the circumstances, the Convention dictates that the deprivation of liberty must be a measure of last resort, and for the shortest time. Our aim must be to pursue the best interests of the child, prevent the deprivation of liberty and promote alternatives to detention.” – UN Secretary General Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The UN notes that this year’s observance falls at a time when 60 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes, more than at any time since the Second World War. Almost half of those displaced are children fleeing oppression, terrorism, violence and other violations of their human rights. This observance also comes following the landmark adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which points the way towards peaceful, prosperous and inclusive societies for all. Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals will depend on reaching the most vulnerable children.

Salesian Missions serves more than 1 million students at more than 5,300 primary and secondary schools — most located in some of the poorest places on the planet. It also provides nearly 1,000 vocational, pre-professional and training programs with an emphasis on serving vulnerable youth.

In honor of Universal Children’s Day, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight programs that focus on children’s rights education and provide for the protection, education and promotion of children’s welfare around the globe.

BENIN

Salesian missionaries around the globe are working to end child trafficking and other abuses by addressing their root causes. From identifying traffickers and holding them accountable to educating families about these predatory practices, missionaries are working to change local laws and strengthen legal protections for youth. Child victims of trafficking are forced into all types of labor including work on farms and in sweatshops, construction, hotels and restaurants as well as in private homes as domestic servants. Some are forced to beg on the streets and are used as child soldiers. Others are sold into sexual slavery and forced into prostitution. In Benin, a country in West Africa, Salesian missionaries are focusing their work on providing hope and healing to victims of child trafficking. The Don Bosco Center in Porto-Novo, the capital city of Benin, cares for more than 200 victims of child trafficking, many who have been sold into slavery by their parents for the equivalent of $30 or less. Nearly 40,000 girls and boys are forced into agricultural or domestic labor each year within the country of Benin alone.

CAMBODIA

INDIA

The Child Rights Education and Action Movement Project, launched in November 2012 by the Salesian-run Bangalore Rural Educational and Development Society, has started more than 200 child right’s clubs that are responsible for training more than 8,000 children and adults on the rights of children while providing resources to keep children safe. Child Rights Education and Action Movement Project staff have also provided human rights education in schools for thousands of children, youth and teachers as well as formed task forces, peer education programs and three regional networks and one state level network to address the issues of child labor. Early this year, 140 school children representing 63 human rights clubs from 55 schools participated in a two-day event in collaboration with juvenile justice professionals from the police and courts in the Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts of Andhra Pradesh. The event focused on the children’s right to be heard, a basic right established in India’s Convention on the Rights of the Child.

SIERRA LEONE

In 2014, Don Bosco Fambul, a leading educational and vocational organization that serves disadvantaged youth in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in collaboration with Catholic Caritas and Sierra Leone Prisons Service, launched the Legal Support Project with the intention of helping the most disadvantaged inmates incarcerated at Pademba Road Prison in Freetown. The project provides legal representation for poor inmates who would otherwise be unable to access legal services to ensure their rights are upheld. As a result of this project, one young prisoner held for nearly six years without a conviction has been released. Many of the prisoners being assisted through the project do not have family outside the prison to ensure that the court and prison system acts in a fair and balanced way. Don Bosco Fambul hopes the project will free up to 100 inmates who have been held for more than three years without a conviction.

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Sources:

UNICEF –Press Release

UNICEF report – For every child, a fair chance: The promise of equity

United Nations – Universal Children’s Day

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NEPAL: Short Video Documentary Tells Story of Salesian Missionaries Helping with Relief, Rebuilding Efforts after Devastating Earthquakes

MissionNewswire — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 00:55:31 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, recently released a video detailing its important relief and rebuilding work in response to the devastating 7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25 and a second earthquake that struck on May 12. Salesian missionaries have been firmly established in Nepal long before the devastating earthquakes hit this year, providing education, boarding homes and social development programs since 1995.

Nepal has struggled with a poverty rate of 25 percent even before the earthquakes and the rate jumps to 50 percent for those living in the mid-western and far western parts of the country due to rough terrain that makes farming almost impossible. Close to 80 percent of the country’s population live in rural areas and rely on farming to make a living and these rural residents, many affected by the earthquake, face the worst poverty. Most of these households have little to no access to health care, education, safe drinking water, sanitation or other basic services. In addition, nearly half of all children under the age of five in the country are malnourished.

The earthquakes exacerbated already challenging conditions especially for residents of remote villages and those living in poverty. More than 8,000 people died and close to 20,000 were injured as a result of the earthquakes and their aftermath. Forty of Nepal’s 75 districts were affected, 16 of them severely, with homes, schools, buildings, cattle, fields ready for harvest and other property destroyed. More than 500,000 people were displaced and remain in need of shelter and other assistance.

Salesian missionaries have been living and working within Nepal’s communities for many years and were among the first to respond with emergency relief after the earthquakes, providing food and water to those who had lost everything. Less than two weeks after the earthquakes, Nepal Don Bosco Society, a Salesian non-governmental organization, distributed more than 100 tons of relief materials including sixty tons of food and tarpaulins for temporary shelter to more than 30,000 people in 19 villages spanning six districts.

“Salesian missionaries have been able to reach out to many places, many villages, including those areas that government officials were not able,” says Bishop Paul Simick, Vicar Apostolic of Nepal. “There are other places that are very difficult to reach and we have heard that people are still waiting for the first relief to reach them.”

Today, months after the earthquake, Salesian missionaries are building temporary schools and addressing long-term training needs as part of their reconstruction and relief efforts, especially in the Kathmandu Valley where Salesian missionaries operate two programs. Don Bosco Thecho is a technical school located in the Kathmandu suburb of Lubhu and Don Bosco Siddhipur, located in the Lalitpur district, offers both a primary and secondary school.

The United Nations has noted that more than 32,000 classrooms and 1,383 schools were destroyed during the earthquakes. Salesian missionaries will utilize the skills of the newly trained students from Don Bosco Thecho to assist in the rebuilding of schools with a goal of reconstructing at least 40 schools. Each village in the area will be asked to form a school-reconstruction committee that will mobilize the villagers to contribute as much as possible in cash, labor and locally available materials. To date, more than 21 temporary learning centers have been completed. In a recent evaluation meeting with Nepalese government officers and other non-government organizations, it was acknowledged that the temporary learning centers built by the Salesian missionaries and students were of such high quality they could possibly serve as permanent school buildings.

Children of Nepal have been most affected by the earthquakes and getting them back to school has remained a priority for Salesian missionaries. Schools provide a sense of normalcy for children who have faced devastation and destruction. Along with normal classroom instruction, schools also provide psychosocial programs to help children process their fears and concerns as well as the changes they are experiencing as a result of the earthquakes and displacement. They also provide a safe haven from the human trafficking that has surfaced in the country in the wake of the earthquakes.

“As with any natural disaster, the children are the worst affected,” says Father Tony Valiaparackattu, a Salesian missionary serving in Nepal. “They have been displaced from their homes and families and have been traumatized by the scenes of devastation surrounding them. Many have lost parents, siblings or other loved ones. Their world has been turned upside down.”

Immediately after the initial earthquake, Salesian Missions launched an emergency fund to assist Salesian missionaries in Nepal. The funding goes directly to support relief efforts on the ground in communities and remote villages. Salesian Missions is urging the public to donate to its Nepal Emergency Fund. Go to www.SalesianMissions.org/Nepal for more information and to give to the relief efforts.

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Sources:

Salesian Missions – Nepal is Calling

Salesian Missions – Nepal Emergency Fund

ANS – Turkey – Studying, singing and playing, after fleeing their homes due to war

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South Sudan: Salesian Missionaries Have Built 60 Primary Schools Educating 13,500 Students

MissionNewswire — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 17:25:27 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Two Salesian missionaries, Father Vincenzo Donati and Brother James Comino, have been working to build schools across South Sudan since the country’s independence in 2011. The “One Hundred Village Schools for South Sudan” project started in 2012 and since that time, 60 primary schools, comprised of four classrooms and a teacher’s office, have been built across the Salesian dioceses in the country. These schools are currently educating 13,500 children. The remaining 40 schools are expected to be completed by 2017.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Sources:

ANS – RMG – South Sudan: education and culture

World Bank- South Sudan

Salesian Missions – Emergency in Sudan

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WORLD FOOD DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights School Feeding Programs and Agricultural Education in Fight against Hunger

MissionNewswire — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 01:07:21 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions joins the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other organizations around the globe in honoring World Food Day.

Celebrated each year on October 16, the day was established to bring attention to the plight of the world’s hungry and undernourished while providing an opportunity for a deeper understanding of the complex solutions for ending hunger. This year’s theme “Social protection and Agriculture: breaking the cycle of rural poverty” aims to underline the role social protection plays in reducing chronic food insecurity and poverty by ensuring direct access to food or the means to buy food.

More than 793 million people around the world go hungry every day, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Over 70 percent of food insecure people live in rural areas of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Near East. And according to the World Food Program and the United Nations, 2 billion people lack the vitamins and minerals needed to live healthy lives.

Of those who go hungry daily, 98 percent reside in developing countries where there is not only a shortage of food but major challenges for aid to reach its destination. Salesian Missions’ programs are dedicated to developing sustainable food systems and providing agricultural education in more than 130 countries around the globe. Operating primary schools, technical training centers, agricultural schools, youth centers, orphanages and programs for street children, Salesian missionaries are on the front lines of the battle against hunger.

Working and living in the communities they serve, Salesian missionaries are perfectly positioned to ensure that the distribution of food aid reaches those who need it most while offering programs that teach agricultural techniques to increase local food production. Through ongoing partnerships with organizations like Stop Hunger Now and Feed My Starving Children, Salesian missionaries are able to deliver life-saving food aid and other supplies to those in need in their communities.

“Salesian missionaries are an integral part of the existing infrastructure in many countries and Salesian Missions plays an important role in making sure aid from the United States reaches its destination country and gets into the hands of those who need it most,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Salesian food programs provide meals to students during the school day and serve as an incentive for families to send their children to school. As a result of the feeding programs, students are thriving. Many have gained weight, suffered fewer illnesses and become more focused on their studies. Teachers are seeing better student performance in class, a decrease in absenteeism and an increase in program enrollment rates.

“Feeding programs are a necessity to meet the needs of the massive number of children around the globe who are hungry today,” adds Fr. Hyde. “Meals children receive at Salesian schools may be their only meals. This food not only encourages them to attend school, it allows them to focus on getting the education they need without worrying about where their next meal will come from. Children cannot learn on an empty stomach.”

Many Salesian programs are also dedicated to developing sustainable food systems and providing agricultural education. This World Food Day, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight Salesian agricultural programs which include those offered at more than 90 agricultural schools around the globe.

CAMBODIA

Salesian-run Don Bosco Kep, located in Kep Province, Cambodia, has developed a small farm to better serve the needs of poor and disadvantaged youth in the region. The new farm will help to support the work of the agricultural department which serves to train Cambodian youth in mechanical agriculture while producing food for the technical school to aid its sustainability. Since 2011, the agricultural department has worked with limited resources on a small piece of land inside the school’s campus. Over the past several years, the department has been growing with the addition of more teachers and students and has been making a broader social impact in the regions of Kep, Kampot and Takeo.

DR CONGO

Salesian-led International Voluntary Service for Development (VIS) volunteers hosted a special workshop for farmers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo*. The goal of the workshop was to empower farmers to envision a viable and stable agricultural framework and boost their confidence to bring it to fruition. The farmers’ ideas will provide the foundation for a new agricultural service center in the country. The new center will provide resources and expertise to help improve crop yields, profitability and the overall quality of life for farmers and their families. The input of local farmers will help direct the center’s resources and training curriculum.

INDIA

The Don Bosco Agro-Educational Complex, located in the town of Sulcorna in the state of Goa in western India, has developed the area’s first agriculture college. The new college will utilize 110 acres of fertile land for hands-on farm training and emphasize organic cultivation in its four-year degree program. The mission of the college is to train undergraduates and postgraduates in the latest agricultural practices and modern technologies while moving towards efficiency in farming within Goa by exploring and testing new techniques in agriculture, horticulture, floriculture and animal husbandry. Salesian missionaries in the area are working towards marketing agricultural products and services to local farmers by utilizing the college and its staff as a resource for everything related to farming and off-farm activities. They are also working with local women’s groups helping them to plant specific crops that have greater viability in the marketplace. Salesian missionaries hope the agriculture degree program will entice more local youth to choose agriculture as their long-term livelihood.

MOZAMBIQUE

The Austrian Salesian Youth of the World program has planned its second agricultural project in the town of Moatize, located in the Tete province in northern Mozambique. The project, which will be carried out in seven different rural communities, aims to educate farmers in the latest innovations in agriculture and livestock techniques in order to improve food security and increase income potential. Educators will help farmers introduce or intensify the production of vegetables, experiment with new methods of production and processing of products and assist with raising livestock. Farmers will learn new skills in agriculture and animal husbandry, horticulture and fruit growing and breeding cattle and sheep. They will also be provided with irrigation pumps which will help to support local schools and healthcare centers. In addition, Salesian staff will work with local residents to establish community associations for product sharing and sales. The project will train close to 1,000 families, or about 5,000 people. With increased food production in the small rural communities participating in the program, about 8,000 residents will be positively impacted.

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Sources:

World Food Day 2015

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TURKEY: Don Bosco Center Provides English Language Classes and Education to More Than 350 Refugee Children

MissionNewswire — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 12:58:13 +0000

(MissionNewswire) The Don Bosco Center in Istanbul, Turkey, led by Salesian Father Andres Calleja Ruiz, provides special programs for young refugees from Syria as well as for a growing number of families fleeing ISIS persecution in Iraq. Because most refugees do not speak the local language, it is difficult for children to attend school and adults to find work. For this reason, the Don Bosco Center makes teaching the English language a primary focus of its programs.

Sharing a 500-mile-long border with Syria, southeastern Turkey has more than 1.7 million Syrian refugees, as reported by the United Nations. Salesian missionaries are providing services at three sites within Syria while also providing for Syrian refugees in Turkey. While many Syrian refugees stay in towns on the Turkey-Syrian border, many find their way to big cities like Istanbul where Salesian missionaries operate a program that currently serves close to 400 Syrian refugees.

The Don Bosco Center opened its doors 20 years ago as a temporary response to a wave of refugees from Iraq. With conflict continuing in the region today, new refugees and asylum seekers arrive every day. Currently, there are 350 children enrolled in the center, mostly from Iraq and Syria, who are being taught English as well as other traditional school subjects such as mathematics, geography and music. Students have access to sports and dance programs intended to help them connect with their peers and find enjoyment and comfort in their new surroundings. In addition, the program provides counseling both for youth and their families to help them overcome the challenges and traumas they may have faced.

“Salesian missionary work in Istanbul serves a critical purpose providing refugees links to service providers and comprehensive assistance as they transition, for an unknown period of time, into local society,” says Neill Holland, program officer at the Salesian Missions Office for International Programs. “Without a doubt, the biggest Salesian success is the safe space created for youth who have experienced trauma in their home countries. At the Don Bosco School and community center, refugee youth take part in recreation activities with Turkish youth which allows them to move beyond their hardships while giving them a chance to forget their worries and be children once again.”

Basima Toma, one of the center’s teachers, provides English language lessons to approximately 40 students. Toma, her husband and their four children are adherents of the Chaldean Catholic religion and lived in Baghdad, Iraq, until a Christian-owned business near them was attacked and destroyed, leaving them concerned for their safety. In 2013, the family moved to Turkey where they have found a renewed sense of security.

“Now I do not fear for my children,” said Toma, in a recent Catholic News Service article about the Don Bosco Center. “I put my head on my pillow and am not afraid when they are not with me.”

Like Toma, most of the teachers at the center are refugees or asylum seekers. Father Andres Calleja Ruiz reports that students relate better to and feel more comfortable with teachers that have gone through some of the same experiences and understand the suffering they may have endured. The teachers also speak Arabic, the native language of most of the refugee students, which is helpful in the classroom.

“Here we do not ask anyone what religion they are or to what political movement they belong,” says Fr. Calleja.

In addition to educating refugees, the center provides a safe space where they can sing and play. Many young refugees had never been to school or attended only sporadically because of war in their countries. Salesian missionaries at the center work to provide youth a sense of regularity and opportunities to catch up on their missed school years and childhoods. For one student, Sarah Mohammed, the Don Bosco Center is the only place where she and her sister are able to gain an education and learn both English and Turkish. The sisters and their family were forced to flee from Aleppo, Syria more than a year ago after an explosion near the girls’ school.

An estimated 9 million Syrians have fled their homes since the outbreak of civil war in March 2011, taking refuge in neighboring countries or within Syria itself. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 3 million have fled to Syria’s immediate neighbors Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Another 6.5 million are internally displaced within Syria. Refugee camps in these bordering countries are overflowing with families in need of basic supplies, adequate shelter and safety as well as technical skills training so they can begin to earn a living in their new host countries.

Recently, close to 150,000 Syrians have declared asylum in the European Union, while member states have pledged to resettle a further 33,000 Syrians. The vast majority of these resettlement locations, 28,500 or 85 percent, have been pledged by Germany.

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Sources:

CNS – Salesian center offers haven for Iraqi, Syrian children in Istanbul

UNHCR – 2015 UNHCR country operations profile – Turkey

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GLOBAL: Salesian Missions Highlights Humanitarian Efforts on World Humanitarian Day

MissionNewswire — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 17:14:22 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions joins the United Nations and other organizations around the globe in honoring World Humanitarian Day.

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

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

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

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

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

MYANMAR FLOODING

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

NEPAL EARTHQUAKES

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

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

SYRIAN CONFLICT REFUGEES IN TURKEY

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

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

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

WEST AFRICA EBOLA OUTBREAK

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

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Sources:

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

World Humanitarian Day 2015

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NEPAL: Salesian Missionaries Focus on Rebuilding Schools and Providing Long-term Assistance to Earthquake Victims

MissionNewswire — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 21:50:31 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries are building temporary schools and addressing long-term training needs as part of their reconstruction and relief efforts in response to the devastating 7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25 and the second earthquake that struck on May 12. More than 8,000 have died and close to 20,000 were injured as a result of the earthquakes and their aftermath. Forty of Nepal’s 75 districts have been affected, 16 of them severely, with homes, schools, buildings, cattle, fields ready for harvest and other property destroyed. More than 500,000 people were displaced and remain in need of shelter and other assistance.

Immediately following the initial earthquake, Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, launched an emergency fund to assist Salesian missionaries in Nepal. The funding goes directly to support relief efforts on the ground in remote villages and affected communities, epecially those in the Kathmandu Valley where Salesian missionaries operate two programs. Don Bosco Thecho is a technical school located in the Kathmandu suburb of Lubhu and Don Bosco Siddhipur, located in the Lalitpur district, offers both a primary and secondary school.

“Salesian missionaries living and working in Nepal are continuing their long-term reconstruction efforts, helping communities to rebuild homes and schools,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. “Missionaries are beginning to assess and address training needs to help youth and their families develop skills for long-term employment. One of the primary training efforts underway is helping to further the reconstruction efforts and put those in the community who have lost their livelihoods back to work. Salesian missionaries are using the technical school at Thecho to train young men and women in the building and construction skills needed to assist in reconstruction.”

The United Nations has noted that more than 1,300 schools were destroyed during the earthquakes. Salesian missionaries will utilize the skills of the newly trained students from Don Bosco Thecho to assist in the rebuilding of schools with a goal of reconstructing at least 40 schools. Each village in the area will be asked to form a school-reconstruction committee that will mobilize the villagers to contribute as much as possible in cash, labor and locally available materials. To date, more than 21 temporary learning centers have been completed. In a recent evaluation meeting with Nepalese government officers and other non-government organizations, it was acknowledged that the temporary learning centers built by the Salesian missionaries and students were of such high quality they could possibly serve as permanent school buildings.

Salesian missionaries are also in the process of developing an orientation program for teachers to aid them in assisting students who have dealt with trauma related to the earthquakes. Missionaries are working directly with students to connect them to therapy services and offer financial assistance to those who lack mid-day meals, textbooks, uniforms and other schools necessities.

In addition, Salesian missionaries are working with 40 volunteers from Teach for Nepal, an organization of university graduates and young professionals who are committed to end education inequity in Nepal, to help prepare students affected by the earthquake for their public examinations given by the Nepalese government after grade 10. The exams determine admission to higher secondary school.

A lack of rain during Nepal’s monsoon season has hampered agricultural production and has Salesian missionaries concerned about long-term food shortages. Missionaries will continue to monitor this situation as it unfolds and work to address food needs with its partners as they arise.

“Salesian missionaries are continuing their work but funds are limited. The emergency appeal will help provide aid directly to those who need it most,” adds Fr. Hyde.

Salesian Missions is urging the public to donate to its Nepal Emergency Fund. Go to www.SalesianMissions.org/Nepal for more information and to give to the relief efforts.

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Sources:

Salesian Missions – Nepal Emergency Fund

ANS – Yemen – “The country is a hell, running short of almost everything”

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INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY: Highlights Programs Providing Child Rights Training, Education and Workforce Development Opportunities

MissionNewswire — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 10:49:08 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions joins the United Nations and other organizations around the globe in recognizing International Youth Day.

Celebrated each year on August 12, the day was established by the United Nations to raise awareness of issues affecting young people around the world. The theme of International Youth Day 2015, is “Youth Civic Engagement” and focuses on the engagement and participation of youth for the achievement of sustainable human development. The UN notes that while opportunities for youth to engage politically, economically and socially are low or non-existent, developing the foundation for youth engagement improves their lives and the communities in which they live.

“As the world changes with unprecedented speed, young people are proving to be invaluable partners who can advance meaningful solutions,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in a statement on International Youth Day 2015. “Youth movements and student groups are challenging traditional power structures and advocating a new social contract between States and societies. Young leaders have contributed fresh ideas, taken proactive measures and mobilized through social media as never before. I applaud the millions of young people who are protesting for rights and participation, addressing staggering levels of youth unemployment, raising their voices against injustice and advocating global action for people and the planet.”

Working in more than 130 countries around the globe, Salesian missionaries focus on education, workforce development programs, social development services and human rights education to provide young people with the knowledge and skills needed to lead productive lives and become contributing members of their communities.

“For youth to be actively engaged in their communities they must have access to education and other basic human services that allow them to feel valued and that their voices will be heard,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian missionaries meet the basic needs of disadvantaged youth who often have nowhere else to turn. They also provide education and social and workforce development services to ensure a positive transition into adulthood.”

In honor and celebration of International Youth Day 2015, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight Salesian programs that empower youth.

CAMBODIA

INDIA

SIERRA LEONE

Salesians at Don Bosco Fambul in Freetown, Sierra Leone, have been running a Girls Shelter for the past three years. Here, professional social workers and pastoral workers provide crisis intervention and follow-up care for girls and young women who have been the victims of sexual assault. Those that access services at the shelter are also able to enroll in educational programs that are a part of the broader Don Bosco Fambul network and which train them in the skills necessary to find and retain employment. The training helps to empower them to overcome the discrimination they have faced and gain a greater awareness of their rights. It also helps to build character while allowing the girls and young women the freedom to make decisions that affect their lives, improve their health and boost their work prospects.

SOUTH AFRICA

Through the Salesian Institute Youth Projects, an organization in Cape Town, South Africa, Salesian missionaries provide shelter, education and workforce development services in an effort to meet the basic needs of the youth they serve while helping them break the cycle of poverty. For the last four years, one of the Salesian Institute’s projects, Waves of Change, has been assisting unemployed youth in finding work in the fishing industry. Requiring minimal levels of education, jobs in the fishing industry can provide a significant income, a stable career path and extensive travel opportunities for poor youth. Some youth employed through the project have had the opportunity to travel as far as Antarctica. The Waves of Change project offers a compulsory five-day life skills course after which students who successfully complete the course are awarded financial assistance towards obtaining the required certification for work in the fishing industry through the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA). During the 2013-2014 school year, more than 300 youth received education and life skills training through this program. Nearly 75 percent have already been placed into jobs within the fishing industry.

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Sources:

UN – International Youth Day 2015

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YEMEN: Salesian Missionaries are Assisting Those Struggling to Survive Amid Violence and Civil War

MissionNewswire — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 21:19:22 +0000

(MissionNewswire) The situation in Yemen is becoming more and more untenable for five Salesian priests, the only Catholic priests remaining in Yemen, who continue their work in the country despite ongoing violence and civil war. Serving as missionaries from the Don Bosco Province of Bangalore, India, the priests have been in Yemen for the past 28 years operating four Salesian centers throughout the country. One center is located in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen and the city with the highest number of Christians in the country, and the three other centers are in the cities of Aden, Taiz and Hodeida.

The United Nations has been pushing for a halt to airstrikes and fighting that have killed close to 3,000 people in the country since March when a Saudi-led coalition intervened against Iranian-backed Houthi forces to try to restore exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power. According to reports from international organizations, almost 80 percent of the country’s population, more than 20 million people, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Salesian missionaries in the country are working with poor youth and their families in need of assistance despite a host of challenges.

“There is a shortage of electricity, medicines, water and food and the infrastructure has been destroyed by bombing,” says a Salesian priest in Yemen. “Millions of people are living in real misery, constantly in fear of the bombing. There are many who are maimed and others with serious wounds. The psychological damage to children and young people is impossible to calculate.”

Cities such as Aden and Taiz have been devastated. In Aden, two of the three churches served by the Salesian missionaries were looted and partially destroyed. Missionaries reported that things within the church were broken and the few items of value were taken. Although the churches were damaged, Salesian missionaries remain more concerned about the local people who are just trying to survive.

“In Aden, there is heavy fighting taking place and there is a great shortage of the most basic goods,” adds the Salesian priest. “Life is really miserable and to make things worse, there seems to be an epidemic of dengue fever and about 5,000 people are affected. Some have already died and the most likely causes are the lack of cleaning, the stagnant water that lies everywhere and the dead bodies that remain for days in the streets.”

Despite international efforts to resolve the situation, peace talks in Geneva have failed and the bombing continues. While the situation in Yemen has always been difficult for Salesian missionaries, the current fighting in the country, and in particular within Aden, has made it more difficult than ever. With assistance from the Salesian priests, the Sisters of Charity, the only Catholic religious congregation present in the country other than the Salesians, focus their work on humanitarian activities in hospitals, centers for the aged and the infirm and homes for poor and disadvantaged youth. In Sana’a, Salesian missionaries also serve the Catholics attached to the diplomatic missions of various countries.

The Salesian priests and Sisters of Charity are planning to remain in Yemen and assess the situation and their own safety day to day with their primary focus continuing to be on helping those most in need.

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Sources:

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ETHIOPIA: Salesian Missionaries Start New Well Project to Provide Clean Water to Communities across Ethiopia

MissionNewswire — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 17:20:54 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in Ethiopia have started a new project building wells equipped with pumps to improve sanitary conditions, increase agricultural production and provide access to safe drinking water in communities across the country. Since June 2011, Ethiopia has been plagued by a persistent drought that has damaged agricultural production and contributed to an increase in malnutrition, especially among the most vulnerable members of the population. The United Nations has estimated that 14 million people are at risk and more than 10 million are in need of emergency food aid.

The project will utilize construction techniques compatible with cultural traditions, practices and customs of the region and use locally sourced materials. It will also establish village committees that will be responsible for the management of the wells and water-collection systems in addition to the training of community members in appropriate sanitation practices.

The new wells will provide water for agriculture and food production and access to safe drinking water in addition to improving sanitation. Women and children often bear the primary responsibility for water collection in the majority of households and globally, spend 140 million hours a day collecting water. Children in communities without access to local wells are forced to walk for hours to collect drinking water—water that often proves contaminated and seriously sickens those who consume it. Many others are unable to attend school regularly because they must spend time searching for distant wells.

Salesian missionaries have a long history of providing educational and support services to poor youth in Ethiopia. Missionaries operate six primary schools, three secondary schools and six vocational training centers in the country. At all these Salesian-run educational facilities, youth are able to gain an education while accessing support services including family sponsorship and school feeding programs. These supports reinforce the missionaries’ goal of keeping youth in school as long as possible.

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Sources:

ANS – Ethiopia – A comprehensive water project

UNICEF – Ethiopia

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NEPAL: Salesian Missionaries are Focusing on Rebuilding Homes and Classrooms after Earthquake

MissionNewswire — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 14:13:28 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries are planning their next steps in relief efforts for communities affected by the devastating 7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25 and the second earthquake that struck on May 12. More than 8,000 have died and close to 20,000 were injured as a result of the earthquakes and their aftermath. Forty of Nepal’s 75 districts have been affected, 16 of them severely, with homes, schools, buildings, cattle, fields ready for harvest and other property destroyed. More than 500,000 people were displaced and remain in need of shelter and other assistance.

Salesian missionaries responded immediately after the earthquake providing food, medicine and temporary shelter to more than 17,000 families. Many residents remained in temporary shelter after the earthquake and faced the country’s monsoon season. Missionaries responded again providing stronger polythene sheets, tarpaulins and CGI sheets to ensure safer shelter.

Immediately after the initial earthquake, Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, launched an emergency fund to assist Salesian missionaries in Nepal. The funding goes directly to support relief efforts on the ground in affected communities and remote villages.

“Salesian missionaries living and working in Nepal are now turning their attention to long-term efforts, starting by helping families to rebuild their homes and their communities,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. “Their work will begin with the families of Salesian staff and students and will then branch out to other families in districts where there are Salesian programs.”

In order to help further the reconstruction efforts and put those in the community who have lost their livelihoods back to work, Salesian missionaries will be using the technical school at Thecho to train young men and women in the skills needed to assist in reconstruction. The United Nations has noted that more than 1,300 schools were destroyed during the earthquakes. With a goal of reconstructing at least 40 schools, Salesian missionaries will utilize the skills of the newly trained students to assist in the rebuilding of schools. Each village will be asked to form a school-reconstruction committee that will mobilize the villagers to contribute as much as possible in cash, labor and locally available materials.

In addition to rebuilding the physical structures, Salesian missionaries are seeking permission from District Education Officers to hold orientation programs for teachers to aid them in assisting students who have dealt with trauma related to the earthquakes. Missionaries will also work directly with students to connect them to therapy services and offer financial assistance to those who lack mid-day meals, textbooks, uniforms and other schools necessities.

“Salesian missionaries are continuing their work but funds are limited. The emergency appeal will help provide aid directly to those who need it most,” adds Fr. Hyde.

Salesian Missions is urging the public to donate to its Nepal Emergency Fund. Go to www.SalesianMissions.org/Nepal for more information and to give to the relief efforts.

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Sources:

ANS – Nepal – Post-earthquake reconstruction

UN Office for Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – Nepal Earthquake Situation Report

Salesian Missions – Nepal Emergency Fund

ANS – Spain – One million children in the world are deprived of their liberty

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SPAIN: Campaign Launched to Highlight Struggles of Youth Unfairly Kept in Juvenile Justice Centers

MissionNewswire — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 00:58:45 +0000

(MissionNewswire) According to the United Nations, more than 1 million youth across the globe are deprived of their freedom in police stations, prisons and juvenile detention centers. The majority of them do not have previous criminal records and many have been accused of petty crimes like begging or sleeping on the streets. Nearly 60 percent of these juvenile offenders are held in detention without being sentenced.

Youth who are robbed of their freedom are often aware of their rights being systematically violated but lack the resources and support to challenge and change their circumstances. While sending a minor to prison or a rehabilitation center should be the last resort, in many places it is common practice. For example, in Kenya, more than 1,800 children are detained because they are homeless and live on the streets. In addition, close to 500 are being held because they are not under the control of parents and another 600 for begging.

To bring awareness to these issues, Salesian Missions in Madrid has launched the Youth IN-Justice campaign to highlight growing concerns surrounding the juvenile justice system and the needs of incarcerated youth.

“There are alternatives to a child or a youngster entering a prison or a reformatory center,” says Ana Muñoz, spokesperson for Salesian Missions Madrid. “The great challenge is to understand that in order to end these practices, we must provide supports like education and social development programs to help youth break the cycle of poverty and incarceration.”

Salesian missionaries have a long history of working with poor youth and those who have been incarcerated. Programs focus on rehabilitation as well as education and skills training so youth are able to provide for themselves once released. At the Pademba Road Prison in Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone, Don Bosco Fambul, one of the country’s leading child-welfare organizations, provides a range of services to help incarcerated youth. Prison life in Sierra Leone offers very little hope for rehabilitation or reintegration back into society once a prison term has ended. According to humanitarian watch groups, prisons in Sierra Leone face overcrowding and inadequate food as well as lack vital sanitation and health care. Inmates die from overcrowding, illness and violence.

All too often, minors are detained for petty crimes and end up falling prey to prison violence, giving them little hope for the future upon their release. The population of Pademba Road Prison, the country’s largest detention facility, was designed for 324 detainees but had over 1,300 inmates at the time of the report with the number continuing to grow.

“My life in the prison of Pademba Road was a continuous torture,” says Johnny, a former prisoner who was 14 years old at the time of his incarceration and whose only crime was being homeless and sleeping on the streets. “I was in a cell with adults who were criminals. All I would get to eat was a plate of rice and a cup of black tea without sugar. The other prisoners would take away my sandwich at breakfast and other things from my plate of rice. They would not allow me to sleep at night as I had to fan for the elder ones. In the morning, it was my turn to clean the can that we used as a toilet. But the worst thing was the sexual abuses which I was a victim of for two years. I complained against them but no one listened.”

In addition to providing legal support and working to gain early release for incarcerated youth like Johnny, Don Bosco Fambul provides education and counseling services for youth inside the prison. Through the establishment of a long-term partnership between the prison and Don Bosco Fambul, a new youth counseling center for prisoners will be staffed with two social workers and three assistants for four hours each day. The goal of the center is to give youth and their families the necessary tools for rehabilitation and reintegration upon release.

Don Bosco Fambul is also providing food and water to more than 70 inmates of Pademba Road Prison each day while offering counseling services, medical assistance and stress therapy to ensure inmates are mentally fit when their prison terms have ended.

“Incarcerated youth must see hope for the future if we expect to deter them from crime and other dangerous behavior,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “A goal of Salesian missionaries is to do everything possible to keep youth out of detention centers. For those already incarcerated, Salesian programs help them to use their time in prison constructively and, through counseling, begin to address what brought them there in order to prevent their return.”

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Sources:

UN – Facts on Juvenile Justice

(Stock photo)

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WORLD REFUGEE DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Educational Programs Assisting Refugees around the Globe

MissionNewswire — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 20:32:53 +0000

(MissionNewswire) In countries around the globe, Salesian missionaries are assisting close to 400,000 refugees and internally displaced persons whose lives have been affected by war, persecution, famine and natural disasters such as floods, droughts and earthquakes. Salesian programs provide refugees much needed education and technical skills training, workforce development, healthcare and nutrition.

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

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

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

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

COLOMBIAN REFUGEES

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

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

SRI LANKAN REFUGEES IN INDIA

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

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

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

REFUGEES IN KENYA

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

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

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

SYRIAN REFUGEES IN TURKEY

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

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Sources:

World Refugee Day 2015

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BURUNDI: Salesian Missionaries Continue Programs in Wake of Ongoing Political Tension and Humanitarian Crisis

MissionNewswire — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 16:41:07 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries are continuing programming in the wake of a political crisis in Burundi. According to the United Nations, the crisis started in mid-April when protests erupted after the country’s ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy party nominated President Pierre Nkurunziza as its presidential candidate for a third term.

The situation further escalated on May 13 following an attempted coup as President Nkurunziza left for the Summit of the East African Community which was intended to try to resolve the crisis. As a result, the country faces growing tension, and since April, close to 100,000 Burundians have fled the country seeking shelter and sparking a humanitarian crisis in the neighboring countries of Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the same time, refugees along the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania are dealing with a cholera epidemic making a challenging situation all the more difficult.

Within Burundi, Salesian missionaries operate several schools and vocational training programs. A Salesian vocational training center in Buterere, a suburb of the capital Bujumbura, is no longer holding classes due to protests and ongoing chaos that has paralyzed normal daily activities. Many residents have left the capital in search of shelter with family and friends in other parts of the country and others have left for neighboring countries. While classes are suspended, youth are still welcome at the vocational school for afternoon activities and relief from the chaos and violence.

“The difficult situation in Burundi has been going on for a month,” reported Salesian missionaries on the ground in a recent Salesian ANS article. “At first it was just a political problem. Now, to everyone’s surprise, the situation is getting worse day-by-day. It is difficult to know what will happen tomorrow let alone the next day. The tensions will not be without consequences for the social and economic life of all the people.”

In northern areas of the country, classes continue to operate as usual in institutions like the Don Bosco School in Ngozi, a large Salesian boarding school. Also fully operational is the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center Gatenga, located in the city of Ruyigi in eastern Burundi, where students are learning the craft of wood making. The wood making program is part of local Salesian missionaries’ efforts to provide training in trade skills as well as valuable work experience in an effort to increase future employment opportunities for youth in the area.

Even students living and studying in Salesian programs far from the capital are struggling to concentrate on their studies for fear of the chaos and violence reaching them. Many families have had to take in relatives who fled from Bujumbura resulting in additional people straining accommodations, available food and supplies. Salesian missionaries are currently monitoring and assessing the situation day by day.

Burundi, located in the heart of the African Great Lakes region, has experienced more than a decade of violence and conflict which has contributed to widespread poverty, according to UNICEF. Burundi ranks 180 out 187 countries on the 2014 UN Human Development Index and close to 70 percent of its residents live below the poverty line.

Children are some of the most severely affected by the country’s rampant poverty. Fifty-three percent of children under the age of five suffer from growth stunting caused by inadequate food, low-quality diet, poor infant feeding practices, poor household management of childhood diseases and the general decline of the country’s health system.

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Sources:

ANS – Burundi – “It is hard to know what will happen tomorrow, never mind the day after”

UN – Burundi: UN urges return to political dialogue amid ongoing tensions, humanitarian crisis

UNICEF – Burundi

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NEPAL: Missionaries Distribute Aid, Begin Providing Materials for Shelter in Preparation for Monsoon Season

MissionNewswire — Tue, 02 Jun 2015 11:43:42 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries are working to provide rice, clean water and materials to build shelter for those affected by the devastating 7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25 and the second earthquake that struck on May 12. More than 8,000 have died and close to 20,000 were injured as a result of the earthquakes and their aftermath. Forty of Nepal’s 75 districts have been affected, 16 of them severely, with homes, buildings, cattle, fields ready for harvest and other property destroyed. There are more than 500,000 people who have been displaced as a result of the earthquakes who are in desperate need of materials to rebuild homes as well as food, water and medicine.

Salesian missionaries in the country were among the first to respond to those affected assisting with food, water, shelter and other supplies.

“Because Salesian missionaries live in the communities in which they provide education and social development services, they are often among the first responders providing emergency aid and assessing relief needs,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian missionaries will remain to help local families restore their livelihoods and rebuild their homes and communities long after other relief services have left.”

Immediately after the initial earthquake, Salesian Missions launched an emergency fund to assist Salesian missionaries in Nepal. The funding goes directly to support relief efforts on the ground in communities and remote villages. The Nepal Don Bosco Society, a Salesian non-governmental organization, has reached out to more than 30,000 people in 19 villages spanning six districts and has distributed more than 100 tons of relief materials. Sixty tons of food and tarpaulins funded by the Salesian Kolkata Province and other donors were sent across the border from India.

Thousands of people who have been left homeless and are living in makeshift tents are now preparing to face the monsoon season. The United Nations has estimated that close to 160,000 homes and 1,383 schools were destroy by the first earthquake while the government of Nepal estimates the number of homes destroyed to be more than 300,000. A U.N. report on the relief work in Nepal has noted that while the Nepalese government has promised to give every homeless family 15,000 rupees (235 U.S dollars) to buy corrugated metal sheeting to protect them from the weather, many are still waiting to receive the money.

While initially providing tarpaulins and plastic tents for temporary shelter, Salesian missionaries are now working to distribute corrugated metal sheeting to give people greater protection from the rain of the impending monsoon season. The same sheeting can then be used to construct permanent roofs for the houses which will have to be constructed and completed before the onset of winter.

“We are moving into the second phase of our relief work and preparing for the upcoming weather,” says Father Jijo John, coordinator of emergency relief in Nepal. “Emergency rescue operations and the distribution of food concluded on Sunday, May 31 to make way for the relocation of families and the reconstruction of homes.”

Salesian relief teams have been traveling to places where little aid has arrived in order to serve those most in need. They are also extending their relief work to new areas including the local municipality of Kamlamai Nagara Palika in the Sindhuli district that was hit hard by the earthquake. A Salesian relief team has also gone into Khimiti, a village in the Ramechap district where there are 1,200 households and more than 1,400 adults and 1,500 children in need. Nearly 90 percent of the homes in this village have collapsed and the other 10 percent are partially damaged. In these villages, volunteers are distributing food, clean water, oil and materials for shelter, among other necessities.

Salesian missionaries operate two programs in the Kathmandu Valley. Don Bosco Thecho is a technical school located in the Kathmandu suburb of Lubhu and Don Bosco Siddhipur, located in the Lalitpur district, offers both a primary and secondary school. The Salesian relief teams are made up of missionaries, teachers, students and volunteers from these programs.

“Salesian missionaries are continuing to provide aid and emergency relief but supplies are limited. The emergency appeal will help provide aid directly to those who need it most,” adds Fr. Hyde.

Salesian Missions is urging the public to donate to its Nepal Emergency Fund which will go directly to support missionaries currently working on the ground helping those affected by the devastation and aftermath of the earthquake. Go to www.SalesianMissions.org/Nepal for more information and to give to the relief efforts.

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Sources:

Spain – Emergency Aid to Nepal enters second phase, with fear of Monsoons

UN Office for Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – Nepal Earthquake Situation Report

Salesian Missions – Nepal Emergency Fund

Don Bosco Children’s Fund

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CAMBODIA: Don Bosco Children’s Fund Supports More than 840 Youth Affected by HIV/AIDS

MissionNewswire — Wed, 06 May 2015 16:30:25 +0000

(MissionNewswire) The Don Bosco Children’s Fund provides services and support for AIDS orphans and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Phnom Penh, the capital and largest city of Cambodia, and surrounding areas. More than 840 youth are receiving education and health services as a part of the fund’s Project HIV/AIDS.

According to UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations program on HIV/AIDS, there were more than 75,000 people living with HIV in Cambodia in 2013. Children under the age of 14 made up 5,200 of the HIV cases in the country. Through Project HIV/AIDS, the Don Bosco Children’s Fund aims to provide holistic and proactive programs on primary healthcare and education, improve children’s health and welfare with anti-retroviral therapy and encourage public awareness and community involvement.

“Access to healthcare and education as well as supportive services to help youth affected by HIV/AIDS is critical to improve quality of life,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “It is important for young people to acquire the coping skills that enable them to continue on with their lives, attend school and integrate with their peers.”

Youth attending the program have access to a Salesian-run health clinic as well as counseling services. In addition, those who have no family support live in an orphanage run by Salesian missionaries which provides for all their basic needs as well as grants access to education, recreational activities and life skills training to help prepare them for the future.

Started in 1992, the Don Bosco Children’s Fund provides a variety of services and supports to assist poor youth between the ages of six and 15 who are either unable to go to school or have had to drop out due to poverty. Through the fund’s programs, youth not only receive support to continue their education, they also receive a monthly assistance package consisting of goods and cash. Social workers ensure that youth make progress and remain in school and those with special aptitude are further supported and encouraged to pursue college coursework.

The Fund also operates both a primary and secondary school in Battambang with a focus on making sure young girls have access to education. With even a basic education, girls are better equipped to face the often daily dangers of human trafficking, child prostitution and substance abuse. Today, more than 2,000 girls who live in poverty have access to basic education and continued vocational and technical training through the Don Bosco Children’s Fund bringing the possibilities of jobs and independence within reach. In addition, hundreds of students at four specialized schools for young women are opening new doors for themselves by developing secretarial, printing, electronics and sewing skills.

“Many parents in Cambodia did not have the same opportunities for education as their children do today so they do not see staying in school as a priority, particularly when many children have been forced to work to bring in extra money for the family,” adds Fr. Hyde. “Youth need the extra support to stay in school and get an education. The Salesian missionaries at the Don Bosco Children’s Fund provide that much needed support and stability to help youth achieve.”

Cambodia has a long history of violence that has resulted in a quarter of Cambodians living in poverty and surviving on less than $1 per day, according to the World Bank. About 80 percent of the country’s population resides in rural areas and has limited access to education, healthcare and other public services.

Today, close to a quarter of Cambodians over the age of 15 are illiterate. With very little access to education, poor youth find it especially challenging to break the cycle of poverty. To provide youth with greater opportunity, Salesian missionaries in the country operate 45 schools in poor, rural villages through a partnership between Salesian Missions and the Ministry of Education. In addition, Salesian missionaries operate seven vocational training centers that impart much needed job skills.

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Sources:

UNAIDS – Cambodia

World Bank – Cambodia

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WORLD WATER DAY: Salesian Missions Programs Provide Access to Safe Water in Poor Communities around the Globe

MissionNewswire — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 17:20:25 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Every year since 1993, the international community celebrates World Water Day on March 22, focusing attention on the importance of safe, clean water while advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The day also serves as a reminder of the global population who suffer from water related issues and a call to action to prepare for management of water in the future.

Each World Water Day focuses on a particular theme. This year’s theme is ‘Water and Sustainable Development’ and focuses on the connection between water resources and sustainable development for the future. Water is at the core of sustainable development and relates directly to the viability of poverty reduction, economic growth and environmental sustainability.

In addition, women and children bear the primary responsibility for water collection in the majority of households, and globally, spend 140 million hours a day collecting water. Children in these communities are forced to walk for hours to collect drinking water—water that often proves contaminated, and seriously sickens those who consume it. Many others are unable to attend school regularly because they must spend time searching for distant wells.

In honor and celebration of World Water Day 2015, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight Salesian programs around the globe that provide clean, safe water to those most in need.

CAMBODIA

Salesian missionaries have a long history of working with poor youth in Cambodia. Continuing this work, the Don Bosco Technical School in Kep Province built a new water tower as part of a Water System Project at the school that was made possible by donors from Don Bosco Mondo in Bonn, Germany. Christened the Mary Help of Youth Water Tower and constructed by a group of volunteers, the tower provides more water than traditional wells, which are relied upon by most people in the region, as it goes deeper into the ground and has two reserve tanks to hold additional water. It also utilizes green technologies by featuring a water pump that is generated by installed solar panels. The Mary Help of Youth Water Tower will guarantee water for this large educational community for years to come.

INDIA

With more than 1.2 billion people, India’s growing population is putting a severe strain on the country’s natural resources. Salesian missionaries across India are dedicated to ensuring that access to safe water is a priority in Salesian-run programs and schools and in the communities in which they operate. In Mumbai, alumni from the class of 1969 at Don Bosco High School in Matuga recently enacted the Aqua Pure Water Project. This alumni-led volunteer project is ensuring clean water access at the school for nearly 3,500 children. A.V. Suresh, alumnus of Don Bosco High School, Matuga and CEO of Eureka Forbes, a water purification company, installed the water purification system at the school. As part of the project, he promised that the Eureka Forbes company would commit itself to providing clean drinking water to the school for the next 10 years. In addition, the company is initiating a collaborative project with Don Bosco High School for water harvesting and water recycling at the school which, when it is completed, will be the first of its kind in the country.

KENYA

Residents in Kenya face regular water and sanitation shortages. To address the need for clean, safe water, a water borehole restoration project is underway at the Salesian-run Bosco Boys community in Nairobi, Kenya. Made possible thanks to the generosity of donors, the project entails removing all the pipes and the electric pump in an existing 250 meter borehole, cleaning the pipes, replacing rotten ones and removing a massive amount of mud. The restoration of the borehole will ensure proper function of a well on the property while providing clean, safe water for students and faculty at the Bosco Boys community.

SIERRA LEONE

Don Bosco Fambul, a leading Salesian educational organization serving disadvantaged youth in Sierra Leone, in collaboration with Brunnenbau Conrad Ltd, a German drilling company, has installed a new water well at Pademba Road Prison in Freetown. The prison faces overcrowding and inadequate food and due to compromised infrastructure, has experienced a serious water crisis with a lack of clean drinking water and water for healthy sanitation and hygiene. The new well will provide 60,000 liters of water each day and new storage facilities to house the water supply will allow for 40 liters of water per prisoner each day.

TANZANIA

Like many poor nations around the world, Tanzania struggles to provide clean, safe water to its citizens. Salesian missionaries living and working in Tanzania focus their programs on the educational and social development needs of youth and their families while working to provide safe, clean water for their students. Well digging and restoration projects are underway at Salesian Missions facilities in Tanzania with new wells being created and older wells that have rotten pipes, often filled with mud, being cleaned and replaced in order to bring water to students and faculty involved in Salesian programs.

Sources

UN World Water Day 2015

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: Salesian Missionaries Focus on Gender Equality Providing Young Women Education and Workforce Development Programs

MissionNewswire — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 19:25:35 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Each year, March 8 marks International Women’s Day. The day celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women around the globe while focusing the world’s attention on areas requiring further action. Humanitarian organizations, human rights groups, governments and the United Nations come together around important women’s issues that affect all people. Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joined the international community in observance of International Women’s Day.

This year’s theme, “Make It Happen,” celebrates the achievements of women while calling for greater equality and effective action for advancing and recognizing women.

To mark this year’s International Women’s Day, senior United Nations (UN) officials highlighted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a historic roadmap signed by 189 governments 20 years ago that set the agenda for realizing women’s rights. While the UN noted that there have been many gains in education and healthcare for women, there is still a long way to go.

“We must acknowledge that the gains have been too slow and uneven, and that we must do far more to accelerate progress everywhere,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in a statement on International Women’s Day. “From Nigeria and Somalia to Iraq and Syria, the bodies of women have been transformed into battlegrounds. Women have been attacked for trying to exercise their right to education and basic services; they have been raped and turned into sex slaves; they have been given as prizes to fighters, or traded among extremist groups in trafficking networks.”

Salesian missionaries living and working in more than 130 countries around the globe are focused on achieving gender equality though education and workforce development programs targeted specifically for young women and girls. These programs strive to empower young women and girls by providing opportunities for education and training that lead to livable wage employment.

In honor of International Women’s Day, Salesian Missions is proud to share some of its programs around the globe that empower young women and girls.

BOLIVIA

The university students enjoy a setting that allows them to finish their degrees in higher education in a stable environment while learning how to live independently. In addition to academic classes, the young women and girls at the home learn skills in communication and conflict management. Additional classes in dance, gymnastics and crafts are provided in the evenings and on weekends. Most recently, the organization offered a three-week technology workshop to teach the girls basic computer skills including typing, word processing and drawing.

ECUADOR

The Salesian Polytechnic University which started in 1994 and has campuses in Cuenca, Guayaquil and Quito, Ecuador, provides education to more than 35 indigenous students, many of whom are women. These students are taking degree coursework in communications, biotechnology, management and leadership and psychology.

The Salesian Polytechnic University provides educational programs in biology, social science and human behavior, education, science and technology, animal science, literature, administration and finance and religion. Many students attending the university take part in hands-on research and job training in addition to traditional coursework. In addition to offering classroom lessons, the University has become a place for the meeting of cultures and the exchange of knowledge for both students and teachers. It offers real opportunities for education and progress for disadvantaged youth coming from indigenous communities.

INDIA

In the state of Tamil Nadu, India, the Salesian “New Beginnings” program helps to educate Sri Lankan refugees while giving their families the chance to achieve stability in their new country. The program offers technical and vocational courses and skill training as well as job placement support to aid refugees in finding employment.

For women with children who are unable to leave the refugee camp and attend traditional classes, a special program has been developed within the camp. Through it, women receive training in skills such as jewelry-making and sewing and are also provided entrepreneurial workshops. In addition, they are eligible for financial assistance to start up new businesses where they can use their new skills while continuing to take care of their families. One such business is a cooperative that utilizes sewing machines and equipment financed through a micro-credit program. To date, close to 2,500 refugees have received vocational training scholarships through the program and 550 women are benefiting from the refugee camp-based small business incubator program. In addition, Salesian missionaries are currently serving 550 individuals by providing vocational training through a network of nine Salesian-run Don Bosco schools spread across Southeast India.

SENEGAL

Center Kër Don Bosco officially opened at the end of January in Dakar, the capital and largest city in Senegal. The new center will provide education, vocational training and apprenticeship opportunities to disadvantaged youth and women living in the Yoff district on the outskirts of the city.

SIERRA LEONE

Sources

International Women’s Day

United Nations – On International Women’s Day, UN urges more action to achieve gender equality

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PHILIPPINES: Don Bosco Direct Partnership with EMotors Provides New Electric Tricycles to Increase Access to Transportation

MissionNewswire — Fri, 06 Mar 2015 17:13:52 +0000

(MissionNewswire) More than one year after Typhoon Haiyan (also known as Typhoon Yolanda) devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, Salesian missionaries continue to work in the region to assist those who lost their homes and their livelihoods. While missionaries have successfully completed many community rehabilitation and rebuilding projects that have allowed survivors to return to their normal lives, there is still much work to be done.

Recently, EMotors Inc. delivered a fleet of zero-emission ZüM electric tricycles (e-trikes) to members of a Don Bosco multipurpose cooperative whose members consist of farmers and fishermen from Barangay Candahug in Palo, Leyte in the northeastern region of the Philippines. The e-trikes were made possible through donors and an EMotors partnership with Don Bosco Direct (Disaster Intervention and Emergency Response Coordination Team). EMotors is a 100 percent Filipino-owned manufacturer and assembler of ZüM e-trikes.

“Since the devastating typhoon struck in November 2013, ongoing restoration and rebuilding continues but the equally important component of livelihood restoration is yet to be fully met,” said Elizabeth Lee, president of EMotors, in a recent press release on the inquirer.net motoring website, Motion Cars, about the Don Bosco partnership. “The ZüM e-trikes as a means of livelihood sends a strong message of encouragement and hope to earnest Filipinos who are now struggling to find their place given the devastating circumstances the catastrophic storm left behind.”

The typhoon destroyed homes, businesses and methods of transportation. The new vehicles will allow many to get back to work while providing much needed transportation in the area. The new e-trike owners were provided a training on the vehicle’s usage and maintenance. The use of e-trikes instead of the gas-powered vehicles typically used across the Philippines will also help address the global issue of climate change by lessening the Philippine’s carbon footprint.

“We are privileged to be part of the community’s future as we mark another milestone in our goal to serve the needs of Filipinos for an affordable, low maintenance, innovative and easy to use vehicle, one that helps increase one’s income while at the same time, help clean our air,” said Lee, in the same press release.

In addition to the new e-trikes, Salesian missionaries are working on employment initiatives primarily in the farming, livestock management and manufacturing sectors designed to jump-start the local economy. By integrating research, technological advancement and vocational training in these areas, Salesian programs aim to create sustainable, long-term entrepreneurship and employment opportunities which, in turn, will provide typhoon victims and vulnerable youth financial security and hope for a better future.

“There is still much to be done,” said Vic Gocela, deputy coordinator for Don Bosco Direct, in the Motion Cars press release. “The arrival of the e-trikes may seem like a small step for the recipient drivers and operators, but it symbolizes one big step for the whole community. It gives inspiration and a ray of hope for many of our fellow Filipinos there.”

The super typhoon which struck on Nov. 8, 2013 was one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded and the deadliest typhoon on record in the Philippines killing more than 6,200 people in that country alone. According to the United Nations, the super typhoon affected more than 13 million people overall. An estimated one million homes were destroyed and 4 million people were left homeless with close to 2.5 million of those displaced needing food assistance. More than 5 million of those affected were children, leaving 1.5 million children at risk of acute malnutrition, according to the UN World Food Program.

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Sources:

Motion Cars – A clean slate: Community starts over fresh in the New Year

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INDIA: Don Bosco Institute of Technology Develops New Center for Sustainability Development

MissionNewswire — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 20:54:18 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Institute of Technology recently concluded its International Conference on Technologies for Sustainable Development 2015 which brought together researchers, government leaders, corporations and nonprofit organizations to explore and examine technologies that will lead to economic and sustainable development in India. As a result of this conference, the Institute, with the assistance of its corporate partners, will develop a research center for sustainable development on its campus in the suburb of Kurla just north of Mumbai.

The new sustainable development center will focus on improvements in energy, transportation, clean water, waste management and agriculture which were identified at the conference as the current most pressing needs in the country.

India has close to 1.2 billion people and is expected to grow by another 300 million within the next couple of decades, according to the United Nations. Cities will generate two-thirds of the country’s economic output and there exists significant migration from rural areas of India to major urban centers as people seek out more stable employment opportunities. As a result, urban infrastructure including water, sewage and power supplies as well as transportation systems, educational centers and medical services will be challenged. Planning for this growth using sustainable practices is critical.

“The International conference provided an opportunity for the community of researchers and students to showcase their research findings from projects and studies completed in the field of technology for sustainable development,” said Father Adolph Furtado, rector of the Don Bosco Center for Learning, during the conference’s closing ceremony. “The new center will provide a mechanism for industry partnership and ongoing research and work for long-term change in this field.”

Don Bosco Institute of Technology is part of the Don Bosco Center for Learning, a Salesian network of educational institutions located on an eco-friendly six-acre campus in Kurla. The Don Bosco Center for Learning’s network encompasses four other educational institutions including St. Joseph’s Industrial Training Institution, Don Bosco Maritime Academy, Don Bosco College for Hospitality Studies, Mass Media and Management Studies and Don Bosco Institute of Management & Research for Masters in Management. In addition, the Center’s campus has a center for social change.

Through its educational institutions, Don Bosco Center for Learning provides vocational, technical and advanced degree education for poor youth in India. The goal is to provide students the employment skills necessary to find and retain stable employment. Hosting the international conference and the creation of the sustainable development center lends additional support to the Center’s growing academic programs and research capacity. International corporations such as GROHE Germany, IBM, Volkswagen, Toyota and Ford, among others have been supporting ongoing educational projects on the campus for many years.

India is home to more than 400 million poor people or one third of the world’s poor, according to UNICEF. Although more than 53 million people escaped poverty between 2005 and 2010, most remain vulnerable to falling back below the poverty line.

There is a lack of educational opportunities in the country often due to issues of caste, class and gender and with 44 percent of the workforce illiterate, there is much work to be done. Less than 10 percent of the working-age population has completed a secondary education and too many secondary graduates do not have the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s changing job market.

Sources

Daijiworld.com – New research centre for sustainable development to be set at Don Bosco

Don Bosco Center for Learning

UNICEF – India

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TURKEY: Salesian Missionaries Aid Close to 400 Syrian Refugees in Turkey

MissionNewswire — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 19:48:42 +0000

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

At the Center, Salesian missionaries provide a school for more than 350 refugee children where they learn English language skills as well as other traditional school subjects such as mathematics, geography and music. Students have access to sports and dance programs intended to help them connect with their peers and find enjoyment and comfort in their new surroundings. In addition, the program provides counseling both for youth and their families to help them overcome the challenges and traumas they have faced.

The skills training program trains refugee families in local trades and technical skills and assists them in finding stable employment in their new host country. As a result of evacuation and host country labor laws as well as a lack of established social and professional networks, many refugees urgently rely on the training program to locate long-term employment. In addition to skills training, Salesian missionaries provide needy refugees with emergency relief in the form of shelter, safety and medical assistance.

“Refugees, like those fleeing Syria and other areas, are particularly vulnerable to economic insecurity, subject to long-term unemployment and high costs for basic necessities like shelter and food,” adds Holland. “Refugees seeking local employment out of the need to support dependent family members are significantly at risk of exploitation and compromising situations.”

More than 200,000 people have been killed and millions more have fled their homes in search of safety since the outbreak of civil war in Syria in March 2011, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The conflict has taken its toll on young Syrians with U.N records indicating 2,165 recorded deaths of children under nine years old and 6,638 deaths of children aged 10 to 18 years. With often poor reporting, the numbers are suspected to be much higher.

Close to 6.5 million people are internally displaced within Syria. More than 2.5 million have fled to the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq and just under 100,000 have declared asylum in Europe. Others have taken refuge in Northern Africa. Refugee camps in these bordering countries are overflowing with families in need of basic supplies, adequate shelter and safety as well as technical skills training so they can begin to earn a living in their new host countries.

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Sources:

PBS – Syrian Refugees in Turkey

UNHCR – Syria Refugees

Wall Street Journal – U.N. Says Syria Deaths Near 200,000

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CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Salesian Spaces of Peace Project Helps More Than 1,500 Youth with Nutritious Meals, Sports and Educational Programs

MissionNewswire — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 00:29:17 +0000

(MissionNewswire) After more than a year of ongoing violence, peace is returning to the Central African Republic. Small markets are opening, taxi service is returning and residents are able to move back and forth between locations. Many parents are bringing their children to classes at two Don Bosco centers in the capital city of Bangui because they know their children will be able to study there in peace. Salesian missionaries at the centers, located in the Damala and Galabadja districts of the city, hope to bring a sense of normalcy and structure to the lives of the local children by returning to a regular schedule of school and social development programs like sports and music.

“For eight months we have been experiencing terror and death in the city of Bangui and throughout the Central African Republic,” says Pierre Pytonie Kozongo, sports coach at the Don Bosco Center Sports Academy in Damala, in an article published on the website of the Salesian-run Spaces of Peace project. “While others have fled, seeking refuge or revenge, the Don Bosco Center has been using sports as a way of bringing people together and overcoming their fears.”

The Salesian Center in Damala has an orphanage, youth center, professional center and high school. At the center in Galabadja, Salesian missionaries offer primary and secondary education along with a college and professional training program. A youth center and medical clinic are also available.

The Spaces of Peace project operates out of both centers and offers youth safe places to learn, work and play. It also offers one meal a day to more than 1500 students during their school day, helps 700 students with school supplies and scholarships and assists 120 older youth gain the skills necessary to find and retain employment.

In addition, Salesian missionaries offer sports, musical training and summer camps, among other activities, where youth of all ages, cultures and religions learn to live and work together peacefully. Through the Spaces of Peace sports programs, youth are taught team work and social skills while gaining opportunities to grow and mature.

“For a group of sixty young people, sporting activities provided the reason for them to meet, play, relax with others and take care of their health,” explains Kozongo. “We, the coaches, were like parents. We followed the development of our young people, and in particular, we were with those experiencing family misfortunes, or those who had been traumatized by the circumstances. The young people encouraged one another to find reasons for confidence in the midst of violence and fear.”

Thanks to an ongoing partnership between the Real Madrid Foundation and Salesian missionaries, footballs, shirts and other items have been donated to help the sports program succeed. The young athletes have shared with each other their experiences of war and have developed friendships through their participation in the program.

Despite more than two years of ongoing violence, Salesian missionaries continue to work diligently for the young and poor in the Central African Republic. Since violence broke out in December 2012 between Séléka rebels and Christian anti-balaka militia groups, thousands have died, more than 650,000 have been internally displaced (with more than 232,000 in the capital city of Bangui alone) and 300,000 have fled across the borders as refugees. Due to the conflict, close to 2.2 million people have needed humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations (UN).

During the height of the conflict, the Salesian center in Galabadja had been host to 20,000 displaced people and the one in Damala had taken in an estimated 50,000. Many arrived at the Salesian centers injured and in desperate need of medical attention. While the situation has improved and many have left the shelter of Salesian centers, the situation remains precarious. Those still internally displaced are homeless and have no other source of shelter and food other than what’s provided at the centers. Resuming educational and social development programs helps youth regain a sense of normalcy and allows them to move past the violence and focus on more productive activities.

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Sources:

ANS – Central African Republic – “We use sport as a way of bringing people together and overcoming their fears”

United Nations – Central African Republic: Ban welcomes official deployment of UN mission

The post CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Salesian Spaces of Peace Project Helps More Than 1,500 Youth with Nutritious Meals, Sports and Educational Programs first appeared on MissionNewswire.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Salesian Missionaries Open Schools and Provide Education Despite Ongoing Violence

MissionNewswire — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 18:09:30 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries continue to work diligently for the young and poor in the Central African Republic despite more than two years of ongoing violence. Since violence broke out in December 2012 between Séléka rebels and Christian anti-balaka militia groups, thousands have died, more than 650,000 have been internally displaced (with more than 232,000 in the capital city of Bangui alone) and 300,000 have fled across the borders as refugees. Due to the conflict, close to 2.2 million people have needed humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations (UN).

In December 2013, a new wave of violence broke out in the capital city of Bangui sending people fleeing from their homes in search of safety and shelter. During the escalation of violence, communities were raided and homes burned. Salesian missionaries already working in communities in the Central African Republic prior to the outbreak reported at the time that two Salesian centers near Bangui were inundated with displaced people. The center in Galabadja had been host to 20,000 and the one in Damala had taken in an estimated 50,000. Many of the displaced arrived at the Salesian centers injured and in desperate need of medical attention.

On September 15, 2014, the United Nations took over a regional African peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic. The UN command increased the number of peacekeeping troops to 12,000 in addition to the 4,800 African troops and 1,000 international police from the previous mission. The UN also worked to secure better financing and air support for the mission. Humanitarian groups noted at the time that while the presence of African Union and French peacekeepers would help deter some of the violence, it would not stop attacks on civilians.

Also in September, more than 25,000 displaced people remained at a Salesian center in the Catholic diocese of Kaga-Bangoro in northern Central African Republic and another 500 at the Salesian center in Galabadja. Even though violence has eased in several parts of the country, a lack of safe shelter and food as well as fear of the gunfire often heard outside the Salesian compounds, keeps people from leaving.

While the situation has improved and many have left the shelter of Salesian centers, the situation remains precarious. Those still internally displaced are homeless and have no other source of shelter and food other than what’s provided at the centers. Education had also been virtually non-existent within the country as schools remained closed or without teachers well past the start of the school year. In Bangui, classes were expected to start in October but ongoing violence caused delays.

“We have just started the school year,” says Father Desiré Adjeckam, rector of the Salesian secondary school at Damala in a statement that was published for the project, Spaces of Peace, Schools of Reconciliation in the Central African Republic. “At night we still hear some shots. The military are patrolling the streets to try to protect the people. Yesterday a young man was killed in front of his house by robbers who wanted to steal an old bike. There are many unlicensed weapons in the city, but we are staying for the sake of the young.”

Education is a cornerstone of Salesian programs and has proven to be an effective means to break the cycle of poverty while giving the most vulnerable youth a sense of personal dignity and self-worth. Elementary and secondary education lays the foundation for early learning while vocational, technical, professional and agricultural schools offer practical skills that help youth become productive, contributing adults in their communities.

Little by little peace is returning to the Central African Republic, Fr. Adjeckam noted, with small markets opening, taxi service returning and residents more able to move back and forth between locations. He said that many parents bring their children to the Don Bosco Secondary Education Center in Bangui because classes are being held and they know their children will be able to study in peace. Salesian missionaries hope to bring a sense of normalcy and structure to the lives of the local children by opening the school while realizing that for many, the Salesian feeding program at the school is one of the only places students can receive nutritious meals.

“Many other centers will not open in this uncertain environment,” explains Fr. Adjeckam. “The state still owes several months salary to teachers. But there are teachers in the Salesian schools teaching students and the area is safe. We cannot allow young people to hang around the streets with the risk of violence and missing out on their education.”

“Our job is to ensure that young people have hope, that they believe in the future of the Central African Republic and that they prepare today for a future of peace and prosperity,” adds Fr. Adjeckam.

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Sources:

ANS – Central African Republic – “We are staying for the sake of the young”

United Nations – Central African Republic: Ban welcomes official deployment of UN mission

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BETHLEHEM: Salesian Missionaries Provide Diverse Programs and Assistance Including Arts Center and Bakery

MissionNewswire — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 18:02:07 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Bethlehem, a Palestinian city located in the central West Bank just south of Jerusalem, has a population close to 25,000 people and an economy that is primarily tourist-driven. According to UNICEF, poverty in Palestinian territories including the West Bank, Gaza and Bethlehem varies district to district. Along the Gaza strip, poverty rates have risen as high as 60 percent with residents relying on food assistance from the United Nations. Over half of the population of Palestine is under the age of 18 and children in the region grow up amid frequent outbreaks of street violence sparked by ongoing political turmoil.

Since 1891, Salesian missionaries have been living and working in Bethlehem, initially establishing an orphanage for boys living in poverty and later expanding programs to meet growing local needs. Today, Salesian missionaries provide a range of educational and social activities to support the local community which includes both Christian and Muslim residents. In addition to the orphanage, Salesians now offer a technical school, a professional training center, a youth center, an art center and a bakery.

The Salesian Technical School offers three-year technical and professional degrees in subjects including mechanics, electricity, electronics, mechatronics and industrial electronics. After graduates successfully complete a program, they are provided assistance finding meaningful employment.

The Salesian Professional Training Center offers 12 intensive courses each lasting one year. The center’s goal is to meet the training needs of a large number of youth who for various reasons have left school prematurely. For young professionals who need to update their specialization, the center offers continuing education classes. Courses include carpentry, auto mechanics, mechatronics, electricity, industrial electronics and ceramics.

“Faculty and staff at the professional and technical schools are open and sensitive to the variety of religions represented in the area and encourage professional training for even the most disadvantaged populations,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Education has proven to be an effective means to break the cycle of poverty while giving the most vulnerable youth a sense of personal dignity and self-worth.”

The Salesian Artistic Center of Bethlehem is the only school in Palestine that offers formal training in the traditional handicrafts of olive wood, mother of pearl and ceramics. Students are urged to invent new and creative crafts and iconography to be produced with traditional materials and instruments. The art center works to create job opportunities for young craftsmen. To help art center graduates enter the job market, Salesian missionaries help with the donation of tools and machinery and the setting up of small workshops and microcredit facilities. For many students, this support has allowed them to overcome traditional obstacles faced when setting up a small business.

The Salesian Bakery is a historical institution in Bethlehem. The purpose of it being threefold; it produces food for the children in the orphanage, teaches baking as a profession and provides food assistance to those most in need through the free distribution of bread to the poorest families. The bakery employs six people and produces close to 3,000 loaves of bread every day.

“Starting as an orphanage for young boys, the Salesian program has grown substantially to meet the growing needs and demands of its local community,” adds Fr. Hyde. “Because Salesian missionaries live within the communities they serve, they are able to create programs to best meet the needs of the populations they are serving.”

Sources

Salesians in Bethlehem

UNICEF – Bethlehem Poverty

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PHILIPPINES: One Year after Typhoon Haiyan Salesian Missionaries Have Aided Close to 3,000 Families in Rebuilding Homes While Beginning Construction on 11 New Schools

MissionNewswire — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 08:08:15 +0000

(MissionNewswire) One year after Typhoon Haiyan (also known as Typhoon Yolanda) devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, Salesian missionaries working in the region have successfully completed community rehabilitation and rebuilding projects allowing survivors to return to their normal lives.

The super typhoon which struck on Nov. 8, 2013, was one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded and the deadliest typhoon on record in the Philippines killing more than 6,200 people in that country alone. According to the United Nations, the super typhoon affected more than 13 million people overall. An estimated one million homes were destroyed and 4 million people were left homeless with close to 2.5 million of those displaced needing food assistance. More than 5 million of those affected were children, leaving 1.5 million children at risk of acute malnutrition, according to the UN World Food Program.

Salesian missionaries in the Philippines who have been working with vulnerable children and their families at Salesian schools, youth centers and community programs for many years, were positioned to be on the front lines of the relief efforts. Salesian buildings in Cebu were named Official Help Centers and students, teachers, staff and volunteers worked alongside missionaries to collect, prepare and pack relief goods.

In cooperation with the National Crisis Management Unit in the Philippines, 25,000 emergency kits were distributed in the days immediately following the storm. In addition, Salesian missionaries provided food, clothing, water and medical care to 40,000 families in Leyte, Cebu, Samar and Aklan. A year later, thousands of families are surviving with the help of volunteers and organizations linked to the Salesians.

“Because we have been working in the Philippines since 1950 and already have an established network in the affected areas, we are able to provide vital coordination and infrastructure support,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Our work did not stop in the immediate aftermath of the storm. Salesian relief efforts continue for those in need and reconstruction efforts are underway to rebuild communities.”

Initiated in the wake of the storm, the Don Bosco Adopt and Rebuild a Community Project (Don Bosco ARC) began replacing destroyed homes and buildings that were poorly constructed before the storm with ones that can withstand future weather events. To date, close to 150 homes have been completed. Ultimately, the Don Bosco ARC project will benefit 2,600 families on four separate islands.

Reconstruction of homes, schools and shelters has also continued with many projects close to completion. More than 2,700 families have received materials to repair roofs and walls and have been able to return to their homes. Salesian missionaries are also focusing their efforts on building shelters for the disaster prone country. Of the nearly 500 temporary shelters in East Samar, Aklan and on the island of Bantayan, 417 have already been completed and others are under construction. Salesian Missionaries have also focused their rebuilding efforts on schools with 11 new schools under construction, eight of which are in Leyte, two in Cebu and one on the island of Bantayan.

As many Filipinos lost their livelihoods in the wake of the storm, Salesian missionaries are also working on employment initiatives primarily in the farming, livestock management and manufacturing sectors designed to jump-start the local economy. By integrating research, technological advancement and vocational training in these areas, Salesian programs aim to create sustainable, long-term entrepreneurship and employment opportunities which, in turn, will provide typhoon victims and vulnerable youth with financial security and hope for a better future.

“Salesian missionaries have made great progress in the year since the typhoon but there is still much work to be done, particularly helping those whose livelihoods were affected find meaningful employment in order for them to support their families,” adds Fr. Hyde.

Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, launched a “Philippines Typhoon Emergency” fund in response to the need. To give to that fund, go to SalesianMissions.org/typhoon.

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Sources:

ANS – Philippines – One year after the typhoon: 3,000 homes rebuilt and 11 new schools

UN World Food Program – Philippines: Children In Typhoon-Hit Areas Get Nutritional Support

The post PHILIPPINES: One Year after Typhoon Haiyan Salesian Missionaries Have Aided Close to 3,000 Families in Rebuilding Homes While Beginning Construction on 11 New Schools first appeared on MissionNewswire.

WORLD FOOD DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Nonprofit Partnerships as Key to Fighting Hunger

MissionNewswire — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 20:31:34 +0000

(MissionNewswire) More than 805 million people across the world go hungry every day, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Over 70 percent of food insecure people live in rural areas of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Near East. Additionally, two billion people lack the vitamins and minerals needed to live healthy lives, according to the World Food Program and the United Nations.

Each year, Oct. 16th marks the observance of World Food Day aimed at bringing attention to the plight of the world’s hungry and undernourished while providing an opportunity for a deeper understanding of the complex solutions for ending hunger. This year’s theme is “Family Farming: Feeding the World, Caring for the Earth.”

Of those who go hungry daily, 98 percent reside in developing countries where there is not only a shortage of food, but major challenges for aid to reach its destination. Salesian Missions’ programs are dedicated to developing sustainable food systems and providing agricultural education in more than 130 countries around the globe. Operating primary schools, technical training centers, youth centers, orphanages and programs for street children, Salesian missionaries are on the front lines of the battle against hunger. Working and living in the communities they serve, Salesian missionaries are perfectly positioned to ensure that the distribution of food aid reaches those who need it most.

Through ongoing partnerships, Salesian missionaries are able to deliver life-saving food aid and other supplies to those most in need.

This World Food Day, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight some of its partnerships with other U.S. nonprofit organizations that make the delivery of life-saving and life-changing meals possible.

ABOUT STOP HUNGER NOW

Stop Hunger Now is an international relief organization that provides food and life‐saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable. More than 164,000,000 meals have been packaged and distributed with other life-saving aid to 65 countries, impacting millions of lives. The nonprofit provides more than just food aid. It also provides significant in-kind aid (such as food, medicines and other supplies) that support education and vocational training programs which are proven to have long-term sustainability—like those run by Salesian NGOs around the globe. 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, 58 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 care for those in need of emergency aid during times of war, natural disasters and health crises. Recently, two Stop Hunger Now shipments helped Salesian missionaries provide food aid and emergency medical supplies to missionaries working to help Ebola victims and their families in Sierra Leone and Liberia. More than 200 families benefited from this donation and the food aid provided an avenue for educational workshops about Ebola prevention and preparedness. Within the past year, Stop Hunger Now shipments were delivered and shared among Salesian programs in the Central African Republic, Uganda, El Salvador, Haiti and Honduras, among other countries. The Stop Hunger Now meal packaging program was created to give dedicated individuals the opportunity to participate in a hands-on international hunger relief program and to become educated, engaged advocates for the world’s poor and hungry. For more information, go to www.stophungernow.org.

ABOUT FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN

Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit Christian organization committed to “feeding God’s children hungry in body and spirit”. Children and adults volunteer to hand-pack meals specifically formulated for malnourished children, which are then shipped to nearly 70 countries throughout the world. A partnership between Salesian Missions and Feed My Starving Children has resulted in 40-foot containers of fortified rice meals being shipped to Salesian sites around the globe. Feed My Starving Children provides the food and Salesian Missions takes care of the cost and logistics of shipping each container from Feed My Starving Children warehouses to the destination country. Salesian Missions also works to help identify where the greatest needs are at any given time. The partnership began in early 2006 when the first 40-foot container was donated to and shipped by Salesian Missions for programs in Sri Lanka. Through the years, as Salesian Missions has determined beneficiaries in need of Feed My Starving Children food, almost 100 containers of more than 27 million meals have been donated, shipped and received by those in need in more than 25 countries. This partnership was also essential in the delivery of meals to Haiti following the devastating earthquake in 2010. For more information, go to www.fmsc.org.

ABOUT SALESIAN MISSIONS

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

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Sources

Feed My Starving Children

UN – On World Teachers’ Day, UN agencies urge investing in educators

Stop Hunger Now

World Food Day

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HAITI: Salesian Missions and SoapBox Soaps Partnership Puts Soap into the Hands of Youth and Families at Risk for Cholera

MissionNewswire — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 20:34:42 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Thanks to a recent donation from SoapBox Soaps, coordinated by Salesian Missions, more than 10,000 bars of soap will make their way into the hands of children and families in need in Haiti. The spread of cholera in the country in the years following a massive earthquake has added to the devastation.

Partnerships like this are vital in the effort to reduce the spread of disease in Haiti and around the globe. Oct. 15 of each year marks Global Handwashing Day, which seeks to raise awareness about this important issue. According to the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing, washing with soap is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal and acute respiratory infections, which take the lives of millions of children in developing countries.

Working together, SoapBox Soaps and Salesian Missions are making an impact. Connecting supplies with programs on the ground—and ensuring their delivery and distribution in addition to measuring impact—is a key strength of Salesian Missions. The U.S. development arm is connected to an international network of Salesian missionaries, making it a valuable partner to companies and nonprofits that provide in-kind aid.

“Salesians are on the ground in Haiti working with children in need, so we were able to provide a pathway to bring the soap from the donors directly to the beneficiaries,” says Jessica O’Connor, property and logistics officer at Salesian Missions, the international development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Soapbox Soaps ensured the effectiveness of their donation by working with us to determine all the details of pricing and distribution beforehand.”

As a result of the donation, more than 140 boxes of soap—which will be used for personal hygiene—were provided to Salesian-run centers in Haiti. Salesians have been working in Haiti for many years and are positioned to enable organizations like SoapBox Soaps to reach people in need efficiently, even if the organization does not have an existing presence in the country.

Salesian Missions worked directly with the Salesian-run Rinaldi Foundation in Haiti to determine the brand, price and quantity of soap needed. Then, Salesian Missions made the request to Soapbox Soaps and coordinated the delivery to and distribution from Salesian centers in the country.

The World Health Organization estimates that close to two million people, mostly children under the age of five, die each year from hygiene and sanitation related illnesses. Most are from populations in developing countries who live in extreme poverty.

Since 2010, Haiti has experienced a deadly cholera outbreak and according to the United Nations, the country still hosts the largest number of suspected cholera cases worldwide with 698,893 cases and 8,540 deaths reported from October 2010 to the present. It is widely accepted that having access to clean water and soap is one of the best preventive measures.

“This donation is so vital to our programs in Haiti because it provides Salesian schools and homes for street children the ability to promote clean habits among the students and prevent the spread of disease in the institutions and local communities,” adds O’Connor. “By promoting the practices of washing and cleanliness, the Salesians not only teach students to care for their health and bodies, but also to respect themselves and have personal dignity.”

The donated soap is providing life-saving hygiene to several different Salesian-run sites in Haiti including the Lakay Center for Street Children, a school that brings youth in off the streets and offers them food, clothing, shelter and an education. Salesian institutions like Lakay then work to reintegrate youth back into society through a variety of education and workforce development initiatives.

“We started SoapBox to support amazing organizations like Salesian Missions,” says David Simnick, CEO of SoapBox Soaps,”Our whole mission is to empower customers with the ability to make the world a better place through everyday quality purchases.”

ABOUT SALESIAN MISSIONS WORK IN HAITI

Salesian Missions is the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, which has been serving Haiti for more than 75 years. Salesian Missions was instrumental in emergency response and relief efforts in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010. Salesians in the country were among the first responders—providing shelter and medical aid; means to securely transport, store and distribute relief supplies and clean drinking water; and, perhaps most importantly, an understanding of how to get things done in Haiti. Salesian work rebuilding as well as providing education and training continues in Haiti to this day.

Salesians in Haiti run elementary schools, secondary schools, vocational training institutes and colleges across the country. In addition, they provide shelter for homeless youth and programs for street children. Haiti is one of more than 130 countries around the globe where Salesians operate such programs. For more information, go to SalesianMissions.org.

ABOUT SOAPBOX SOAPS

SoapBox Soaps was founded in 2010 with a simple mission: to empower consumers to change the world through everyday, quality purchases. For every unit sold, the company gives to clean water, health, and hygiene initiatives in communities at home and around the globe.

All SoapBox products are vegan, gluten-free, and free of any parabens, petrochemicals, phthalates, SLS, and palm oil. SoapBox Soaps are all made in the USA, with 100% recyclable packaging. They are sold at Target, Whole Foods, Fresh Market, Harris Teeter and thousands of other retailers across the nation. for more information, go to www.SoapBoxSoaps.com.

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Sources

UN – UN Fact Sheet – Combating Cholera in Haiti

World Health Organization – Water supply, sanitation and hygiene development

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WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY: Salesian Teachers Provide Hope, Opportunity to More than One Million Students around the Globe

MissionNewswire — Sun, 05 Oct 2014 20:37:52 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions joins with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and many organizations around the globe to celebrate the 20th anniversary of World Teachers’ Day. The day honors the vital role that teachers play in the lives of their students.

Every year since 1994, UNESCO has celebrated Oct. 5 as World Teachers’ Day. The day was designated as a way to appreciate, assess and improve educators around the world. The theme for this year’s World Teachers’ Day is, “Invest in the Future, Invest in Teachers” and highlights the need for more rigorous training, better conditions for employment and quality-based teacher recruitment to attract new teachers, especially young people and women from under-represented communities.

According to UNESCO, one primary concern is the global shortage of teachers which has pressured many countries to hire educators with little or no training, undermining the educational progress of numerous school-age children around the world. UNCESCO notes that an additional 1.4 million teachers are needed to achieve universal primary education by 2015, the second of the eight anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals.

Teachers play an important role in the lives of poor youth in Salesian schools. Their work is vital to their students’ success both in and out of the classroom. Salesians educate more than 1 million youth in 3,200 primary and secondary schools and more than 800 vocational, technical and agricultural schools in more than 130 countries around the globe.

UNESCO also noted that quality teaching depends on teachers enjoying basic rights, such as protection from violence, academic freedom and the freedom to join independent unions.

Salesian teachers face many challenges educating poor youth. Many of their students have faced severe poverty and often lack basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter. Some were previously living and working on the streets and others have faced war as child soldiers or become refugees in war torn communities. Salesian teachers meet these challenges head on, providing education and hope for a brighter future.

“Teachers are the backbone of the Salesian educational system and we are dedicated to providing the support and training they need,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “The value of strong teachers can be seen in the accomplishments of youth that graduate from their classes. Salesians believe that access to education and highly qualified teachers is critical to help youth learn job skills, improve their lives and find a path out of poverty.”

Salesians in many of the poorest parts of the globe are dedicated to increasing the number of trained teachers where they are needed most. The United Nations notes that there is a huge need for well-trained and well-supported teachers, particularly in African and Arab countries. Not only are the Salesians a major employer of quality teachers around the globe, they also provide the training and certification these teachers need.

Recently, a new Salesian-run secondary school in Zambia was the setting for a meeting to mark the launch of a fast track teacher training program. The program is a collaboration between St. Eugene University and the Zambia Ministry of Education at Don Bosco Secondary School. Through this program, the Ministry of Education is upgrading the knowledge and certification of some 2000 teachers as a way of improving education standards in the country.

To address the shortage of qualified teachers in schools, the teacher training program will enable teachers on government sponsorship to upgrade from certificate to diploma and from diploma to degree level. St. Eugene University will provide the advanced degree education to teachers, many of whom are graduating from Salesian schools.

“Quality education depends on well-trained teachers,” adds Fr. Hyde. “Salesian teachers help prepare students to easily transition from Salesian primary schools into continued higher education where they can begin to focus on finding a career path and learning the skills necessary to lead a productive life.”

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Sources:

UNESCO – World Teacher’s Day 2014

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CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Salesian Centers Still Caring for More than 25,0000 Displaced

MissionNewswire — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 22:33:48 +0000

(MissionNewswire) More than 25,000 displaced people remain at a Salesian center in the Catholic diocese of Kaga-Bangoro in northern Central African Republic and another 500 at a Salesian center in Galabadja near Bangui, the capital city of the country. Even though violence has eased in several parts of the country, a lack of safe shelter and food as well as fear of the gunfire often heard outside the Salesian compounds, keeps people from leaving.

On September 15, 2014, the United Nations took over a regional African peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic. The UN command will increase the number of peacekeeping troops to 12,000 joining 4,800 African troops and 1,000 international police from the previous mission. The UN is also working to secure better financing and air support for the mission. Humanitarian groups noted that while the presence of African Union and French peacekeepers has helped deter some of the violence, it has not stopped attacks on civilians.

The new UN peacekeeping mission should improve protection for civilians in eastern and central parts of the country where sectarian violence has been increasing. UN peacekeepers are focusing on the protection of civilians and while working to build safe zones and support the country’s government.

Since violence broke out in December 2012 between Séléka rebels and Christian anti-balaka militia groups, thousands have died, more than 650,000 have been internally displaced (with more than 232,000 in the capital city of Bangui alone) and 300,000 have fled across the borders as refugees. According to the UN, close to 2.2 million people are in need of humanitarian aid.

In December 2013, a new wave of violence broke out in the city of Bangui sending people fleeing from their homes in search of safety and shelter. During the escalation of violence, communities were raided and homes burned. Salesian missionaries, who were already working in communities in the Central African Republic prior to the outbreak, reported at the time that a Salesian center in Galabadja had been host to 20,000 internally displaced people and one in Damala had taken in an estimated 50,000. Many displaced victims arrived at the Salesian centers injured and in desperate need of medical attention.

Because there was an influx of so many over a short period of time, resources were limited. Salesian missionaries partnered with Doctors Without Borders to convert one of the rooms at a Salesian center in Bangui into a small health facility. Doctors have been able to treat a variety of ailments suffered by those arriving at the center for the first time and those who have been sheltering there. Thanks to the Salesian center, Doctors Without Borders has had access to a safe work space, electricity, water and coordination of services, enabling them to carry out much needed emergency and ongoing health services.

While the situation has improved and many have left the shelter of Salesian centers, the situation remains precarious. Those still internally displaced are homeless and have no other source of shelter and food other than what’s provided at the Salesian centers. Education has also been virtually non-existent within the country as schools remain closed or without teachers. In Bangui, classes are expected to resume in October but it remains unclear when technical institutes and universities will resume classes.

Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, launched an emergency fund in December 2013 to assist with this and other emergencies in Africa. People who want to make a donation to help those in need can go to the donation page on SalesianMissions.org and select “African Crisis Fund.”

See related story:

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Salesians Providing Shelter, Aid to 20,000 People Fleeing Violent Attacks in the Central African Republic

(December 13, 2013)

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Sources:

ANS – Central African Republic – About 500 evacuees remain in the Salesian parish of Galabadja

United Nations – Central African Republic: Ban welcomes official deployment of UN mission

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PHILIPPINES: Salesian Missionaries Receive Praise from World Bank for Rebuilding Efforts after Typhoon Haiyan

MissionNewswire — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 20:23:32 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Less than a year after Typhoon Haiyan, also known as Typhoon Yolanda, devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, Salesian missionaries working in the region are noting steady progress in community rehabilitation and rebuilding.

The super typhoon, which struck on November 8, 2013, was one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded and the deadliest typhoon on record in the Philippines killing more than 6,200 people in that country alone. According to the United Nations, the super typhoon affected more than 13 million people overall. An estimated one million homes were destroyed and 4 million people were left homeless with close to 2.5 million of those displaced needing food assistance. More than 5 million of those affected were children, leaving 1.5 million children at risk of acute malnutrition, according to the UN World Food Program.

Initiated in the wake of the storm, the Don Bosco Adopt and Rebuild a Community Project (Don Bosco ARC) began replacing destroyed homes and buildings that were poorly constructed before the storm with ones that can withstand future weather events. To date, 50 homes have been completed, 50 more are in the process of construction and work contracts are in place for an additional 75 residential units. Ultimately, the Don Bosco ARC project will benefit 2,600 families on four separate islands.

The success of the program was recently highlighted by visiting representatives from the World Bank who were in the Philippines to learn more about climate change challenges in the country.

“Upon arriving in Barangay, where the Don Bosco ARC Project is underway, World Bank representatives confirmed that as of May 2014, no other permanent shelter reconstruction, other than the Salesian efforts, have been launched on the island,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Officials congratulated Salesian missionaries on the ground for a job well done — an honor they are now using to further propel their passion for their work, and for the Filipino people.”

Salesian missionaries in the Philippines have been working with vulnerable children and their families at Salesian schools, youth centers and community programs for many years and were positioned to be on the front lines of the relief efforts during, and immediately after, the typhoon. Salesian buildings in Cebu were named Official Help Centers and students, teachers, staff and volunteers worked alongside missionaries to collect, prepare and pack relief goods. In cooperation with the National Crisis Management Unit in the Philippines, 25,000 emergency kits were distributed in the days immediately following the storm.

Salesians in the country were also able to assist with the logistics of relief efforts which was identified by many aid experts as the greatest challenge. With experience working with the military to safely receive and transport relief supplies to those in need, Salesians in the Philippines provided crucial disaster relief support and coordination in the days and months following the storm.

“Because we have been working in the Philippines since 1950 and already have an established network in the affected areas, we are able to provide vital coordination and infrastructure support,” adds Fr. Hyde. “Our work did not stop in the immediate aftermath of the storm. Salesian relief efforts continue for those in need and reconstruction efforts are ongoing to help rebuild communities.”

As many lost their livelihoods in the wake of the storm, Salesians are also working on employment initiatives in the farming, livestock management and manufacturing sectors, among others, designed to jump-start the local economy. By integrating research, technological advancement and vocational training in these areas, Salesian programs aim to create sustainable, long-term entrepreneurship and employment opportunities which, in turn, will provide typhoon victims and vulnerable youth with financial security and hope for a better future.

Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, launched a “Philippines Typhoon Emergency” fund in response to the need. To give to that fund, to to SalesianMissions.org/typhoon.

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Sources:

Salesian Missions – All the World a Village

UN World Food Program – Philippines: Children In Typhoon-Hit Areas Get Nutritional Support

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PHILIPPINES: Salesians Continue Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Efforts in Wake of Super Typhoon

MissionNewswire — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 17:00:50 +0000

(MissionNewswire) On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, also known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. This super typhoon was one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded and the deadliest typhoon on record in the Philippines killing more than 6,200 people in that country alone.

According to the United Nations, in addition to killing thousands of people, the super typhoon affected more than 13 million overall. An estimated one million homes were destroyed and 4 million were left homeless. Among those who had been displaced, close to 2.5 million were in need of food assistance. More than 5 million of those affected were children, leaving 1.5 million children at risk of acute malnutrition, according to the UN World Food Program.

“Because we have been working in the Philippines since 1950 and already have an established network in the affected areas, we are able to provide vital coordination and infrastructure support,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Our work does not stop in the immediate aftermath of the storm. Salesian relief efforts continue for those in need and now reconstruction efforts are underway to rebuild communities.”

Today, eight months after the typhoon, Salesian rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts continue in the Philippines long after many other humanitarian organizations have left the country. The Salesian-run Haiyan Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project continues to deliver relief such as food, clothing, blankets, kitchen items and carpentry and agriculture tools as well as five gallon containers of fresh drinking water to many areas, especially remote areas hard hit by the storm.

Reconstruction of homes, schools and shelters has also continued. To date, Salesian organizations have delivered enough construction materials to aid more than 2,300 families in the rebuilding of their homes. More than 700 additional families will be receiving assistance with finding transitional homes and 50 out of 360 planned houses have already been constructed.

Salesians in the Philippines are also helping with the rebuilding efforts of residential and duplex storm shelters (often known as comfort rooms). Forty-six of 50 residential shelters have already been completed as well as 23 of the duplex storm shelters.

As many lost their livelihoods in the wake of the storm, Salesians are working to develop a plan to retrain those in need. Development of a proposal for a wood accessory and beads processing shop is underway and other projects focused on mechanized farming, plant nurseries and livestock dispersal are being studied for viability. In the meantime, Salesians have provided tools for 235 families and Don Bosco-Liloan in Cebu is spearheading a project to help improve the livelihoods of fisherman in the municipality of Madredijos on Bantayan Island.

Because the Philippines is prone to natural disasters, Salesians in the region are training their own staff in emergency response protocol before the next storm. Don Bosco Network members are documenting emergency response coordination in the first 48 hours after an emergency occurs as well as drawing up standard protocol for handling emergencies. These documents outline a basic strategy for Salesians providing professional assistance in case of emergency anywhere in the world.

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Sources:

Salesian Missions – Salesian Missions Supports Programs to Help 200,000 Families Affected by Typhoon

UN World Food Program – Philippines: Children In Typhoon-Hit Areas Get Nutritional Support

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GLOBAL: Salesian Missions Responds to UN Statement On Importance of Youth Workforce Development

MissionNewswire — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 17:24:11 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions has highlighted some of its youth workforce development programs in response to a recent United Nations (UN) report, which states that half the world’s population is under the age of 25 with close to 90 percent living in developing countries. According to the report, half of all young people in the labor force are either unemployed or part of the working poor. Many lack the education and skills training required to find meaningful livable wage employment.

Salesian Missions is the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, which is widely considered the largest private provider of vocational and technical training in the world. Programs focus on helping vulnerable youth in some of the poorest places on the planet by providing access to educational opportunities that match the local workforce development needs. This work directly impacts that areas of need identified by Secretary U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“I believe employment and decent work, particularly for young people, are the backbone of development. Yet we are facing a great test of our time—an epidemic of youth unemployment. In countries rich and poor, unemployment rates for young people are many times those of adults—and, of course, joblessness is the tip of the iceberg.”

In remarks to the UN International Labor Organizations in Geneva, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon urged governments as well as trade unions, employers’ organizations and the private sector at large to invest more in youth employment initiatives and engage with youth-led organizations. He also called for organizations to empower youth to obtain the skills necessary for employment and stressed the need for more gender equality in the workforce.

Working in more than 130 countries around the globe, Salesian missionaries focus on education and workforce development at more than 850 Salesian-run vocational, technical, professional and agricultural schools and programs. Youth are given the practical skills to prepare for meaningful employment while learning how to lead productive lives and become contributing adults in their communities.

In response to the UN Secretary General’s call-to-action, Salesian Missions has highlighted some of its programs dedicated to youth workforce development.

EL SALVADOR

Salesian-run Don Bosco University in San Salvador, El Salvador, made significant strides in its aircraft maintenance program. For the first time in the company’s history, FedEx donated a Boeing 727 aircraft to the university last July. The donated plane is providing hands-on training tool for hundreds of aviation students at Don Bosco University. Students will have the opportunity to take skills learned in the classroom and apply them while learning about the mechanical aspects of large aircraft. Don Bosco University has also has entered into a cooperative agreement with Broward College in Davie, Florida that will further the aviation program at the university.

INDIA

Located in eastern India, the Don Bosco Self Employment Research Institute in West Bengal is helping poor youth break the cycle of poverty by educating and rehabilitating school dropouts and providing them with access to livable wage employment and self-employment opportunities.

The Institute offers several vocational training programs including electrical house wiring, fabrication and welding, garment making, refrigeration and air conditioning, construction and information and communication technology. These programs are offered to both new students and those who have been working in their trades for years but have never received a formal education. Many are in need of updated training and additional certification in order to receive promotions or advance their own businesses.

SIERRA LEONE

Salesians at Don Bosco Fambul in Freetown, Sierra Leone, have been running a Girls Shelter for the past two years. Here, professional social workers and pastoral workers provide crisis intervention and follow-up care for girls and young women who have been the victims of sexual assault. Girls that access services at the shelter are also able to enroll in educational programs that are a part of the broader Don Bosco Fambul network. These educational programs train young women in the skills necessary to find and retain employment. As part of their rehabilitation at the Girls Shelter, the young women take coursework in hotel management, hairdressing and tailoring. The training helps to empower them to overcome the discrimination they have faced and gain a greater awareness of their rights. It also helps to build character while allowing the young women the freedom to make decisions that affect their lives, improve their health and boost their work prospects.

SUDAN

To meet the needs of the millions of out-of-school youth, Salesians in the Sudan are working to educate poor youth and provide them a path out of poverty. The Salesian-run Don Bosco Technical School in El Obeid, the capital of the state of North Kordofan in southern Sudan, has been providing services and educational opportunities for poor youth since 2001. Since its inception, more than 1000 youth have received education, training and workforce development services. Don Bosco Technical School offers a variety of programs to best meet the needs of the youth it serves. Soon after the school opened, one-year intensive training programs began in auto mechanics, general mechanics, welding, electricity, building, carpentry and plumbing. These programs trained students to become qualified professionals, ready to join the workforce. And with career counseling and job placement services provided once students complete their studies, close to 70 percent of the more than 600 graduates of these programs have found stable employment in their chosen fields.

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Sources:

UN – Ban urges greater investment to tackle global epidemic of youth unemployment

UN – Weak global economy strangling job employment creation, UN reports

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UNITED NATIONS: Ban urges greater investment to tackle global epidemic of youth unemployment

MissionNewswire — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 01:17:39 +0000

(United Nations) At a time when the international community is struggling to generate more jobs, especially for young people, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged Governments to invest more in youth employment initiatives and promote decent work for all.

“I believe employment and decent work, particularly for young people, are the backbone of development,” Mr. Ban said in his remarks to the UN International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva.

“Yet we are facing a great test of our time – an epidemic of youth unemployment,” he added.

Mr. Ban noted that half of the world’s young people in the labour force are either working poor or unemployed. The global youth unemployment situation is intolerable, particularly for young women.

“In countries rich and poor, unemployment rates for young people are many times those of adults – and, of course, joblessness is the tip of the iceberg,” he stated. “Many are stuck in low-wage work with no protection in the informal economy. Many others find that their schooling has not equipped them with the right tools for today’s job market.”

Half the world, said Mr. Ban, is under 25 years of age – nearly 90 per cent of them in developing countries. “These young people represent an enormous resource for innovation and development,” he stated.

“I have seen it again and again in my travels around the world – from social entrepreneurs developing smart, new business models … to young people creating green jobs and more sustainable economies … to youth leaders speaking out, and tweeting out, for change.”

In tackling the epidemic of global youth unemployment, the Secretary-General called on governments to invest more in youth employment initiatives and promote decent work.

He also urged trade unions, employers’ organizations and the private sector at large to empower more youth in their own structures and engage with youth-led organizations, noting that the private sector is key to job creation and that trade unions have a fundamental role in promoting and protecting young workers’ rights.

Turning to young people, he stated: “You are the largest youth generation the world has ever known. You are already active in your organizations and as part of governments, trade unions and the private sector.

“I count on your energy, your leadership and creativity, to realize change and sustainable development. The United Nations wants to partner with you. Decent jobs for youth are essential to the future we want. Let us work for a world where nobody is left behind, where everybody can have a decent work. And let us work for a better world for all.”

While in Geneva today, Mr. Ban met with Nabil Elaraby, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. They discussed the Syria crisis, including the priorities of humanitarian access and bringing the fighting to a halt, as well as the current search for a successor to Lakhdar Brahimi, the former joint Special Representative on the crisis.

They also exchanged views on the current state of the Middle East peace process, as well as on the ongoing crises in Iraq, Libya and Somalia, according to a read-out of the meeting.

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Photo: Visit of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to the International Labour Organization. Photos: ILO / Marcel Crozet

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UNITED NATIONS: As crises grow, UN humanitarian chief cites need for funding, access to ensure aid delivery

MissionNewswire — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 01:09:38 +0000

(United Nations) As the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance worldwide continues to grow, the top United Nations relief official today urged the international community to provide the requisite funding and access needed to enable aid workers to do their jobs effectively.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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REUTERS: “Massive emergency” as one in ten South Sudanese refugee children die in hospitals

MissionNewswire — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 12:58:24 +0000

(Thomson Reuters Foundation) – One in ten South Sudanese children admitted to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospitals for refugees in Ethiopia are dying, the medical charity said, warning that conditions are likely to worsen as seasonal rains set in.

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

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

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

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

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

FIGHTING OFF ILLNESSES

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

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

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

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

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

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

TRANSIT CAMPS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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by Katy Migiro

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

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REUTERS: Thousands Flee Gun Battle as Chad Withdraws From C. African Republic

MissionNewswire — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 16:23:38 +0000

(Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Thousands fled a gun battle between Chadian troops escorting a convoy of Muslim civilians and local militia in Central African Republic, Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Tuesday, as Chad completed a withdrawal of soldiers from its violence-ravaged neighbour.

Central African Republic has descended into chaos since the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition seized power a year ago. Its abuses on the majority Christian population triggered waves of revenge attacks, leading to thousands of deaths and displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians, including the majority of the country’s Muslims.

The Chadian troops were escorting the last 540 Muslim residents of the northwestern town of Bossangoa to Gore in Chad when militia attacked the convoy at night on April 11 as it passed through Boguila, around 310 miles (500 km) north of the capital Bangui.

The Chadian soldiers fought back, and three wounded were later admitted to MSF facilities in Boguila and Paoua.

“We witnessed the majority of the population fleeing in panic to the bush,” Stefano Argenziano, MSF head of mission in the country, said in a statement on Tuesday, estimating that around 7,000 people were displaced in the clash.

“We are worried that the gun battle may have resulted in more people being injured. For the moment we cannot access the area to verify if this is the case and evacuate the wounded,” Argenziano said.

The United Nations said earlier this month it was trying to urgently evacuate 19,000 Muslims from Bangui and other parts of Central African Republic who are surrounded by anti-balaka Christian militia threatening their lives.

Chadian troops, at the heart of African efforts to stabilise the country, have escorted convoys carrying tens of thousands of Muslims.

N’Djamena began withdrawing its troops from Central African Republic’s African Union peacekeeping mission, known as MISCA, earlier this month, however, following a series of violent incidents including an attack on a market that killed 30 civilians.

MISCA officers confirmed on Tuesday that Chad had competed its withdrawal and the AU mission and soldiers from a French intervention force had replaced them.

“They left with all their kit without waiting to be relieved,” said a MISCA commander whose Congolese troops had replaced the Chadians in the towns of Kabo and Batangafo.

The United Nations Security Council last week authorized the creation of a nearly 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force in the Central African Republic in a bid to end the violence. The U.N. operation will assume authority on Sept. 15 from the 5,600-strong MISCA force.

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by Crispin Dembassa-Kette

PHOTO: Children stand during rain in front of Saint Michel Catholic church in the town of Boda, Central African Republic, April 14, 2014. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

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UNITED NATIONS: World Must Help People of Central African Republic ‘Not Tomorrow – Today,’ Declares UN Chief

MissionNewswire — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 20:09:06 +0000

(United Nations) More than 70,000 people are now living in horrendous conditions crammed into the Central African Republic (CAR) Bangui airport – the lucky ones under weather-beaten tarps just yards from the runway. Others are in the open.

“Like its stranded airport refugees, the Central African Republic is in dire need of a ticket out of its misery,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in an op-ed today for The Washington Post on his recent trip to the country, where a 2012 rebel-led coup has given way to brutal sectarian violence and massive human rights violations that have in turn displaced hundreds of thousands of people and left 2.2 million- half the population- in need of humanitarian aid.

While protected by international troops, the displaced people are exposed to disease, malnutrition and untold horrors beyond the gates.

Food is scarce, malaria could spread and the rainy season will only exacerbate the problems.

“Women and men shared horrific accounts of gang rapes, extortion and brutality. One mother told me how young children have suddenly begun imitating adults with weapons,” elaborated the UN chief.

The past year has brought, in quick succession, the violent overthrow of the Government, the total collapse of State institutions and a descent into lawlessness and sectarian brutality.

Mr. Ban attested, “the implosion of the State has created a set of challenges that is undermining stability and security across an already-fragile region.”

As most of CAR’s minority Muslims have fled, ethno-religious cleansing is changing the country’s landscape.

“I met hundreds outside the Central Mosque in the devastated PK5 neighborhood of Bangui. The road outside was lined with trucks laden with their last possessions,” Mr. Ban said.

In a few scattered places, vulnerable communities have gathered in camps and protected zones – but they are in danger of attack and seized with one sole objective of escaping.

On veut la partition, read the signs: We want partition.

One young man explained that while they did not want to leave, they wouldn’t stay simply to die.

“People should not have to beg for partition in order to feel safe,” argued the Secretary-General.

In a country the size of Texas, about 8,000 African Union (AU) and French troops are all that stand between order and anarchy.

“They need help,” stressed Mr. Ban.

The Security Council has just approved the deployment of 10,000 troops and almost 2,000 police for a new United Nations peacekeeping mission for the Central African Republic.

This is a welcome and highly anticipated step by the Central Africans, but the mission will not fully deploy until September – and time is not on the side of the vulnerable.

“More security assistance is needed during this vital intervening period before the peacekeeping mission is fully operational,” Mr. Ban explained.

Until the UN peacekeepers are deployed, support for the AU and French forces is crucial. The Secretary-General has urged the European Union to provide troop reinforcements, which have already begun.

“Action must come on two other fronts as well,” said Mr. Ban.

The transitional Government needs immediate help, including support for getting police, judges and prison guards back to work.

At the same time, the country needs an inclusive political process to find the path to peace.

The UN chief exhorted, “accountability for atrocious human rights violations is central. The United Nations has sent a commission of inquiry to help advance the process. Religious leaders are also crucial to advancing dialogue and ensuring that evacuated people can return home.”

Mr. Ban travelled to the CAR en route to Rwanda for the 20th anniversary of the genocide.

“Before leaving, I told the Central African Republic leaders that they must heed the lessons of that epic tragedy, not repeat its mistakes,” Mr. Ban said.

One of the religious leaders spoke of the many difficulties facing the country, sharing his fear for the future.

“As I saw in Rwanda, communities that have gone through massive national trauma can learn to live together once more in relative harmony,” the Secretary-General said.

Mr. Ban made the case that Central Africans rekindle that spirit.

“With the support of the international community, the people of the Central African Republic can build a future of reconciliation and peace,” he said.

According to Mr. Ban, the international community has an opportunity to help – and an obligation to act.

“Not tomorrow – today,” the UN chief concluded.

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Photo: Internally displaced women and children at the main mosque in Bangui during Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visit. UN Photo/Evan Schneider

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CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Medical Supply Donation is Saving Lives Thanks to Ongoing Partnership between Salesian Missions, Stop Hunger Now

MissionNewswire — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 14:49:44 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Close to 300 people each week, the majority under the age of 15, are receiving life-saving medical aid at a Salesian-run center in the city of Bangui in the Central African Republic. The donation was made possible due to an ongoing partnership between Salesian Missions and Stop Hunger Now, an international relief organization that provides food and life‐saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable. Salesian Missions coordinates the overseas transport and in-country distribution, working to ensure vital supplies like these make it into the hands of those in need.

Since violence broke out in December 2012 in the Central African Republic between Séléka rebels and Christian anti-balaka militia groups, thousands have died, more than 650,000 have been internally displaced (with more than 232,000 in the capital city of Bangui alone) and 2.2 million people are in need of humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations.

In December 2013, a new wave of violence broke out in the city of Bangui sending people fleeing from their homes in search of safety and shelter. During the escalation of violence, communities have been raided and homes burned. There have also been reports of brutal attacks on women and children. Salesian missionaries, who were already working in communities in the Central African Republic prior to the outbreak, report that a Salesian center in Galabadja has been host to 20,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) and one in Damala has taken in an estimated 50,000 IDPs. Many displaced victims arrive at the Salesian centers injured and in desperate need of medical attention.

With the influx of so many over a short period of time, resources have been limited. A Salesian partnership with Doctors Without Borders has resulted in a local Salesian center receiving donations of medications and medical supplies to care for those internally displaced. Converting one of the rooms into a small health facility, doctors have been able to treat a variety of aliments in those arriving at the center for the first time and those who have been sheltering there.

Thanks to the Salesian center, Doctors Without Borders has had access to a safe work space, electricity, water and coordination of services, enabling them to carry out much needed emergency and ongoing health services. The donated medical supplies have allowed doctors to treat everything from knife and firearm wounds to contagious illnesses, infections and minor injuries.

“Many lives have been saved because of the work that Doctors Without Borders is doing at the Salesian center and thanks to this donation of critically needed medical supplies,” says Jessica O’Connor, property and logistics officer at the Salesian Missions Office for International Programs. “If people in Bangui did not have the access to medical care at the Salesian center, they would have few other opportunities. The injuries and the infirmities of our beneficiaries could have degenerated until death in many cases.”

Donated medical supplies that were not needed at the Salesian center and were more suited to services in a larger medical setting, were donated to a hospital in the city.

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

While the situation at Salesian centers in Bangui remains under control it is precarious and aid, particularly food aid, for those displaced is still needed.

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 in the humanitarian assistance for those displaced. Donations are urgently needed to get necessary medical, food and other life-saving supplies to those in Salesian centers. Since missionaries were already working in the affected communities, their response was immediate. As the Salesians 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 effort, go to www.SalesianMissions.org and select “African Crisis Emergency Fund” on the donate page.

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Photo: Juan Carlos Tomasi/MSF

Sources:

Salesian Missions Launches Emergency Fundraising Drive to Assist Missionaries Who Are Providing Shelter and Aid to 20,000 People Fleeing Violent Attacks in the Central African Republic

Salesians of Don Bosco, Province of St. Philip the Apostle E-Service Vol. 11, No. 37
March 13, 2014 – Article “Do You Remember Central Africa?”

UN – ‘Extremely grave’ situation in Central African Republic demands urgent action – UN official

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SYRIA: First United Nations Report on Children in Syria’s Civil War Paints Picture of ‘Unspeakable’ Horrors

MissionNewswire — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 14:58:01 +0000

(United Nations) 4 February 2014 – Syrian children have been subjected to “unspeakable” suffering in the nearly three years of civil war, with the Government and allied militia responsible for countless killings, maiming and torture, and the opposition for recruiting youngsters for combat and using terror tactics in civilian areas, according to the first United Nations report on the issue.

“Violations must come to an end now,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in the report, which was released yesterday to the Security Council. “I therefore urge all parties to the conflict to take, without delay, all measures to protect and uphold the rights of all children in Syria.”

The report, covering the period from 1 March 2011 to 15 November 2013, lists a raft of horrors that Syria’s children have suffered since the opposition first sought to oust President Bashar al-Assad, ranging from direct commission of abuse, including sexual violence, to more general violation of their rights from school closures and denial of access to humanitarian aid.

“The present report highlights that use of weaponry and military tactics that are disproportionate and indiscriminate by Government forces and associated militias has resulted in countless killings and the maiming of children, and has obstructed children’s access to education and health services,” Mr. Ban writes.

“Government forces have also been responsible for the arrest, arbitrary detention, ill treatment and torture of children. Armed opposition groups have been responsible for the recruitment and use of children both in combat and support roles, as well as for conducting military operations, including using terror tactics, in civilian-populated areas, leading to civilian casualties, including children.”

The report spotlights the disappearance of many children, notes that all parties to the conflict have seriously hampered the delivery of humanitarian assistance in areas most affected by the fighting, and warns that children have experienced a high level of distress as a result of witnessing the killing and injuring of members of their families and peers, or of being separated from their family and/or displaced.

Detailing the detention of children as young as 11 years old for alleged association with armed groups by Government forces in large-scale arrest campaigns, the reports says they were ill-treated and tortured to extract confessions or humiliate them or pressure a relative to surrender or confess.

“Ill treatment and acts tantamount to torture reportedly included beatings with metal cables, whips and wooden and metal batons; electric shock, including to the genitals; the ripping out of fingernails and toenails; sexual violence, including rape or threats of rape; mock executions; cigarette burns; sleep deprivation; solitary confinement; and exposure to the torture of relatives,” the report says.

“Reports indicate that children were also suspended from walls or ceilings by their wrists or other limbs, were forced to put their head, neck and legs through a tire while being beaten, and were tied to a board and beaten.

The report cites a 16-year-old boy as saying he witnessed his 14-year-old male friend being sexually assaulted and then killed, and notes other allegations that boys and in a few instances girls were raped. The 16-year-old said children and adults were beaten with metal bars, their fingernails pulled out, their fingers cut. “Or they were beaten with a hammer in the back, sometimes until death,” he added.

Allegations of sexual violence by opposition groups were also received, but the UN was unable to further investigate them due to lack of access, the report says.

It adds that opposition forces recruited and used both in support roles and for combat, while Government forces used children as human shields. It notes that during the first two years of the conflict, most killings and maiming of children were attributed to Government forces, but mainly due to increased access to heavy weapons and the use of terror tactics opposition groups increasingly engaged in such acts in 2013.

“Armed opposition groups also engaged in the summary execution of children,” it says, reporting that lack of access, including for security reasons, prevented the UN from systematic documentation.

Schools and hospitals have been disproportionally targeted by all parties, with indications that Government forces were the main perpetrators of attacks against hospitals and other health-care infrastructure, mainly opposition-run makeshift health facilities and of threats and attacks against medical personnel, according to the report.

“Injured opposition fighters and civilians, including children, admitted to Government hospitals in perceived pro-opposition areas in Aleppo, Dar’a, Homs and Idlib governorates were reportedly exposed to arrest, detention, ill treatment and acts tantamount to torture by civilian doctors, and/or elements of Government forces,” it says.

The UN also received reports on instances where opposition groups denied medical treatment to injured pro-Government fighters, or misused ambulances, including to cross Government checkpoints.

In his list of recommendations, Mr. Ban calls on all sides to stop all grave violations against children cited in the report, end all indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on civilian areas, including terror tactics, airstrikes, chemical weapons and heavy artillery, allow unimpeded humanitarian access, and immediately release abducted women and children.

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Photo: Syrian children shelter in the doorway of a house, amid gunfire and shelling, in a city affected by the conflict. UNICEF/NYHQ2012-0218/Alessio Romenzi

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ALERTNET: Typhoon Haiyan Exposes Hunger, Poverty in the Philippines

MissionNewswire — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 15:10:00 +0000

(AlertNet) – CABRASAN GUTI, Philippines – Evangeline Aloha lives in a small hut at the edge of the village, right next to jade green paddy fields that stretch as far as the eye can see. Her husband is a rice farmer but for three months each year, the family struggles to feed itself.

Evangeline’s husband, like all farmers in this small village in Leyte Province, central Philippines, does not own land and earns 50 pesos (a little over $1) a day. Usually, they get paid in rice and forage near their home for vegetables to eat. In between the harvest and the next planting season, he has no job.

“We don’t have any income after harvest. Farming is the only skill he has,” said the 36-year-old mother of two, cradling her two-year-old son outside her tarpaulin-roofed home.

Her 13-year-old son is still in Grade 3, which is usually for eight-year-olds, because financial struggles mean he had to keep dropping out of school.

Then Haiyan, the strongest storm on record to ever make landfall, struck central Philippines on Nov. 8. The family lost their roof, livestock and most of the few belongings they had.

Still, the temporary arrival of relief goods eased long-standing problems of malnutrition and food insecurity in the village where most have been living hand-to-mouth for years.

Now that the Alohas receive rice from the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP), the husband, who went back to work in December, is getting cash for his labour, which they save or use to buy meat or dried fish.

“We can now eat three meals a day instead of two,” Evangeline told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Fellow villager, Elena Andita, 28, said WFP’s high-energy biscuits and peanut-based fortified food helped her malnourished one year-old son to become stronger.

Yet existing inequalities, including lack of land ownership and entrenched poverty, are impossible to tackle through short-term emergency relief. Questions on how the government can or will address these remain, as the Philippines embarks on possibly the most ambitious reconstruction program in Southeast Asia since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

NUTRITION PROBLEMS

Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, left nearly 8,000 people dead or missing and some 4 million displaced from their homes. Evangeline said they survived by holding onto a tree, their two-year-old son tied to his father with a rope.

The storm also destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of planted crops, mainly rice – the main staple food in the Philippines – and the livelihoods of almost 6 million workers. Of these, 2.6 million were already in vulnerable employment and living on or near the poverty line even before the deadly storm, said the ILO.

Almost three months on, the 100-odd families in Cabrasan Guti, part of Tanauan Municipality in Leyte Province, are attempting to rebuild their livelihoods in whatever way they can. But they also say they will need external aid until they can begin to feed themselves again. Situated inland, the villagers cannot catch fish for sustenance, unlike their coastal neighbours.

Many typhoon-affected villages are in a similar position.

Stormy weather brought about by Tropical Depression Agaton in mid-January worsened the situation in parts of Haiyan-affected areas, destroying crops, forcing the displaced to move again, and further exacerbating the food security situation of typhoon-hit farmers.

In San Fernando district in Samar Province, half of what Angeles Grefiel planted was washed away by Agaton. The family had to use rice seeds provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which they had hoped to save till the next planting season.

Samir Wanmali, emergency coordinator with WFP, told Thomson Reuters Foundation access to nutritious food had always been a problem in the Philippines, especially in poor provinces such as Leyte and Samar.

“We’re talking about the fact that we have generations of children that have grown up without having proper access to the right types of food. Food that are high in protein and micronutrients, which allow them to grow properly,” he said.

“A natural disaster like this sort of exposes them further and so for us it’s really important that the focus goes from emergency to household food security and household livelihoods,” he added.

Evangeline said the last time she ate meat was on New Year’s Eve. If the aid stops or her husband gets paid in rice again, she will be forced to go back to foraging for food and, if need be, buying things on credit.

What if her children get sick, this correspondent asked.

“They don’t get sick,” she said firmly, shaking her head.

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Writing by Thin Lei Win on Mon, 3 Feb 2014 – Reuters / Trust.org

Photo: Evangeline Aloha, carrying her two-year-old son, walks to her home at the edge of Cabrasan Guti in the municipality of Tanauan, Leyte Province, Philippines, through coconut trees that fell over or were snapped in half by Typhoon Haiyan’s ferocious winds, January 23, 2014. THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION/Thin Lei Win

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UNITED NATIONS: As Crises Worsen, UN Weeks $99 Million More for Refugees in Central African Republic, South Sudan

MissionNewswire — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 18:07:47 +0000

(United Nations) Facing worsening refugee crises in strife-torn Central African Republic (CAR) and South Sudan, the United Nations today appealed for $99 million in additional funding to aid 1.3 million people for the next 100 days, less than three weeks after launching an initial $360-million appeal.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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UNITED NATIONS: South Sudan: UN Releases $15 Million in Urgent Aid but Peacekeeper Surge Will Take Longer

MissionNewswire — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 18:12:38 +0000

(United Nations) While the United Nations has released $15 million from its rapid response fund for immediate humanitarian operations in war-torn South Sudan, even amid “very substantial progress”, it could take up to eight weeks before the full 5,500-strong surge in UN peacekeepers and equipment is deployed on the ground.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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IRAQ: UN Seeks Urgent Safe Passage For Emergency Aid to Sar-Convulsed Anbar Province

MissionNewswire — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 16:16:07 +0000

(United Nations) Warning that the critical humanitarian situation in Iraq’s Anbar province is likely to worsen as fighting rages between Government forces and militias, the United Nations is working with national and regional authorities and its humanitarian partners to ensure safe passage for emergency aid to stranded and displaced families.

“The situation in Fallujah is particularly concerning as existing stocks of food, water and life-saving medicines begin to run out,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement in Baghdad.

“According to our preliminary assessment, over 5,000 families have fled the fighting and sought refuge in the neighbouring provinces of Karbala, Salahadine, Baghdad and elsewhere. The UN is working with the Ministry of Displacement and Migration to identify their needs and meet them immediately.”

Non-government organizations (NGOs) were quoted by media today as saying more than 13,000 families have fled Fallujah, where Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda are reported to have seized much of the city.

“There is a critical humanitarian situation in Anbar province which is likely to worsen as operations continue,” Mr. Mladenov said. “The UN agencies are working to identify the needs of the population and prepare medical supplies, food and non-food items for distribution if safe passage can be ensured. This remains a primary challenge.”

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Photo: Nickolay Mladenov, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of Mission, UNAMI. UN Photo

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UNITED NATIONS: Food Aid Resumes in Central African Republic after Machete Attacks Forced Three-Week Halt

MissionNewswire — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 22:50:21 +0000

(United Nations) The United Nations resumed food aid for some 100,000 displaced people in Bangui, capital of the strife-torn Central African Republic (CAR), for the first time in nearly three weeks since deliveries were suspended when machete-wielding men stormed the distribution site and food was stolen.

The UN World Food Program (WFP) distributed food, buckets, tarpaulins and water containers provided by other organizations at Bangui airport where an estimated 100,000 people have sought refuge, and plans to reach all the displaced people there within 10 days. The last food distribution took place on 18 December.

At the same time, WFP voiced deep concern at deteriorating security in the northwest of the country and urged all parties to the conflict to ensure safe access to people in need of assistance.

Thousands of people are estimated to have been killed, nearly 1 million driven from their homes, and 2.2 million, about half the population, need humanitarian aid in the conflict that erupted when mainly Muslim Séléka rebels launched attacks a year ago and forced President François Bozizé to flee in March.

A transitional government has since been entrusted with restoring peace and paving the way for democratic elections, but armed attacks between ex-Séléka and Christian anti-balaka militias have escalated significantly in the past two weeks.

Yesterday during a briefing, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman warned the Security Council that the situation in CAR risks escalating into sustained violence along religious lines and spilling beyond the country’s borders, further destabilizing the whole region.

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WFP has provided food assistance to more than 500,000 displaced people across the Central African Republic (CAR). Photo: WFP/Djaounsede Pardon Madjiangar

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UNITED NATIONS: Refugee exodus from strife-torn South Sudan picks up momentum, UN reports

MissionNewswire — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 22:48:29 +0000

(United Nations) As the fighting in parts of South Sudan grinds on between Government forces and rebels despite ceasefire talks, more and more civilians are fleeing to neighboring countries, with some 2,500 people a day now seeking refuge in Uganda, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) reported today.

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

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CAMBODIA: Expanded Youth Hostel and New Water Tower Bring Sustainability and Hope to Youth in Need

MissionNewswire — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 21:59:37 +0000

(MissionNewswire) With Cambodia’s long history of violence, almost a quarter of Cambodians still live in poverty, according to the World Bank. Many reside in the country’s most rural areas. Rural Cambodians make up about 80 percent of the population and have the most limited access to education, healthcare and other public services.

Today, close to a quarter of Cambodians over the age of 15 are illiterate. Seasonal food shortages leave close to 75 percent of the population without the proper nutrition they need. With very little access to education, poor youth find it especially challenging to break the cycle of poverty.

Salesians have a long history of working with poor youth in Cambodia. Continuing this work, the Don Bosco Technical School in Kep Province celebrated the official opening of an expanded youth hostel and a brand new water tower.

Currently there are 192 students at Don Bosco Technical School taking courses in audiovisual production, web development, IT & English, office administration, art communication, agriculture, electrical work and hotel skills. In the evening, informal courses are offered to youth from nearby villages in English language skills, computers and the internet. Gender equality is important at the school where every educational section is required to include both male and female students.

The Don Rua Youth Hostel on the campus of the technical school, has been in operation for some time now and was originally sponsored by the Sioch Group and the Government of the Netherlands. It was created to welcome groups of youth from other provinces coming to enjoy the hillside landscape and sea views of Kep while attending special meetings or vacationing. The hostel’s original mission has been preserved while expanding to include a school restaurant and stage on the ground floor and an art communication facility and hostel on the first floor. The school restaurant was possible thanks to the support of the European Patent Office and can hold more than 500 people.

The new Mary Help of Youth Water Tower is part of the Water System Project for the technical school and was made possible by donors through Don Bosco Mondo in Bonn, Germany. Its construction will guarantee water for this large educational community for years to come. Most people in the region utilize well water and this tower, constructed by a group of volunteers, will go significantly deeper than the average well and has two reserve tanks to hold additional water. Using green technologies, the water pump is generated by installed solar panels.

“Salesians are always looking to expand their services to meet the needs of local youth,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “It is more than just construction of new buildings, it is also program expansion to provide better and more diverse educational opportunities so youth can learn skills and trades to find employment and have hope for the future.”

The Salesians continue to make a difference in the lives of poor and marginalized youth throughout Cambodia. In partnership with the United Nations, they began providing technical vocational education to Cambodian refugees living in camps along the Thai-Cambodian border in the late 1980s. Later, Salesians partnered with the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Education to open seven vocational training centers. Currently, approximately 1,300 youth are enrolled in one and two year vocational training programs in Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh, Toul Kork, Teuk Thla, Battambang, Kep, and Poipet.

Sources

ANS – Cambodia – The official opening of the Don Rua Youth Hostel and the Mary Help of Youth Water Tower

World Bank – Cambodia

Don Bosco Cambodia

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WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY: UN says more teachers – better trained and supported – needed to reach education targets

MissionNewswire — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 19:55:29 +0000

(United Nations) There is a huge need for well-trained and well-supported teachers, United Nations officials today warned, marking World Teachers’ Day with a call for the recruitment of millions of professionals, particularly in African and Arab States worst hit by the teacher shortage.

Some 5.2 million teachers need to be hired worldwide to reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of achieving universal primary education by 2015, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported today, in a study to coincide with the Day. That figure includes 1.58 million new recruits and 3.66 million to replace those leaving the profession.

“The challenge goes beyond numbers – more teachers must mean better quality learning, through appropriate training and support,” the heads of four major UN agencies and a partner organization said in a joint message for World Teachers’ Day.

“Far too often, teachers remain under-qualified and poorly paid, with low status, and excluded from education policy matters and decisions that concern and affect them,” the officials added, calling for effective international action in support of national efforts to bolster teachers and education institutions, and improve education opportunities.

The joint message was issued by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova; UN International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General, Guy Ryder; UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, Helen Clark; UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director, Anthony Lake; and Fred van Leeuwen, the General Secretary of Education International (EI), which represents teachers’ organizations across the globe.

Fifty-seven million children of primary school age are absent from classrooms, according to UN figures. At the current rate, nearly half of those children will never enrol in school, and more than a quarter will start school late.

Many of those children who do enter school are failing to learn to read and write by the time they reach fourth grade, the officials noted.

“Learning is not possible without professional, well trained, well supported, accountable and valued teachers,” they stressed highlighting this year’s theme of World Teachers’ Day, “A call for teachers.”

According to the UNESCO study, about 58 per cent of countries currently do not have enough teachers in classrooms to achieve universal primary education, with the problems particularly bad in Sub-Saharan Africa and Arab States where by 2030, some 4.7 million teachers and 1.9 million, respectively.

This recruitment challenge was the focus of two parallel events held at UN offices the eve of World Teachers’ Day, one in Paris and another in New York, which brought together representatives of the UN, professional organizations, experts and researchers to launch a ‘Global Year of Action’ for quality education.

Addressing participants at the event hosted by UNICEF in New York and organized by EI, UN Special Envoy for Global Education, Gordon Brown, cautioned that “unless we are able to hire more teachers, we will have generations of people who are unemployed and unemployable.”

As the UN Special Envoy, Mr. Brown has been working with partners to galvanize support for the Global Education First Initiative, which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched last September, with the aim of putting every child in school, improving the quality of learning, and fostering global citizenship. The Initiative is hosted by UNESCO.

Mr. Brown said that two big changes happened in the past one to two years which make it imperative that the international community works collectively to focus on education – countries are realizing that they will not be successful unless they invest in education, and young boys and girls are standing up to demand education.

“Education is not only the way to unlock individual opportunity. It is not only the only way to break the cycle of poverty. But it is also the way that individual nations can become prosperous,” Mr. Brown said, calling for mobilization of the private sector, faith groups, civil society, young people and others to pressure domestic governments into further prioritizing education.

Participants also heard from Vibeke Jensen, Director of the Global Education First Initiative, who spoke on behalf of UNESCO, and stressed the importance of education in the post-2015 development agenda which was the focus of the high-level General Assembly debate which wrapped up earlier this week.

The Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Kishore Singh, is due to brief the UN General Assembly on education and the post-2015 agenda “soon”, he said in his remarks in New York.

In his speech, Mr. Singh stressed the importance of education for global citizenship. He noted that it is “the fundamental right of every boy and girl as an entitlement.”

Other speakers included Susan Hopgood, President of EI, who held a Maori tokotoko stick while addressing the audience to stress that she was speaking on behalf of a collective strength of 30 million educators.

She noted that quality education is based on quality teaching, quality tools for teaching and learning, and quality teaching and learning environments. With that aim, technology is not a threat to future education, but a means by which teaching can be improved, she said.

EI had announced last week an agreement with UN and other partners, to use technology to aid student curricula and teacher training. The announcement was made in a meeting with Mr. Ban and Mr. Brown on the sidelines of the General Assembly high-level debate.

Participants also heard from Josephine Bourne, Associate Director for Education at UNICEF, who shared the UN agency’s support for the new agreement on technology.

Earlier that day, Ms. Bokova and Mr. van Leeuwen had hosted a parallel event at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Princess Firyal of Jordan, and Assistant Director-General for Education, Qian Tang, were among the participants.

World Teachers’ Day, held annually since 1994, commemorates the anniversary of the signing in 1966 of the UNESCO-ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers, which essentially serves as a charter of rights for teachers. The Day also celebrates the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels.

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PHOTO: A teacher and student at a school in India. UNESCO/GMR Akash

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CAMBODIA: First Graduates of Salesian Vocational School in Battambang Have Brighter Futures

MissionNewswire — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 14:11:54 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Cambodia has a long history of violence and conflict that has driven up poverty rates in the country. Having moved past the troubles of the Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodia’s economy has been strengthening with particular growth in construction, tourism and agriculture. However, according to the World Bank, almost a quarter of Cambodians still live in poverty, many residing in the country’s most rural areas. And almost 75 percent of the population still faces seasonal food shortages.

Rural Cambodians make up about 80 percent of the population and have the most limited access to education, healthcare and other public services. Today, close to a quarter of Cambodians over the age of 15 are illiterate. With very little access to education, poor youth find it especially challenging to break the cycle of poverty and look toward a brighter future.

The Salesians have a long history of working to make a difference in the lives of poor and marginalized youth in Cambodia. In partnership with the United Nations, they began providing technical vocational education to Cambodian refugees living in camps along the Thai-Cambodian border in the late 1980s. Later, Salesians partnered with the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Education to open seven vocational training centers. Currently, approximately 1,300 youth are enrolled in one and two year vocational training programs in Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh, Toul Kork, Teuk Thla, Battambang, Kep, and Poipet. Students are trained in skills such as mechanics, welding, computers, printing and communications.

In August, the Salesian-run Vithayalai Don Bosco in Battambang celebrated its first official graduating class. The school, which first opened to students in 2000, was recognized this year as a formal educational institution. It has more than 565 students enrolled with 73 of those graduating from Grade 6 in the school’s first official graduation ceremony.

“Parents and other relatives were there to see their children graduate,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Many of these families did not have the same opportunities for education their children have today. Some are not able to read and write, so it is quite an accomplishment for their children to be successfully graduating.”

“Each of these students has the incredible potential to continue their studies and become leaders in Cambodia and later work to make sure that education can be available and accessible to all,” adds Fr. Hyde.

Speeches, student led musical performances and an awards ceremony marked the graduation exercises. The students were honored both for their academic achievements and for their talents in sports, singing, dance and the arts. Most of the students will carry what they have learned into further academic studies or successful employment.

“Not only is education about learning to read and write, it’s a the foundation for a career and a secure livelihood,” says Fr. Hyde. “There is new hope for these students and for their families.”

The Salesians are widely considered the world’s largest private provider of vocational training.

Cambodia is one of more than 130 countries around the globe where Salesians work to give hope and provide opportunity to vulnerable youth through education and skills training. Salesian Missions is the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, working to raise funds and develop programs to aid youth and families in some of the poorest places on earth.

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Sources:

World Bank – Cambodia

Don Bosco Cambodia

Vithayalai Don Bosco in Battambang

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UNITED NATIONS: UN Mission Welcomes Release of Children Recruited by Armed Group in DR Congo

MissionNewswire — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 16:36:12 +0000

(United Nations) The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has welcomed the release of 82 children from the Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga armed group through the joint efforts of aid agencies working in the country.

The children – 69 boys and 13 girls between the ages of 8 and 17 – had reportedly been recruited during the past six months by elements of Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga, according to a news release issued by the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in DRC (MONUSCO).

They were identified and separated through concerted efforts by child protection agencies working together in Kibwela, Moba Territory, and Kayumba, Manono Territory – all in Katanga province. About half of the children were immediately reunited with their families, while the others are receiving interim care pending reunification.

“We are extremely concerned by continued reports of active recruitment by Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga and other armed groups in eastern DRC,” said Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of MONUSCO.

“Children face unacceptable risks when they are recruited for military purposes,” he noted. “The recruitment of children, particularly those under 15 years of age, could constitute a war crime and those responsible must be held to account.”

The mission stated that, since the beginning of the year, 163 children have been separated from Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga by MONUSCO and child protection partners.

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Photo: MONUSCO/Myriam Asmani

Original news release >

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INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Programs Around the Globe that Empower Youth Migrants, Shape Brighter Futures

MissionNewswire — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 20:05:43 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Marking International Youth Day, Salesian Missions joins the United Nations and other organizations around the globe in highlighting the plight and the contributions of young migrants, who often face difficult living conditions away from their homes.

Celebrated each year on August 12, the day was established by the United Nations to raise awareness of issues affecting young people around the world. This year’s theme –“Youth Migration: Moving Development Forward” – is in response to the challenges and opportunities raised by the estimated 27 million youth migrants around the world. According to the United Nations, young people aged 15 to 24 make up more than 10 percent of the 240 million international migrants.

Many of these young migrants are forced to flee from poverty or war. Nearly all of them are searching for better opportunities and safer environments.

Upon arrival in new surroundings, migrants often lack the education and skills needed to survive, and many are homeless. Sometimes young people are left behind by migrating parents and face psychological and social challenges as well as greater vulnerability.

Salesians working around the globe focus on meeting the specific needs of youth facing these challenges. From homeless shelters and youth centers for street children to education and vocational training designed specifically for refugees – the Salesians provide not only a safety net but successful solutions to end the cycle of poverty.

Widely regarded as the largest private provider of vocational and technical training—and working in more than 130 countries around the globe—the Salesians are positioned to make a big impact in the area of youth migration. Already embedded in their local communities, Salesians are able to help refugees who are often seen as “outsiders.”

RURAL COMMUNITIES, AGRICULTURE & YOUTH MIGRATION

To fight the patterns of migration that decimate rural villages in some of the poorest places on the planet, Salesian Missions works to develop programs focused on sustainable agriculture while also improving local economic opportunities. By improving conditions in villages, the local youth there are less likely to migrate to urban areas where they too often join other youth in homelessness and a cycle of poverty and violence.

In Kenya, agricultural training has made a significant difference at the Kakuma Refugee Camp. There, a demonstration farm enables training in agriculture skills while producing fresh fruit and vegetables to feed the refugees and inhabitants of the camp. Agricultural skills are also an important component at the Bosco Boys Kuwinda facility. There, students receive training in the raising and care of livestock including poultry, cows and pigs, as well as in the growing and tending of vegetable gardens. Eggs and meat are sold from the farm to help support the project and all of the milk produced is consumed by the community.

In Ecuador, through a Salesian Missions’ microfinance credit program, indigenous and rural populations have access to funds for agricultural and microbusiness activities. Currently, 12,000 people are taking advantage of this opportunity in 85 different communities.

In Cambodia, the Salesian-run Pascual Gentilini Agricultural School recently celebrated its 85th year teaching agricultural skills to poor youth. The school’s curriculum includes lessons in community service, vegetable gardening, cooking, maintenance, music, annual crops, cultivation of tea, fruit farming, zootechnics, bee-keeping, cattle-raising, leadership training and social work. Agricultural technical training encompasses one to six years of study. The school’s students are enthusiastic and eager to learn modern methods of farming together with business management.

WAR, VIOLENCE & YOUTH MIGRATION

Salesian Missions has developed programs to empower youth migrants with funding support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

Since 1983, ethnic violence in Sri Lanka has forced tens of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils from their homeland in search of safety and a new life in Tamil Nadu, India. Since 2010, Salesian Missions has provided a vocational and entrepreneurial program for young male and female Sri Lankan refugees who have been living in refugee camps in 15 target districts in India. In June 2013, 860 refugees graduated from this program. Half of these students attended a Salesian technical and vocational training center, learning job skills in electrical work, woodworking, computer technology and other similar trades.

In recent years, more than 450,000 people have fled from violence in Colombia to neighboring Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama and Costa Rica. Salesian Missions’ “New Beginnings” initiative, which started in 2011, has worked with more than 1,000 Colombian refugees in these four countries to provide vocational and human development training as well as job placement services. Many of the Colombian refugees had few marketable skills but the “New Beginnings” program allowed them the opportunity to start over and build a stable, hopeful future for themselves and their families. Through the program, each refugee student received 260 hours of technical training as well as job placement services.

“The United States takes great pride in our commitment to the rights of migrants to realize educational and professional opportunities in their new homes,” the State Department said in an official statement.

RESHAPING THE FUTURE

“It is important to emphasize the positive contribution young migrants make to societies of origin, transit and destination – economically and by enriching the social and cultural fabric. Most work hard to earn a living and improve their circumstances,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the Day.

Young people have the potential to change negative societal patterns of behavior and break cycles of violence and discrimination that pass from one generation to the next. Salesian Missions remains committed to providing education, opportunities and hope to the world’s most vulnerable youth to help end the cycle of poverty which builds better lives and stronger communities.

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Sources:

UNICEF
http://www.unicef.org/programme/youth_day/partner.htm

United Nations
http://www.unworldyouthreport.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84&Itemid=180

U.S. Department of State
http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/08/213041.htm

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DR CONGO: Reuters Photographer Captures Life at Center Where Salesians Care for More than 3,000 Abandoned Children, HIV/AIDS Victims

MissionNewswire — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 20:50:53 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Reuters photographer Thomas Mukoya captured a day in the life of abandoned children and at-risk youth at a Salesian-run center in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mukoya initially traveled to the area to cover stories related to the proposed disarmament process by the United Nations (which has yet to happen). Instread, he decided to focus his attention, and his lens, on children affected by the instability in the region. His research brought him to the Salesian-run Don Bosco Ngangi community center in Goma.

Children are extremely vulnerable when it comes to civil war and violence. Many were abandoned during the recent fighting between the Congolese army (known as the FARDC) and the M23 rebels. For many of these abandoned children, Don Bosco Ngangi has become a safe haven.

Established in 1988, Don Bosco Ngangi hosts more than 3,000 abandoned children and HIV/AIDS victims. According to Father Piero Gavioli, the center’s director, young victims with nowhere else to turn continue to arrive at the center.

“Father Gavioli told me that when the rebels took over Goma in December 2012, the center was not affected,” said Mukoya. “Not a single bullet was fired towards the facility that played host to running refugees from the different villages of North Kivu. The work happening at the center is very important.”

Father Gavioli—who Mukoya described as having a “very kind personality”—gave the Reuters photographer a tour of the facility, including the kitchen where dinner was being prepared, the outside space where groups of older kids were playing and laughing and a nursery where young orphans were being cared for by the Salesians.

“Immediately entering the children’s room I was touched by this 18 month old child named Imani,” said Mukoya.

The toddler, whose name translates to “Faith” in English, was “playing in his baby-cot and always smiled to the camera,” he added.

“The children are gorgeous and it was moving to see how much they liked visitors and were interested in my cameras,” Mukoya said. “I was inspired by the way young children lived and played together as a family.”

The photos were initially posted on Trust.org, a site of the Thompson Reuters Foundation.

THOMAS MUKOYA’S PHOTOS ARE BELOW:

(ABOVE) An abandoned child drinks milk at the Don Bosco Ngangi community center in Goma, North Kivu region. (August 6, 2013) REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

(ABOVE) Abandoned children play at the Don Bosco Ngangi community center in Goma, North Kivu region. (August 6, 2013) REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

(ABOVE) Michelle Sodiki, an abandoned child, rests in his cot at the Don Bosco Ngangi community center in Goma, North Kivu region. (August 6, 2013) REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

(ABOVE) A youth jumps through the air as he plays at the Don Bosco Ngangi community center in Goma, North Kivu region. (August 6, 2013) REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

(ABOVE) Imani, an abandoned child, plays in his cot at the Don Bosco Ngangi community center in Goma, North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. (August 6, 2013) REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

(ABOVE) A worker prepares food “ugali” at the Don Bosco Ngangi community center in Goma, North Kivu region. (August 6, 2013) REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

(LEFT) A medic treats an abandoned child at the Don Bosco Ngangi community center in Goma, North Kivu region. (August 6, 2013) REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

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UNITED NATIONS: Chief Hears Concerns from Young People Across the World

MissionNewswire — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 16:33:30 +0000

(United Nations) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today held an interactive dialogue with young people across the world and launched an online United Nations Platform for Youth in conjunction with his Special Envoy on this issue.

“Your generation is the largest the world has ever known,” Mr. Ban told young people taking part in the Global Interactive Dialogue on UN Youth Initiatives. “The tools at your disposal for communicating and acting are unprecedented. But so are the challenges – from growing inequalities and shrinking opportunities, to the threats of climate change and environmental degradation.”

Mr. Ban’s Five-Year Action Plan has as one of its priorities working for and with young people. As part of this commitment, Mr. Ban appointed his first ever Envoy on Youth, Ahmad Alhendawi, earlier this year.

I am fully committed to working with youth and exploring how you can contribute more to creating a sustainable, equitable future of opportunity and dignity for all.

“Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi is working with different UN entities, governments, civil society, academia and the media to empower youth within and outside the UN system,” Mr. Ban said, adding that Mr. Alhendawi’s website, launched today, will also serve as an Online Platform for Youth, through which young people can voice their concerns to the UN.

“I am fully committed to working with youth and exploring how you can contribute more to creating a sustainable, equitable future of opportunity and dignity for all,” Mr. Ban said.

He added that Mr. Alhendawi is working with the UN Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development to bring all parts of the UN together under an action plan for youth.

The plan, which is partly based on the My World survey carried out among thousands of youth from around the world earlier this year, focuses on five thematic areas: employment and entrepreneurship; political inclusion; civic engagement and protection of rights; education, including comprehensive sexual education; and health.

Other initiatives include UN youth volunteer programmes and forums where youth can engage with the UN at the national, regional and global levels.

The interactive dialogue also features the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Babatunde Osotimehin; the Acting Head of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Lakshmi Puri; the Special Representative of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on Youth and Social Inclusion, Charles Dan; and the Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Arab States of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Sima Bahous.

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ITALY: Refugee Program in Rome Helps Youth Find Work, Overcome Integration Barriers

MissionNewswire — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 22:04:53 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Refugees often face overwhelming challenges adapting to a new country. Many leave almost all of their possessions and everything familiar behind. Language barriers, difficulties integrating into a new community, handling distrust on the part of others and a lack of recognition of their qualifications and competence are often daily challenges. One of the greatest challenges is finding work.

The United Nations noted that at the end of 2012, there were 43.7 million refugees globally, almost 80 percent of whom are women and children who face daily challenges integrating into their new communities.

A new Salesian program, Porto di Terra, is helping young refugees at the Salesian House of Sacro Cuore in Marsala, Rome. The program, which started in April 2012 and is slated to run through March 2014, assists with the social integration of refugees into their new communities while teaching them new skills and helping them find stable employment.

Many of these refugees are youth who were forced to flee their own countries because of war, famine and other forms of violence and persecution. They come to Rome to ask the Italian Government for recognition and some form of protection. Challenges with integration begin almost as soon as they arrive.

“Our objective is to contribute to the training of the younger generation both Italian-born and foreign, to help their skills training in order to enable them to emerge from situations of disadvantage, marginalization and social difficulty,” says a representative of Alleanza Toro, an insurance company that is helping to fund the program. “It is also our aim to offer assistance and support to families with children in difficult situations of sickness or crisis.”

Close to 120 youth are currently taking part in the program. They are provided Italian language courses, driving instruction, computer workshops and courses for school certification. In addition, professionals work with the refugees as guidance counselors, assessing previous knowledge and experience in order to select the best training program for each individual.

The program also helps the refugees find employment. It aims to place at least ten of its students in local businesses to gain work experience, enabling them to acquire a trade and find later employment.

“Refugees face many barriers when they are forced to leave their homelands for new countries,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Once arriving they may be safer than they were but new challenges arise. Programs like these help refugees navigate their new environment, build important social and professional connections and find stable employment which leads to success and stability in their new homes.”

In addition to the funding from Alleanza Toro, the project is made possible by Salesian Social Services in collaboration with the Salesian Community at Sacro Cuore, the Association CNOS-FAP for the Lazio Region and the Missionary Sisters of the Risen Christ.

Italy is one of more than 130 countries where the Salesians work to give hope and opportunity through skills training and other programs for vulnerable youth. Learn more on at www.salesianmissions.org.

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Sources:

ANS – Italy – Porto di Terra project

UNHCR – World Refugee Day 2013

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UNITED NATIONS: Diverse Partnerships Key to Solving Sustainable Development Challenges, UN Forum Told

MissionNewswire — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:43:34 +0000

(United Nations) The United Nations is looking to harness the benefits of science, technology and innovation to create jobs, end poverty, reduce inequality and address other challenges in sustainable development, senior officials today told UN partners in a special event during the 1,000 Days of Action for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

“I appreciate this opportunity to discuss the overarching global challenge of sustainable development – and how we can bring all partners together to advance this cause,”Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his remarks at the UN Headquarters in New York entitled ‘Partnering for Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Development.’

The special ECOSOC event is organized by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Office for Partnerships, the UN Global Compact and the Global Partnerships Forum.

The event brought together these bodies as well as Member States, the private sector, foundations and civil society to boost efforts towards reaching the MDGs by the target deadline and to promote thinking on the post-2015 sustainable development agenda.

“Technological learning and innovation capacity is critical to enable the provision of essential amenities to all and is therefore fundamental to ensuring overall sustainable development,” Néstor Osorio, president of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) said in his opening remarks.

“The absence of such capabilities results in limitations to application of existing technologies in all sectors, including those of public importance such as health, education, agriculture and climate change, to name but a few,” Mr. Osorio continued.

He noted that the messages emerging in today’s meeting dovetail with the key outcomes of yesterday’s ECOSOC Development Cooperation Forum special policy dialogue on private philanthropic foundations in the post-2015 setting.

“To achieve robust development results in future, a renewed global partnership for development must embrace diversity and recognize the roles of all stakeholders, including those of philanthropic organizations,” Mr. Osorio said to that group.

Today’s event features policy dialogues held in the morning and “partnerships clinics” in the afternoon focusing on potential solutions to development challenges facing Africa, as well as a keynote address from Mo Ibrahim, Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which awards a prize for good governance and leadership in Africa.

Given the importance of partnerships in the UN’s work, Mr. Ban announced today that he will propose the creation of a new UN Partnership Facility “to capture the full potential for partnership.”

“The Facility would help us deliver at scale – globally and at country level– across the range of UN mandates, goals and values,” Mr. Ban said. He added that the UN agencies, funds, programs and departments would continue to conduct the majority of related activities, but the Facility would strategically and systematically fill in any gaps, as well as build and strengthen partnership services.

The recommendations from today’s events will be presented to ECOSOC’s high-level ministerial meeting in July.

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See this United Nations article at its original location >

Photo: ECOSOC discusses ‘Partnering for Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Development.’ UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

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ALERTNET: Quarter of Somalis Still Rely on Aid Despite Weakening of Shabaab

MissionNewswire — Thu, 02 May 2013 20:15:29 +0000

(AlertNet) – About a quarter of Somalia’s population still need aid to keep them from starvation and rebuild their livelihoods, even though much of the country has been stabilized by a campaign to drive back Islamist militants, the United Nations said on Thursday.

A United Nations report said around 260,000 people, half of them children, had died between 2010 and 2012 in a famine that had been exacerbated and kept out of view by the al Shabaab group, who at the time controlled large swathes of Somalia.

The militants have since been pushed back, mainly by African peacekeeping troops, although parts of the countryside remain under al Shabaab’s control or influence.

Somalia has been making a slow recovery and a new federal government is now in place in Mogadishu, but diplomats say the gains are fragile. Militants still stage attacks and aid workers say many Somalis still live a hand-to-mouth existence.

As well as bemoaning the restrictions that al Shabaab had placed on relief efforts in 2010-12, the United Nations said it had learned lessons from the famine that should ensure better help for the 2.7 million Somalis still reliant on outside help.

“Warnings that began as far back as the drought in 2010 did not trigger sufficient early action,” U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement.

“In the worst-affected areas, access to people in need was tremendously difficult,” he said, explaining in a news conference relayed from Mogadishu that famine-affected areas in south and central Somalia had been under al Shabaab control.

“We have been working with our partners to change the way we operate,” he said, adding that this involved better coordination between agencies providing health services, clean water and other support to improve resilience against future disasters.

Restoring order and rebuilding the economy are seen as vital to preventing a return to the war and anarchy of the past two decades that made Somalia a base for piracy in the Indian Ocean and a regional launchpad for Islamist militants.

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Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Kevin Liffey – Reuters / Trust.org

UN PHOTO/Stuart Price

See this Article at its original location >

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UNICEF: Children in Somalia to Receive New Vaccination Against Deadly Diseases

MissionNewswire — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:23:57 +0000

(UNICEF) The Somali authorities have launched today a new five-in-one-vaccine against several potentially fatal childhood diseases which could save thousands of young lives.

From today, Somali children will receive the Pentavalent vaccine, a combination of five vaccines in one against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), Hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib – the bacteria that causes meningitis, pneumonia and other illnesses), all of which are highly prevalent. The vaccine will be part of the routine immunization program.

More than 1.3 million doses of Pentavalent vaccine have been provided to Somalia for 2013 and will be used to immunize children under one year of age. Pentavalent vaccines will be delivered to the 425,000 child born each year in Somalia through existing health structures as well as community health workers at district level. Each child will require three doses of the vaccine.

The launch of the new vaccine takes place in Mogadishu, Garowe (Puntland) and Hargeisa (Somaliland) and will be attended by leading government officials and representatives from GAVI Alliance, UNICEF and WHO.

“Somalia has one of the lowest immunization rates in the world,” said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance. “The country’s health system has been destroyed after more than 20 years of conflict and thousands of children are not protected against major killer diseases. This situation is unacceptable and that’s why GAVI and its donors have committed substantial funding to Somalia until 2016.”

The launch of the vaccine is being accompanied by an outreach campaign to make parents aware of the importance of the new vaccine which replaces the DTP vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough). A recent household survey (Multiple-Indicator Cluster Survey – MICS4) carried out by UNICEF and the relevant Ministries, found only seven percent of children in Puntland and 11 percent of children in Somaliland had received the required three doses of DTP by their first birthday.

“It is crucial that this vaccine reaches every Somali child in the country,” said Sikander Khan, UNICEF Somalia Representative. “We urge all parents, community, traditional and religious leaders to participate in the immunization activity, to ensure all children of Somalia can benefit from the protection offered”.

Continued conflict in Somalia has resulted in the country having some of the worst health indicators in the world. Child and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world; one in every five Somali children dies before their fifth birthday.

The introduction of Pentavalent vaccine means that the children will for the first time be protected against one of the causes of pneumonia, which is one of the leading causes of child deaths. It is the first time in 35 years that children in Somalia are being offered a vaccination that protects them against additional diseases apart from diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, measles, polio and tuberculosis which they already receive.

“Both Haemophilus influenzae type B and Hepatitis B are of public health importance,” said Dr. Marthe Everard, World Health Organization Representative in Somalia. “There is little data on the epidemiologic burden of Hepatitis B and Hib disease, or on the burden of diseases from meningitis or pneumonia, but data from neighbouring countries and the developing world indicate that Hib is a leading cause of acute bacterial meningitis and an important cause of severe pneumonia.”

Somalia is the 71st GAVI-eligible country to introduce the Pentavalent vaccine – others include Afghanistan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, East Timor, Pakistan or Yemen. By the end of 2014, all 73 GAVI-eligible countries will have introduced it.

The launch of the five-in-one Pentavalent vaccine in Somalia takes place during the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi, co-hosted by His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General. In partnership with GAVI, the Summit will celebrate progress in immunizing children against polio and other life-threatening diseases.

The launch coincides with World Immunization Week as well as the African Vaccination Week. During this week, UNICEF and WHO will conduct a nationwide polio immunization campaign in Somalia to protect children from life-long paralysis caused by the disease.

Note

Hib is a deadly bacterium which is the third biggest cause of vaccine-preventable death in children aged under five worldwide. Hib causes a variety of diseases including meningitis and pneumonia with survivors suffering paralysis, deafness and learning disabilities. Hib disease can be transmitted through contact with mucus or droplets from the nose and throat of an infected person.

HepB is a viral infection that is more than 50 times more infectious than HIV and which claims 600,000 lives every year through chronic or acute liver infections. Babies and young children are most at risk from Hep B, with the virus often passing from mother to child before or shortly after birth, and putting victims at high risk of death from cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer in later life.

About GAVI Alliance

The GAVI Alliance is a public-private partnership committed to saving children’s lives and protecting people’s health by increasing access to immunization in developing countries. The Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. GAVI uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and adequate supply of quality vaccines. Since 2000, GAVI has financed the immunization of an additional 370 million children and prevented more than 5.5 million premature deaths. Learn more at www.gavialliance.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

In June 2012, the Governments of Ethiopia, India and the United States with UNICEF launched a global roadmap to end preventable deaths of children under the age of five. Since then, under the banner of Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed, more than 170 countries have signed up and renewed their commitment to child survival.

About WHO

WHO helps countries integrate immunization into national health policies and plans and thus increase access to existing vaccines. The Organization promotes new vaccines and new initiatives such as the integrated plan to end preventable child deaths worldwide from pneumonia and diarrhoea by 2025. It works to ensure access to quality vaccines and immunization equipment, notably through the prequalification of vaccines and immunization equipment. WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.

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ALERTNET: Women are Silver Bullet to Ending Extreme Poverty, Says UNDP Head

MissionNewswire — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:13:32 +0000

(Thomas Reuters Foundation) WASHINGTON – Improving political, economic and social opportunities for women is the single most important step countries can take to end extreme poverty worldwide by 2030, the head of the United Nations Development Program said.

Sustained economic growth certainly is needed, especially after the financial crisis that pushed 400 million people back below subsistence level. But growth alone will not lift up the estimated 1.5 billion people, almost one fifth of the world’s population, who live on less than $1.25 a day, a group the UN and the World Bank are targeting to eliminate extreme poverty, Helen Clark, UNDP administrator, said in an interview.

“The silver bullet is equal rights for women and girls, and that has to figure prominently,” said the former prime minister of New Zealand and the first woman to head the agency.

“Just headline GDP growth won’t do it. You have to target poverty, you have to target inequality. That means bringing in all the people who are excluded. Women are so often excluded, and people with disabilities, minorities in societies, people pushed to the fringes,” Clark said.

The scorecard for the Millennium Development Goals, the blueprint signed by 193 nations for tackling extreme poverty by 2015, shows that the least progress has been made on women’s issues. On Goal 3 for achieving Gender Equality, for instance, women’s equal representation in national parliaments has either stagnated or gone backward since 2000. Similarly Goal 5 on improving material health shows lowering maternal death rates has stalled in every region except eastern Africa and central Asia.

Clark called it “no surprise” that maternal mortality is furthest from reaching its goal. It reflects a failure to understand the widespread impact that holding back women from full social, economic and political engagement has on development outcomes. For example, if girls marry young, they lose out on education and are more likely to face health problems and poverty.

Take Ghana. It declared women dying in childbirth a national emergency and gave pregnant women free access to health care and free transport to maternity centres. Yet its maternal death rate remains high, significantly among 12- to 15-year-olds — girls marrying too young to bear children safely, Clark said.

Agriculture is another area where a woman-focused development approach would make a difference to poverty rates, she said. UNDP research shows that about 80 percent of the world’s agricultural workers are women. Giving women access to credit would allow them to buy fertilizers to increase crop yields, feed their families and lift 100-150 million people from hunger, the United Nations and the World Bank estimate.

Today about six out of 10 of the world’s poorest people are women and 75 percent of women globally cannot get bank loans because they have no property rights or have unpaid or insecure jobs. Yet they are more likely to pay back loans then men, and more likely to invest extra cash in their families, improving their health, education and welfare, World Bank research has shown.

These are some of the reasons why Clark wants women’s rights to have a central place in the next set of UN development goals. Gender equality, despite being built into the design of UNDP programs, is “not trendy enough”, and countries too often set targets that are not sufficiently ambitious, she said.

FRAGILE STATES

The greatest threat to the UN’s goal of ending extreme poverty is conflict and fragile states, said Clark, who has headed the UNDP agency since 2009. Huge strides India is making to reduce poverty will bear fruit in the next decade, but millions of people who live in regions riven by ethnic, religious or resource conflict could still be left behind, she said.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim already have identified fragile states as priorities, and they recently announced a joint trip to the Great Lakes region of central Africa with the goal of focusing their resources in a coordinated way on addressing the humanitarian disaster left from five years of conflict in the mineral-rich area. The coordinated effort is intended to pave the way for the private sector to enter conflict regions quickly once they are stabilized.

Clark said UNDP’s role is to help develop governmental institutions, build justice systems and advise on social programmes. Her agency also will be pouring more resources into extractive industry governance to help communities better use the revenues they earn from oil, gas, mining and timber resources, and reduce conflict.

But she sees no quick results, and calls conflict areas one of the hardest development challenges. “It is the tough stuff, and there is no substitute for strong government leadership.”

Indeed the UNDP’s latest Human Development Report released last month identified a strong state government with a vision as one of three essential ingredients for achieving sustained development and reducing inequality that reduces the likelihood of conflict. The others were tapping into global markets, often by opening up gradually and in some instances protecting national industries as they develop; and an impressive level of public investment in infrastructure and social welfare policies.

These policy prescriptions run counter to the usual Washington advice from multilateral institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund of free market liberalisation to reduce poverty and promote growth. Clark said this advice has to change, a message that increasingly is being heard as the austerity programs in Western Europe, first seen as essential to restore growth by bringing down debt levels, are raising poverty rates and stoking social unrest.

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Article by Stella Dawson

Photo: UNDP chief Helen Clark speaks at a meeting of Resident Coordinators and Resident Representatives of the U.N. in the Middle East and North Africa, Rabat March 30, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer

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WORLD WATER DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Programs Providing Clean Water for Healthy Living, Agriculture

MissionNewswire — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:41:57 +0000

(MissionNewswire) From safe drinking water and healthy sanitation to agriculture, water is essential for life. Six to 8 million people die annually from the consequences of disasters and water-related diseases, according to the United Nations. Furthermore, 783 million people do not have access to clean water and almost 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation.

Every year since 1993, the international community celebrates World Water Day on March 22, which focuses attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

The Theme for World Water Day 2013 (coordinated by UNESCO in collaboration with UNECE and UNDESA on behalf of UN-Water) is ‘Water, water everywhere, only if we share.’

“Water holds the key to sustainable development,” says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in an address highlighting World Water Day 2013. “We must work together to protect and carefully manage this fragile, finite resource.”

In honor and celebration of World Water Day 2013, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight Salesian programs around the globe that provide safe water and much-needed agricultural training to those most in need.

BOLIVIA

In Bolivia, families now have access to safe drinking water in their homes through community water distribution projects. In the town of “19 de Agosto” in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the new distribution brings water directly to 106 families who previously had to carry potable water from the town well to their own homes. In addition, the distribution system greatly improves the sanitary conditions of the drinking water. In the town of “Las Parabas,” 50 families now have water distribution directly into their homes.

In another project, water helps power electricity that brings hope to the people of Kami, a village high in the Bolivian Andes. Through Salesian Missions, an abandoned hydro-electrical power station has been restarted to provide the only source of electricity to the local school, hospital, sawmill and new businesses. Refurbished turbines can be fully used even with a small supply of water in the dry season. Excess power can be sold to the Bolivian Electricity Board to defray costs. Now the community has access to technology in its school, better basic medical care, job opportunities and a brighter future for all.

EAST TIMOR

The Salesians are helping East Timor recover and rebuild in the wake of a devastating civil war that claimed countless lives, decimated entire communities and resulted in living conditions that are among the worst in the world. One-third of the population faces food shortages and many of the schools have been destroyed.

At the Salesian agricultural school there, students learn theoretical agricultural methods and work on the college farm. Agricultural skills are also being taught in parish centers and schools. In Baucau, young people have set up a cooperative to plant rice on land owned by parishioners. When they started, they had no tools or machinery, just their bare hands. With assistance from Salesian Missions and AusAid, they were able to purchase hand plows, threshing and milling machines. A portion of the crop belongs to the workers, a portion goes to the landowners as rent and the rest is sold for profit.

INDIA

Child survival depends on safe drinking water. In India, progress has been made toward making access to safe drinking water more readily available with 84.5 percent of rural and 95 percent of urban populations having sustainable access to safe drinking water, according to the World Bank.

At the Don Bosco Center for Learning in Kurla, course work focuses on job training in developing technologies concerning water – ranging from plumbing and sanitation to developing efficient methods for utilization and analyzing existing systems for efficient transportation of water. The courses are designed for youth who have previously left school in order to help them enter the job market.

KENYA

In Kenya, agricultural training has made a significant difference at the Kakuma Refugee Camp. There, food security is enhanced by the demonstration farm which offers training in agriculture skills. It also produces fresh fruit and vegetables adding to the amount of food available to the refugees and inhabitants of the camp.

Agricultural skills are also an important component at the Bosco Boys Kuwinda facility. There, students receive training in the care of livestock including poultry, cows and pigs, as well as training in the vegetable gardens. Eggs and meat are sold from the farm to help support the project.

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Sources:

UN Water – World Water Day 2013

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UNITED NATIONS: Developing Countries Experiencing Unprecedented Growth, Says UN Report

MissionNewswire — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:10:09 +0000

(United Nations) The rapid growth of developing countries is propelling millions out of poverty on an unprecedented scale and radically reshaping the global system, according to a flagship United Nations report launched today.

“The rise of the South is unprecedented in its speed and scale,” says the Human Development Report 2013, which uses the term “South” to mean developing countries and “North” to mean developed nations. “Never in history have the living conditions and prospects of so many people changed so dramatically and so fast.”

Meanwhile, the slowdown in economic growth, austerity measures and rampant unemployment in the industrialized world has brought pressure to bear on governments and societies in the North. Global economic and political structures are in flux and the sustainability of the growth spurt in the South is subject to the interrelated issues of governance and public investment.

The year’s report, entitled The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World, emphasizes that this change represents a global rebalancing far greater than that experienced during the Industrial Revolution, with the South becoming the main driver of economic growth and societal change for the first time in centuries.

“The Industrial Revolution was a story of perhaps 100 million people, but this is a story about billions of people,” said Khalid Malik, the report’s lead author.

The Human Development Report, released annually by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), assesses the state of human development on the basis of health, education and income indicators, as an alternative to purely macroeconomic assessments of national progress.

The initial report was published in 1990 by its authors, the late Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen, and introduced a Human Development Index (HDI), which had been calculated by UN economists from 1975, and was essentially a ranking of countries based on strides made with a people-centric model of progress.

The HDI became an influential paradigm that would prod economists, government agencies, planners and development experts to rethink the income-based indicators that were in standard use to measure development success.

Launched today in Mexico City by UNDP Administrator Helen Clark and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, this year’s report singles out big economies which have shown significant growth over the past 20 years, namely China, India and Brazil. It estimates that by 2020, the combined output of these three countries will surpass the aggregate production of the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada.

However, the ‘rise of the South’ goes well beyond these economies as more than 40 developing countries have made greater human development gains in recent decades than what was predicted.

Countries such as Indonesia, Mexico, Bangladesh, Tanzania and Yemen all registered significant growth, while nations such as Afghanistan and Pakistan had some of the fastest growth rates in the world with 3.9 percent and 1.7 percent over the past 12 years, respectively.

How has the South achieved such dramatic growth levels?

The report attributes many of the achievements of the South to smart national strategies that have allowed them to engage in the global economy while at the same time implementing social programmes that protect those most vulnerable.

“Economic growth alone does not automatically translate into human development progress,” Miss Clark says in the report’s foreword. Southern States are therefore not just tapping into global trade, but they are also improving health and education services, which have allowed them to sustain their growth. This comes in contrast to policies adopted by many developed countries which include austerity measures and cutting social programmes due to the economic crisis.

In Latin America, many countries have put in place programmes to eradicate poverty and address inequality such as Brazil’s Bolsa Familia, Mexico’s Oportunidades, and Chile’s Chile Solidario. These are conditional cash transfer programmes which offer to increase people’s income as long as they fulfil certain conditions such as visits to health clinics and school attendance.

This combination of policies has allowed the middle class in the South to expand and, by 2030, the report projects that more than 80 percent of the world’s middle class will reside in developing countries and account for 70 percent of total consumption expenditure.

Increasing online and mobile connectivity in the South

Increasing connectivity thanks to greater access to technology is also a factor that has contributed to the South’s growth. Globally, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Mexico have more daily social media traffic than any country except the US. China also has more than half a billion people accessing the Internet daily through smart phones.

Indonesia, for example, invested extensively to connect its large cluster of far-flung islands to open the country to the outside world, and as of 2010, 220 million mobile phones were registered in a country of 240 million people.

In Africa, Asian-built mobile phones have made cellular banking cheaper and easier, while leading to better market performance and increased profits by small farmers, as seen in Kenya, Niger and Uganda.

Increasing incomes and the diffusion of technology have also given way to a more informed middle class that has social and political expectations, Mr. Malik said in a press briefing on Tuesday, which means that “the relationship between the State and its citizens is changing.”

He warned that if States are not mindful of these expectations, it could lead to social instability, as was the case in 2011 in various countries across the Middle East.

“The turmoil in several countries in the Arab States is a reminder that people, especially the young, who are better educated and healthier than previous generations, put a high premium on meaningful employment, on exercising a voice in affairs that influence their lives, and on being treated with respect,” the report says.

Booming South-South partnerships

The report highlights the increase in South-South trade and partnerships and projects that trade between them will overtake that between developed nations.

“Emerging partners in the developing world are already sources of innovative social and economic policies and are major trade, investment and increasingly development cooperation partners for other developing countries,” Miss Clark said.

China is already influential in Africa through trade investment as well as through assistance and cooperation. Between 1992 and 2011, China’s trade with Sub-Saharan Africa rose from $1 billion to more than $140 billion.

India is increasingly playing a larger role as a supplier of affordable capital goods to other countries of the South. For instance, Indian firms are supplying affordable medicines, medical equipment and information and communications technology (ICT) products and services to many countries in Africa.

In addition, migration between developing countries has recently surpassed net migration from South to North. “In our changing world, solutions are moving across the South, not from the North to the South,” said UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Ajay Chhibber.

However, a substantial share of South-South trade is driven by demand in the North. For example, since 2007, US exports to China and Latin America and the Caribbean have grown two and a half times faster than US exports to traditional markets in the North. A growing “app economy” supported by companies such as Apple, Facebook and Google employs more than 300,000 people whose creations are exported across borders, and developing country economies continue to be sensitive to shocks in the industrialized world.

Women’s education as a silver bullet for sustainable growth

While there has been remarkable progress, the report warns that there are still many challenges ahead for countries in the South, including an aging population, environmental degradation and inequality. Poverty and inequality are particularly worrying, as an estimated 1.57 billion people, representing 30 percent of the population in the 104 countries studied for the report, still live in multidimensional poverty.

The report provides a series of recommendations and, in particular, highlights education for girls as “the closest thing to silver bullet formula for accelerating human development.”

Many of the countries in the South still have dramatic gender disparities, and their challenge will be to boost efforts to allow women to participate freely in all aspects of their society.

“Gender inequality is especially tragic not only because it excludes women from basic social opportunities, but also because it gravely imperils the life prospects of future generations,” the report says, referring to findings which correlate women’s education to greater child survival, healthier children and better access to contraception.

The report also notes that the global system will need to adjust itself to the rise of the South, which is currently largely underrepresented in global institutions. For example, China, which is the world’s second largest economy, has had a smaller voting share in the World Bank than either France or the United Kingdom.

“Stronger voices from the South are demanding more representative frameworks of international governance that embody the principles of democracy and equity.”

Meanwhile, it merits mention that not all countries in the South are racing ahead. Of the world’s 49 Least Developed Countries, many are lagging behind in this revolution. Even as some are beginning to benefit from Foreign Direct Investment of the emerging giants like China, India and Brazil, there is much more to be done in terms of development transformation.

The report observes that there are three drivers of transformation: a proactive development state, tapping of global markets and determined social policy inclusion. Looking back at the inception of the HDI, it appears that countries that started at the same level – India and Pakistan, or Chile and Venezuela, or Liberia and Senegal – have ended up with different outcomes.

“History and initial conditions matter, but they are not destiny,” according to the report.

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Rice fields in Sichuan, China. UN Photo/John Isaac

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UNITED NATIONS: Human rights must be at the heart of future development agenda, UN panel told

MissionNewswire — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:44:15 +0000

(United Nations) Human rights are vital for achieving the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which world leaders have pledged to attain by 2015, and must figure prominently in any development agenda beyond that date, a high-level United Nations panel held in Geneva heard today.

“Human rights are part of the DNA of the United Nations and the birthright of every human being. Every member of the human family has a right to grow and develop their full potential in a secure and sustainable environment,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his remarks to the panel, held at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“As we know from long experience,” he stated, “peace, development and human rights are inextricably linked. Human rights are essential for achieving the Millennium Development Goals and advancing sustainable development.”

The eight MDGs, agreed at a UN summit in 2000, set specific targets on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction, and a ‘Global Partnership for Development.’

Last year, Mr. Ban established a senior-level UN System Task Team on the post-2015 agenda. The Team recommended that the post-2015 agenda be built on three fundamental principles: human rights, equality and sustainability.

This September, the President of the General Assembly will convene a special event on the MDGs to assess progress, as well as identify remaining gaps and challenges ahead.

“I call on all Member States to embrace this opportunity and I urge all stakeholders to ensure that international human rights standards and principles help guide our post-2015 goals and objectives,” said Mr. Ban.

The largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system urged the international community to focus on social protections in the post-2015 agenda and proposed a specific goal on equality.

“The MDGs have remained silent regarding inequalities,” the group warned in a news release, pointing to human rights, equality and non-discrimination, and sustainability to be the focus of the post-2015 development agenda.

“As we approach the 2015 deadline for the realization of the MDGs, the international community must cement the gains achieved, build on the lessons learned and aim higher and be more ambitious,” Michel Forst said on behalf of the group of 72 independent experts charged by the Council with addressing specific country situations and thematic issues.

Addressing the high-level panel, Mr. Forst noted that 870 million people today are hungry “not because of insufficient food production, but because they suffer from insufficient social protection.”

He stressed that equality supports economic development and ensures sustainable growth, contrary to what he said was the prevailing view that it reduces efficiency and hinders growth.

“We will need to address inequality once and for all as it constitutes one of the most persistent challenges that prevent millions of people from living a life in dignity. We must aim for justice for all; those without a voice do not need charity,” Mr. Forst said.

He added that the post-2015 development agenda should include “a stand-alone goal on equality in order to foster more inclusive forms of development.”

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Photo: MDG 8: a global partnership for development

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UNITED NATIONS: UN Commission on Social Development Issues Call to Empower the Poor

MissionNewswire — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:42:29 +0000

(United Nations) The United Nations Commission on Social Development today kicked-off its 10-day session in New York with a call to give the poorest and most vulnerable populations the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty.

“Empowerment is critical to poverty eradication and to development,” said the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo. “Indeed, I would even say that any long-term solution to poverty must start with empowerment.”

According to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on promoting people’s empowerment, nearly 80 per cent of the world’s population is without adequate access to social protection, leaving those living in poverty feeling powerless to improve their position.

The report, “Promoting empowerment of people in achieving poverty eradication, social integration and full employment and decent work for all” also states that while more than 600 million people have overcome poverty since 1990, 1 billion people will still be struggling to reach that goal by the 2015 deadline year for attaining the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

In addition, the economic crisis and high fuel prices have slowed the rate of poverty reduction and increased unemployment rates, which also lead to social unrest. Globally, 200 million people were unemployed at the end of 2011, an increase of 27 million jobless persons since 2007, and 621 million young people are neither in employment, school or training nor looking for work.

“These are not mere statistics, but are lives affected, livelihoods lost and opportunities missed,” Mr. Wu said, urging the Commission to come up with concrete measures and actions for combating unemployment and empowering vulnerable populations.

To better understand how to promote empowerment and integrate it into the development agenda, participants at the Commission’s session will hear from experts leading discussions on this topic, as well as focusing on the elderly, youth, and people with disabilities.

The session will also include more than 30 side events and consideration of five resolutions as well as recommendations by the Civil Society Forum on promoting the empowerment of people to achieve social development goals.

Speaking at the Commission’s opening meeting, the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Néstor Osorio, said that without adequate policies and mechanisms, social tensions increase and erode social cohesion, which is essential for promoting development.

Mr. Osorio also underlined the potential of information and communications technology to empower people in rural areas or disadvantaged communities by giving them access to knowledge.

“These tools will allow people to have their voices hear and increase their visibility,” Mr. Osorio said, noting that this would be one of the aspects explored during panel discussions in the next few days.

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UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

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UNITED NATIONS: Elections, Jobs Critical for Haiti’s Current and Future Stability, Says Outgoing UN Envoy

MissionNewswire — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:14:57 +0000

(United Nations) The outgoing head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti says that during his 20-months tenure, security had greatly improved in the Caribbean country, but delayed elections and unemployment still threatened stability.

In an interview with UN Radio shortly before the end of his term on 31 January, Mariano Fernández, who served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti, said that he had recently highlighted the short-term threat posed by delayed legislative and local elections because political polarization was exacerbated by the issue.

“We have had a delay that we have declared almost unacceptable because the elections should have taken place 14 months ago,” stressed Mr. Fernández, warning of the threat to stability posed by the situation.

In the long-term view, employment, however, was the major issue. “They have a work force of 4.2 million people and in formal jobs they have only 200,000,” he said, adding: “So you have around 4 million people living in a subsistence economy, in a survival economy or living from remittances from the Haitians in exile, the Diaspora.”

“This is something that we should help the Government and the private sector and the Haitian people to face and to move forward on because this is a permanent source of instability,” he stressed.

Asked about the major accomplishments of the UN mission, known as MINUSTAH, during his tenure, he said that its greatest contribution was in greatly improving security and strengthening the police and other rule of law institutions.

“Security has improved a lot,” he said, pointing out that Haiti now ranked fourth in the index of the lowest number of homicides per capita in Central America and the Caribbean. “The challenges in security are now mainly the gangs in the some shanty towns around Port-au-Prince and the family violence, the abuse against women.

“But political violence doesn’t exist, kidnapping has been reduced and the cases of homicide are concentrated around Port- au-Prince,” he said, adding: “The rest of the country is very peaceful.”

He said that cholera has also been radically reduced, with fears of a spike in transmission following hurricanes Isaac and Sandy fortunately not coming to fruition.

He noted that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently launched a campaign with the Ministers of Health of Haiti and the Dominican Republic to rid their common island of the disease during the coming year, appointing renowned United States physician Paul Farmer, to lead it. “I think we will have a serious success,” he said.

The Security Council established MINUSTAH in June 2004 to restore a secure and stable environment, to promote the political process, to strengthen Haiti’s Government institutions and rule-of-law-structures, as well as to promote and to protect human rights.

It has also helped support Haiti’s authorities with recovery efforts in the wake of the massive earthquake which struck in January 2010, as well as supporting preparations for presidential elections held in 2011.

Mr. Fernández, a native of Chile, took the reigns of MINUSTAH in April 2011 from Edmond Mulet of Guatemala, who took on the position after the earthquake. A successor for Mr. Fernández has not yet been announced.

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UN Photo/Logan Abassi: Outgoing head of MINUSTAH, the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, Mariano Fernández.

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UNITED NATIONS (Haiti): UN-Backed Survey Finds Progress for Children in Education, Nutrition and Health Sectors

MissionNewswire — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:33:11 +0000

(United Nations) 10 January 2013 – Almost three years after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, preliminary results of a new United Nations-backed national household survey show substantial progress for children there in the education, nutrition, health and sanitation sectors since 2006.

According to the initial results of the Haiti Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), which covered 13,350 households, 77 per cent of children aged 6-11 years attended primary school in 2012, compared to just below 50 per cent in 2005-2006 when the last survey was conducted.

Acute malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months has been reduced by half from 10 per cent to five per cent, and chronic malnutrition has been cut from 29 per cent to 22 per cent between 2005-2006 and 2012.

“Results of the survey show that the efforts of partners in Haiti in these three years contributed to progress in many sectors and mitigated the impact on children of the 2010 earthquake, the outbreak of cholera and other disasters.” said the representative of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Haiti, Edouard Beigbeder.

“These findings call for a continued commitment to support the country in sustaining this success while addressing existing challenges and where progress has lagged,” he continued.

The Caribbean nation has been re-building since the earthquake struck in early January 2010, killing some 220,000 people and making 1.5 million others homeless, in addition to causing widespread destruction – particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince – and a major humanitarian crisis.

The DHS 2012 was conducted by the Institut Haitien de l’Enfance, under the overall direction of the country’s Ministry of Population and Public Health, and was supported by UNICEF and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), amongst others.

The survey also notes that the under-five mortality rate, at 88 child deaths per 1,000 live births, has shown a declining trend in the last 15 years, according to new estimates, down from 112 in 1997-2001 and 96 in 2002-2006.

Access to improved sources of water remained unchanged at 65 per cent, while 82 per cent of residents of internally displaced camps had access to improved sources of water. Access to improved sanitation almost doubled from 14 per cent in 2005-2006 to 26 per cent in 2012.

The 2012 Haiti DHS estimates socio-economic, demographic and health indicators for the entire Haitian population, including women of child-bearing age, children under five years of age, men aged between 15 and 59 years old. The last survey took place between October 2005 and June 2006.

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UN Photo/Logan Abassi

UNICEF – In Zimbabwe, village health workers play an essential role in the primary healthcare system and the fight against HIV/AIDS

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WORLD AIDS DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Successful HIV/AIDS Prevention Programs in Africa

MissionNewswire — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 20:38:51 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Since 1988, Dec. 1 has marked World AIDS Day—held to honor AIDS victims and focus on prevention and treatment issues surrounding HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). Salesian Missions is one recipient of the PEPFAR program funding having provided programming to 375,000 people living in regions most impacted by the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS.

This year’s theme Getting to Zero focuses on the Millennium Development Goal to halt and begin to reverse the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2015. A new Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) report shows that unprecedented acceleration in the AIDS response is producing results for people. The report notes that there has been more than a 50 percent decrease in new HIV infections across 25 countries.

Women and children are the primary focus of this year’s Worlds AIDS Day. According to UNICEF, AIDS remains a leading cause of death among women of reproductive age globally and the main cause of child mortality in countries with high HIV prevalence. The good news is, according to the UNAIDS report, the area where the most progress is being made is in reducing new HIV infections in children. Half of the global reductions in new HIV infections in the last two years have been among newborn children.

The UNAIDS report also shows that antiretroviral therapy has emerged as a powerful force for saving lives. In the last 24 months, the number of people accessing treatment has increased by 63 percent globally. The report further noted that ending the pandemic was now “entirely feasible” and achieving an AIDS-free generation is possible.

Further noted in the UNAIDS report, worldwide some 34 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2011. Deaths from AIDS fell to 1.7 million in 2011, down from a peak of 2.3 million in 2005 and from 1.8 million in 2010.

“We must make information, testing and treatment available to all, so every man, woman and child can enjoy their fundamental right to the medical care and essential services that will end this devastating epidemic,” said Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General in a statement observing World AIDS Day.

The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program, launched by former President George W. Bush in 2003, has been a catalyst for advancing HIV treatment, particularly in Africa.

The Salesian Missions “Life Choices” program targets youth ages 10 to 19 with core messages of abstinence and be faithful to prevent HIV infection. The program also benefits youth by employing a multipronged approach to HIV/AIDS prevention. This approach not only offers youth health education on HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, but also offers life skills training, parental/teacher/community support, recreational activities, sports, youth camps, counseling, and job placement.

To mark World AIDS Day, the Salesian Missions Office of International Programs is highlighting some of the successful PEPFAR programs:

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 Salesian Missions “CARING Orphans and Vulnerable Children” project helps 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.

Kenya

In Kenya, peer education is an effective tool for reaching youth with key disease prevention messages. The Salesian Missions “Life Choices” program in Kenya focuses on abstinence and faithfulness. Gender is also an important component, and programs include a focus on sexual violence. The program extends to youth centers, schools, orphans and vulnerable children centers and in community/social outreach programs. More than 40,000 youth have learned about HIV/AIDS prevention through the program.

South Africa

South Africa is the country hardest hit by HIV/AIDS worldwide, according to UNICEF. The “Life Choices” program here is based in schools from grades 4-12. An important component is voluntary counseling and testing as an effective method of preventing new infections. In addition, the program offers one-on-one mentoring, career and guidance counseling, parental skills workshops and teacher sensitivity.

Tanzania

In Tanzania, the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is nearly nine percent. The virus has orphaned nearly a million children and forced others to assume household responsibilities beyond their years, according to UNICEF. To help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, students in 79 schools across Tanzania take part in the “Life Choices” program, as part of the U.S. PEPFAR program through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Of the 79 schools, 47 are primary, 23 are secondary and 9 are vocational training centers.

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Sources:

UN – World AIDS Day

Salesian Missions – Our work

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UNITED NATIONS: Children Affected by Widespread Violence in the Eastern DRC

MissionNewswire — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 19:25:05 +0000

(United Nations) The United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Leila Zerrougui, is deeply concerned about the situation of children in the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo.

The advance of the M23 armed group into Goma and Sake have been accompanied by serious violations committed against children. “Children have been killed and injured in the cross-fire, deliberately targeted and allegedly recruited as soldiers. I call on all parties to immediately halt the violence and spare children from the impact of conflict,” SRSG Zerrougui said.

Over the past four days, 16 children, including a two-year old child, were injured by bullets and explosive devices during clashes between the M23 and the armed force and security services. Yesterday, a boy was reportedly shot dead by M23 combatants in Goma because of his alleged association with Government forces.

“Children, especially those formerly associated with armed groups, are living in constant fear of recruitment or re-recruitment,” the Special Representative warned. Since the creation of the M23 in May 2012, the United Nations documented 44 children recruited into the armed group’s ranks as combatants and as porters, escorts and for sexual purposes.

“The international community cannot tolerate another wave of violence against children with impunity,” the Special Representative said. “External support to the M23 rebels has to stop, and those responsible must be held accountable in national and international courts.”

The Special Representative also welcomes the Security Council’s decision last week to impose targeted measures against the leader of the M23 Sultani Makenga, including for the use of child soldiers. She encourages the Security Council to consider imposing additional sanctions on perpetrators.

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See this news release at its original location >

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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

MissionNewswire — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 16:53:34 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Each year, Nov. 20 marks Universal Children’s Day, which is aimed at having countries focus on the welfare of the world’s children. The day also marks the day in which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989.

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

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WORLD POVERTY DAY: Salesian Missions Reports on Programs that Fight Extreme Poverty

MissionNewswire — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 18:35:35 +0000

(MissionNewswire) To mark the 20th International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Salesian Missions is proud to report on some of its programs around the globe that fight extreme poverty by providing hope and opportunity. The day is recognized globally with a focus on promoting the awareness of and the ongoing efforts to eradicate poverty everywhere—which remains at the core of the Salesians work with youth and their families in more than 131 countries.

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

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UNESCO: 20 Percent of Youth in Developing Countries Fail to Complete Primary School, Lack Job Skills

MissionNewswire — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 19:39:00 +0000

(UNESCO) The 10th Education for All Global Monitoring Report, Putting Education to Work, published by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), reveals the urgent need to invest in skills for youth. In developing countries, 200 million people aged 15 to 24 have not even completed primary school and need alternative pathways to acquire basic skills for employment and prosperity. The world’s youth population is larger than ever before; one in eight young people are unemployed and over a quarter are trapped in jobs that keep them on or below the poverty line. As the effects of the economic crisis continue to squeeze societies worldwide, the severe lack of youth skills is more damaging than ever.
Despite significant progress in some regions, few are on track to meet the six Education for All (EFA) goals set in 2000, and some are a long way behind. The report looks in depth at youth skills, one of the least analysed of the EFA Goals. It shows that acquiring a lower secondary education is a minimum today for young people to gain the foundation skills they need to find decent jobs. Yet there are 250 million children of primary school age today who cannot read or write, whether they’re in school or not, and 71 million teenagers are out of secondary school, missing out on vital skills for future employment.
Poor young populations, urban and rural, are the most in need of skills training. In urban areas, the youth population is larger than it has ever been and growing. In a fifth of countries analysed, poor, urban young people have less education than in rural areas. Over a quarter earn little more than US$1.25 a day.
The vast majority of the world’s poor and least educated live in rural areas, however. Many young farmers facing land scarcity and the effects of climate change, lack even basic skills needed to protect themselves and make ends meet. Women are the most in need. They need training in business and marketing to find opportunities beyond farm work and reduce the obligation of migrating to cities in search of a job.
“We are witnessing a young generation frustrated by the chronic mismatch between skills and work. The best answer to the economic downturn and youth unemployment is to ensure that young people acquire the basic skills and relevant training they need to enter the world of work with confidence,” said Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO. “Many, and young women in particular, need to be offered alternative pathways for an education, so that they can gain the skills needed to earn a living, live in dignity and contribute to their communities and societies.”
Investing in young peoples’ skills is a smart move for countries seeking to boost their economic growth. The Report estimates that every $1 spent on a person’s education, yields US$10-US$15 in economic growth over that person’s working lifetime. Not investing in young people’s skills leaves them either adding to unemployment statistics in rich countries, or trapped in jobs earning poverty line wages in low-income countries.
There are long-term effects of ignoring youth skills in countries the world over. Drawing on OECD data, the Report estimates that 160 million adults in developed nations do not have the skills needed to apply for a job or read a newspaper.
There is a dire need to increase funding to fix this skills deficit. This year’s Education for All Global Monitoring Report calculates that, in addition to the US$16 billion needed annually to attain universal primary education by 2015, universal lower secondary school enrolment would cost US$8 billion. Programmes offering alternative pathways for skills training also need to be dramatically scaled up to reach young people who have missed out.
“There are worrying signs that aid to education may be slowing down just when children and young people need it the most,” said Pauline Rose, director of EFA Global Monitoring Report. “Governments and donors must find the money and energy to help young people most in need to acquire the skills they and their countries’ economies desperately need. The private sector is the first to benefit from a skilled workforce and must also step up its financial support.”
Reallocating aid could help fill the funding gap. US$3.1 billion of aid to post-secondary education never reaches the educational systems of developing countries as it is used to fund foreign students in donor countries. These funds could be better spent addressing the skills deficit for disadvantaged youth in poor countries. The cost of one Nepalese student’s scholarship in a developed country could give 229 students access to secondary education at home.
One of the main beneficiaries of a skilled workforce, the private sector, presently contributes the equivalent of 5% of total official aid to education. Most of that money is given by just five corporations. Private contributions do not always reflect government’s education priorities, however, and are often more closely aligned with corporate business priorities. Large amounts of funding go to tertiary education, for example, though only a minority of children make it to that stage and most still lack basic skills. Most of the IT sector’s support is channelled to the emerging economies – Brazil, India and China – rather than to developing countries most in need of assistance.
The Report makes a number of recommendations to address these problems and support skills development for young people:

Alternative pathways to learn foundation skills must be provided for an estimated 200 million young people.
All young people need quality training in relevant foundation skills at lower secondary school.
Upper secondary curricula should provide a balance between vocational and technical skills, including IT, and transferable skills such as confidence and communication which are indispensable for the work place.
Skills strategies must target the disadvantaged: particularly young women and urban and rural poor.
$US8 billion is needed to ensure all young people attend lower secondary education. Governments as well as donors and the private sector must help fill the funding gap.

The 2012 edition of the Report follows the launch on 26 September of “Education First”, an initiative driven by U.N Secretary General Ban Ki moon who stressed the importance of rallying all stakeholders to overcome the obstacles to achieving “quality, relevant and transformative education.”
“Our shared goals are simple,” said the Secretary-General on that occasion. ‘We want all children to attend primary school and to progress to secondary school and relevant higher education that will help them to succeed in life and live as engaged and productive global citizens.”

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Photo: UNESCO/BRAC

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WORLD FOOD DAY: UN Focuses on Agricultural Cooperatives to End Global Hunger

MissionNewswire — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:16:47 +0000

(UNITED NATIONS) Amid economic crises, climatic shocks, and high and volatile food prices in a world of plenty where nearly 870 million people still go hungry, the United Nations today marked World Food Day by highlighting agricultural cooperatives as vital weapon in the war on poverty and hunger.

“Owned by their members, they can generate employment, alleviate poverty, and empower poor and marginalized groups in rural areas, especially women, to drive their own destinies,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message, stressing that the number of people still going hungry is unacceptable in a world where every person would have enough to eat if food were distributed properly.

“As enterprises with a social conscience, cooperatives have also proven to be an effective vehicle for social inclusion, promoting gender equality and encouraging the involvement of youth in agriculture.”

The theme of this year’s Day, which is celebrated on Oct. 16, 2012, in honor of the date of the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945, is ‘Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world.’

In a ceremony marking the Day at FAO’s headquarters in Rome, its Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, called on governments to do their part and “create conditions that allow producer organizations and cooperatives to thrive” as a major way to lift small-scale farmers out of poverty and hunger.

Although they produce most of the food in many countries, they had poor access to markets to sell their products, lack of bargaining power to buy inputs at better prices and a lack of access to financial services, he said.

“Agricultural cooperatives can help smallholders overcome these constraints,” Mr. Graziano da Silva stressed. “Cooperatives play a crucial role in generating employment, reducing poverty, and improving food security, and contributing to the gross domestic product in many countries.”

Speaking at the same ceremony, the UN World Food Program’s (WFP) Executive Director, Ertharin Cousin, underscored the need for social safety nets for those who could barely feed themselves.

“In our world, too many still struggle to find their next meal,” she said. “Social protection and safety net programs enable the most vulnerable, particularly women and children, to lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. These programs provide a cushion that is otherwise unavailable and build resilience against economic and environmental shocks.”

At the same event, the head of the UN International Fund on Agricultural Development (IFAD), which seeks to empower poor rural women and men in developing countries to achieve higher incomes and improved food security, highlighted its role in working closely with cooperatives worldwide.

“From tea growers in Rwanda to livestock resource centres in Nepal, there are many examples of how cooperatives better support smallholder farmers to not only organize themselves, but to collectively increase their opportunities and resources,” IFAD’s President Kanayo Nwanze said.

“Our experience at IFAD working with farmers has proven time and time again that cooperatives are critical to reach these objectives,” he added. “This is why we place a lot of emphasis on cooperatives and continue to enhance our work with them.”

Speaking from Geneva, the Director-General of the UN International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Ryder, added his voice to the messages issued on the Day.

“Experience around the world shows that farmers, fisherfolk, foresters and herders have used cooperative organization to increase food production, gain market access, obtain better prices on agricultural inputs, participate more effectively in global value chains and also to manage natural resources and enhance food security,” he said.

In a report launched on World Food Day, the UN Environment Program (UNEP) warns that the ecological foundations that support food security, including biodiversity are being undermined.

“The era of seemingly ever-lasting production based upon maximizing inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, mining supplies of freshwater and fertile arable land and advancements linked to mechanization are hitting their limits, if indeed they have not already hit them,” UNEP’s Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said in a news release.

“The world needs a green revolution but with a capital ‘G’: one that better understands how food is actually grown and produced in terms of the nature-based inputs provided by forests, freshwaters and biodiversity,” he added.

The report – Avoiding Future Famines: Strengthening the Ecological Basis of Food Security through Sustainable Food System – was produced in collaboration with IFAD, FAO, WFP, World Bank, and the World Resources Institute, a global environmental think tank.

It points out the challenges posed by overfishing, unsustainable water use, environmentally degrading agricultural practices and other human activities and calls for the redesign of sustainable agriculture systems, dietary changes, and storage systems and new food standards to reduce waste.

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See this article at its original location >

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DAY OF THE GIRL: Salesian Missions Highlights Programs around the Globe that Empower Girls through Education, Opportunity

MissionNewswire — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:33:33 +0000

(MissionNewswire) The first-ever International Day of the Girl Child was recognized on Oct. 11, 2012. Established to promote equal treatment and opportunities for girls, the International Day is an acknowledgment by the world community that there is a disparity in the way the rights of girls and boys are protected and promoted.

The Day of the Girl was established by a vote of the United Nations General Assembly in 2011 to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world. One of the issues that drew focus was that of child marriage. For the first time, UN member states recognized that child marriage is a human rights violation and is a serious health risk for young girls whose bodies are not fully developed for motherhood.

“This puts them and their babies at risk,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Early marriage also prevents young girls from continuing their education and contributes to many of them remaining in poverty throughout their lives,” he adds, noting that the achievement of their full potential is hindered when girls are forced to assume all of the domestic duties and raise children while they are still children themselves.

A special exhibit on child marriage has been installed at UN Headquarters in New York to help raise awareness and encourage advocacy and action both on the part of member states and those who visit the UN daily.

In spite of many advances in changing the status and perception of women and girls, much more needs to be done to address the serious issues the girl child faces, according to Fr. Hyde. Among these are: limited educational opportunities, illiteracy and school dropout, physical and sexual violence, lack of role models, forced labor and limited work opportunities, trafficking, negative media images and most importantly, inequality.

“Girls are asking to be seen as and treated as equals,” says Fr. Hyde. “They want to participate more fully in decision making, especially in decisions that affect their lives in their families and communities.”

Salesian Missions cares about the growth and development of women in the communities they serve. Women are the backbone of the family structure and by providing women necessary education, training skills and support, families are made stronger. Social outreach programs, child care support, and job training allow for women to work at every level of production and management jobs supporting and keeping their families intact.

To mark the first-ever International Day of the Girl Child, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight some of its programs around the globe that empower girls through education:

CAMBODIA: In Cambodia, education for girls opens doors to opportunities. With basic education, girls are better equipped to face the daily dangers of human trafficking, child prostitution and substance abuse. Today, more than 2,000 girls who live in poverty have access to basic education through the Don Bosco Children’s Fund. In addition, with vocational and technical education, they see possibilities for jobs and independence. Hundreds of students at four specialized schools for girls/young women will open new doors with skills in printing, electronics, secretarial skills and sewing.

COLOMBIA: The “Right to Dream” program is providing aid to many poverty-stricken children in Medellin, Colombia. One such child is Alejandra – who now has access to social support and educational programs previously unimaginable to her and her siblings as they worked on the streets to help their family survive. One hundred students ages 7-18 receive vocational training and hot meals.

GUATEMALA: Extreme poverty is often associated with rural life in Guatemala. 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: At the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, girls and women receive training opportunities and learn about the important role they play in society and the community. The microfinance program funded by UNHCR and Caritas Italiana offers graduates, women and other refugees an opportunity to establish small business ventures using skills learned.

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.

PERU: Since 1982, Salesian Missions has offered training for girls at a vocational school in Yanama, Peru. Currently, there are more than 300 students enrolled in these schools, which are now located in parts of Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador, as well as Peru. Girls are trained in using alpaca and sheep wool to make sweaters, rugs, gloves and other articles, which are marketed locally and abroad. Upon graduating, they receive a weaving machine as the first step in a new career.

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 but have a long recovery process ahead of them. 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.

Learn more about Salesian Missions at the United Nations >

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SOURCES:

ANS (Salesian Info Agency)

The post DAY OF THE GIRL: Salesian Missions Highlights Programs around the Globe that Empower Girls through Education, Opportunity first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UNITED NATIONS: Range of Issues of Global Concern Discussed in UN Meetings with World Leaders

MissionNewswire — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:28:35 +0000

(United Nations) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today met with a range of world leaders and other high-level officials for discussions on a gamut of topics of global concern, on the margins of the high-level debate of the United Nations General Assembly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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GLOBAL: Salesians Speak at United Nations, Empower Youth to be ‘Agents of Change’

MissionNewswire — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 20:32:55 +0000

(MissionNewswire) On Monday, Sept. 24, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the Salesians facilitated a panel discussion titled, “Empowering Youth to be Agents of Change in Eradicating Poverty.” Representatives of the Catholic Church, governments, and the Salesians presented their perspectives on the effectiveness and importance of the Salesians’ influence on youth to change individuals and societies.

The event took place during the High Level Meetings on the Rule of Law and the Opening of the 67th General Assembly. This was made possible by a collaboration between The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations and the Permanent Mission of Honduras to the United Nations.

In their welcoming remarks, Ambassador Valero from Venezuela and Ambassador Flores from Honduras discussed the positive impact of Salesian work on behalf of youth in their countries and in all of Latin America, particularly in education. Ambassador Valero noted that UNESCO considers the Salesians the “largest educational agency that exists today.”

Archbishop Mamberti, secretary for relations with States of the Holy See, stressed the role of family in assisting young people to become agents of change in their societies. Additionally, he noted that societies must help create opportunities so that young people will be able to rise to their full potential and break the cycle of poverty. Mamberti said that this begins “when the young are viewed as protagonists rather than problems in a community.”

In his role as president of ‘Caritas Internationalis’ the Salesian Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga cited examples from recent Salesian and Caritas projects that highlight the generosity of youth who volunteer their time and talent to improve the lives of others. He further noted that the transformation of societies often begins with the zeal, enthusiasm and creativity of young people who often challenge others to see things in new ways and approach life with greater passion and dedication.

Brother Jean Paul Muller, the economer general of the Salesians, who has vast experience with education and development projects, highlighted examples of effective practices by Salesian programs around the globe that help youth escape the cycle of poverty. He stressed the pedagogy of work, and encouraged assistance in helping youth earn a salary and acquire an education that will help them to spend their financial resources with attention, mindfulness and justice.

All of the panel speakers noted that voices of the young are significant. They stressed the importance of listening to youth to learn their aspirations and dreams, their struggles and challenges if they are to be helped to create an enabling environment for more inclusive, just and equitable societies. In many societies, youth do not have access to power or are excluded from influencing the debates that affect their lives. Speakers stressed that the continued implementation of youth centered groups where youth can express their concerns can change this.

Further speakers noted that there is a continued need to address issues facing youth such as unemployment, child labor and child soldiering. Providing the basic needs of youth creates an environment conducive to growth and development, allowing them to better achieve their potential. Providing them with access to education, health care, clean water and sanitation creates productive citizens. The speakers also noted that opportunities for sports and leisure activities should be encouraged and provided. Cultural outings and exposing young people to the wealth of their heritage and to other cultures gives them more resources to engage in a globalized world.

At the end of the discussion the president of Honduras, Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo, noted the need to consider human rights, ecological rights and a future that is impacted by globalization in order to assist youth to be agents of change.”

About Salesian Missions at the United Nations >

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Sources:

ANS – Empowering Youth to be Agents of Change

ANS – The Salesians speak in the UNO: Empowering Youth to Change the Society

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UNICEF: One Year After Somalia’s Famine, a Story of Recovery

MissionNewswire — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 15:39:03 +0000

One year ago, on 20 July 2011, the United Nations declared famine in two regions of southern Somalia, the flashpoint in a humanitarian crisis gripping the Horn of Africa. After an outpouring of international support, the famine ended in February 2012, and countless lives across the region were saved. But 8 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya remain in need of humanitarian assistance, and UNICEF’s relief efforts must continue.

By Athanas Makundi/UNICEF

Amina walked briskly with her 4-year-old son, Ismail Mohamed, to fetch water at the edge of the camp where they live in Mogadishu. As the sun rose, they could hear the sound of babies crying and distant gunfire.

“We have to wake up early to fetch water because it is so scarce,” Amina said. “If you don’t, then you find a long queue at the pump, and sometimes the water runs out altogether.”

Once she had filled her yellow plastic containers, she hurried home with to prepare breakfast. The family’s home, made of plastic sheeting, cardboard and colourful fabric, provides little protection from the heavy overnight rains.

“Our shelter is exposed and the children are often cold,” Amina said as she boils the water on an open fire. “But I prefer to be here than in the village because we get food, water and medicine.”

Finding treatment

A year ago, drought coupled with escalating fighting and lack of access for aid workers led to a terrible famine in the Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia where Amina’s family lived.

“All our animals died and there was nothing left,” said Amina’s husband, Mohamed Ibrahim, as he sips his tea. “We had to leave; my son Ismail had fallen ill.”
Amina’s voice cracked with emotion as she narrated their ordeal.

“When we arrived in Mogadishu, Ismail was already very sick,” she said. “His body started to swell, and his skin started to peel off.”

Ismail was severely malnourished and, like many children in his condition, he contracted measles and cholera. His body swelled up so much he was unable to open his eyes.
“I was so worried when his eyes closed,” says Amina, shaking her head. “I didn’t know what to do. I used to ask myself, where can I find help?”

Ismail’s father heard from outreach workers at the camp about a feeding centre run by the Somali NGO SAACID and supported by UNICEF.

There, they learned that Ismail had a form of severe malnutrition known as kwashiorkor that required urgent treatment.

“When he was brought to us, the rate of the swelling – called edema – was very high,” said Abdullahi Mohamed, a nurse with SAACID, who was the first person to treat Ismail at the centre. “We could not do much for him then.”

Ismail was then sent to a hospital run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Belgium, where he was admitted for two weeks until the edema subsided.

“Then we took him to our feeding centre, where we put him on a therapeutic programme,” Mr. Mohamed said. “Now you can see Ismail is alive and kicking.”

Aid since the famine declaration

Thousands of children in central and southern Somalia died before famine was declared on 20 July 2011. But the massive humanitarian response helped save many lives.

Over the past year, UNICEF has treated more than 455,000 acutely malnourished children throughout Somalia, of whom almost 225,000 were severely malnourished – the vast majority in the central and southern regions.

Ismail has made extraordinary progress and his mother can still scarcely believe the change.

“When he recovered, I felt hope restored in my heart,” she said. “I’m very happy.”

Yet the situation in many areas of Somalia remains fragile. An estimated 2.5 million people – half of them children – still need assistance.

“Although the need is not high as it was a year ago, there are still children who are suffering like Ismail,” Mr. Mohamed said. “We do still see children like him in our feeding centres, but the scale of the need is not as it was a year ago.”

Emergency assistance is clearly needed, but it will not be enough. UNICEF is also working to boost the resilience of the most vulnerable by strengthening basic services at the community level. This, in the long term, is the only way to reduce the risks caused by crises such as drought and food insecurity and ensure that children like Ismail can look forward to a normal childhood.

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UNITED NATIONS: Number of People Needing Humanitarian Help Globally Rises to 62 Million

MissionNewswire — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 20:19:10 +0000

(United Nations) Some 62 million people around the world currently need humanitarian help, the United Nations reported today, pointing to food insecurity, conflict, and natural disasters as the main causes for aid requirement.

“Halfway through this year we are seeing people in desperate need in 20 countries, whose lives and livelihoods have been shattered by conflict, hunger and disaster,” said the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos.

“As well as providing effective emergency aid, humanitarian organizations are also working to improve the resilience of communities so that they can better cope with the impact of future natural disasters and conflicts,” she added.

In a news release, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which Amos heads, noted that the number of people needing assistance had risen from 51 million to 62 million – an increase of more than 20 per cent – during the first half of this year.

A large number of these people are in the African continent, with more than 18 million people facing a severe food and nutrition crisis in countries of the Sahel region, which includes Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and parts of Sudan, Cameroon and Nigeria.

Conflict has worsened the situation in Mali, as well as in South Sudan, which is coping with increasing numbers of refugees from Sudan who have fled conflict in border areas.

Food insecurity, malnutrition and insecurity have also worsened the situation in Yemen, where 60 per cent of children under five are chronically malnourished – a rate second only to Afghanistan, where so far this year, more than 200,000 people have been affected by some 300 natural disasters. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people are being affected by the intensifying armed conflict in Syria, which has caused many to flee to neighboring countries.

To respond strategically to major crises and monitor the effectiveness of their work, OCHA said that some 560 humanitarian aid organizations are using the Consolidated Appeal Process, a tool used by aid organizations to plan, implement and monitor their activities together. Collaborating in the world’s crisis regions, they produce appeals, which they present to the international community and donors.

As of today, the agency reported, humanitarian partners have raised their funding requirements, from $7.8 billion, at the beginning of the year, to $8.8 billion. However, while 45 per cent of the funding required has been received, a gap of $4.8 billion for what is left of the year remains.

“We have reached at least 21 million people so far with humanitarian aid, but our partners need further resources to reach everyone in need,” said Amos. “I commend humanitarian donors for maintaining their generosity and commitment to effective, coordinated and timely aid.”

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PHOTO CREDIT: Reuters / Ho New

See this news release at its original location.

Learn more about Salesians at the United Nations.

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WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILDHOOD LABOR: Salesians Provide Education Key to Tackling Child Labor

MissionNewswire — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 16:45:28 +0000

(MissionNewswire) Ten years ago, the International Labor Organization (ILO) established June 12 as World Day Against Child Labor. The ILO, an agency of the United Nations, says on its website: “Hundreds of millions of girls and boys throughout the world are engaged in work that deprives them of adequate education, health, leisure and basic freedoms, violating their rights.” The World Day Against Child Labor was launched as a way to highlight the plight of these children and support governments and social organizations in their campaigns against child labor.

The World Day calls for:

Universal ratification of the ILO’s Conventions on child labor (and of all ILO core Conventions)
National policies and programs to ensure effective progress in the elimination of child labor
Action to build the worldwide movement against child labor

As Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has stressed, “The exploitation of children anywhere should be a concern to people everywhere.” Children in situations of exploitative child labor are deprived education, and lack the opportunities to rise to their full potential and lift themselves, their families and their communities out of a cycle of poverty.

This year, the World Day Against Child Labor provided a spotlight on the right of all children to be protected from child labor and from other violations of fundamental human rights. Children enjoy the same human rights accorded to all people. But lacking the knowledge, experience or physical development of adults and the power to defend their own interests in an adult world, they also have distinct rights to protection by virtue of their age.

In 2010, the international community adopted a Roadmap for achieving the elimination of the worst forms of child labor by 2016.
Some 215 million children across the world are still trapped in child labor and it is estimated that 5 million children are in forced labor.
In Asia and the Pacific, child labor is declining but the region has the most child laborers ages 5-17 (113.6 million, more than 48 million of them in hazardous work.
There continues to be a need for specific future actions: strengthening workplace safety and health for all workers with specific safeguards for children between the minimum age for admission to employment and the age of 18.

The awareness day was recognized by countries and leaders around the world, many of which stated that education is the key to ending child labor and protecting youth.

“Education is a critical response to child labor and youth employment issues in Indonesia,” said Angela Kearney, UNICEF Representative in Indonesia. “If the number of children in work is to be reduced and their prospects when they do enter the workforce in later years are to be improved, investment in education at every level – from pre-school programs to vocational training—is essential.”

Salesian programs in more than 130 countries around the globe—including Indonesia—are providing such education and vocational training. Widely considered the world’s largest private provider of vocational and technical education, the Salesians focus on changing the course of a young person’s future by providing opportunity.

“Ending child labor will be the work of those providing better opportunities,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “And those better opportunities come from access to education.”

Learn more about the educational opportunities the Salesians provide around the globe at SalesianMissions.org >

Learn more about how the Salesians are giving brighter futures for child laborers in India (and how you can help) >

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UNITED NATIONS Launches Emergency Operation to Feed Thousands who Fled Malian Conflict

MissionNewswire — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:18:59 +0000

(United Nations) The United Nations food and refugee agencies today launched a joint emergency operation to respond to the food needs of hundreds of thousands of people who have fled conflict in Mali and crossed the border into neighboring countries.

The new operation, which will be carried out by the World Food Program (WFP) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), aims to assist 300,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) and 255,000 refugees this year.

“We are working side by side with UNHCR to help families who have been forced from their homes in Mali and now need urgent food and shelter,” said WFP’s Executive Director, Ertharin Cousin, in a news release. “The refugees from Mali have fled conflict in their own country, and now find themselves across the border in neighboring states that are already suffering from the severe effects of a regional drought.”

Mali is among several countries in the West African part of the Sahel region, which stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, that are suffering from a food crisis resulting from prolonged drought. The northern part of the country has also witnessed resumed clashes between Government forces and Tuareg rebels since January, leading to the mass displacement of civilians who have sought refuge in neighboring countries.

WFP and UNHCR said the $77 million operation will give WFP the flexibility to respond to the evolving refugee situation, and appealed to the international community to help fund the response.

“The Sahel represents a deadly combination of drought and displacement by conflict. This is not only a dramatic humanitarian problem but it has become a threat to global peace and security,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres. “Donor support is crucial if any humanitarian effort is to make headway.”

So far, WFP has reached IDPs and refugees with food assistance in Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Niger, as part of its overall Sahel emergency operation which aims to support around 9.6 million people affected by the hunger crisis caused by a combination of insecurity, drought, crop deficit and high food prices. To do this, the agency must secure funding to help bridge a shortfall of around $ 360 million.

For its part, UNHCR has been establishing refugee sites and working in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania to help tens of thousands of refugees who continue to cross over from Mali. Inside Mali, UNHCR is working with its partners to reach IDPs.

“Time is not on our side,” said Ms. Cousin. “If no new food or cash contributions are received immediately, the resulting inability to pre-position and distribute enough food at the peak of the lean season, from June to September, would be catastrophic for the most vulnerable, food insecure people – especially women and children.”

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Photo: UNHCR/H.Caux

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WORLD WATER DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Programs that Provide Safe Water, Agriculture Training

MissionNewswire — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:22:36 +0000

(MissionNewswire) The international community celebrated World Water Day on March 22, which is recognized annually as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. World Water Day 2012 was coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. The theme of this year’s World Water Day was water and food security.

“Agriculture is by far the main user of freshwater,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in an address highlighting World Water Day on March 22, 2012. “Unless we increase our capacity to use water wisely in agriculture, we will fail to end hunger and we will open the door to a range of other ills, including drought, famine and political instability.”

World Water Day is also a day for celebrating organizations and people who work year round to empower women and girls in an effort to make the world a better place. It is work that too often goes uncelebrated.

Salesian Missions has programs helping the poor in more than 130 countries around the globe, including programs that provide safe water and much-needed agricultural training in some of the poorest places on the planet. Here are some examples of that work:

BRAZIL

To address serious water issues resulting from pesticide pollution in a remote area of western Brazil, Salesian Missions worked with members of the Xavante and Bororo Indian communities to obtain clean water from previously inaccessible areas. To do so, they first created wells and designed a mobile drilling truck. To create power, they invented and patented a seesaw pump that would draw water from the depths of the well. Now, solar panels are used. The result is reduced risk of disease, access to potable water, improved infrastructure and expanded farming. The immediate response to a crisis in a community has become a well organized project to ensure the growth of the indigenous groups.

INDIA

Safe drinking water is essential for child survival. In India, progress has been made toward access to safe drinking water with 84.5 percent of rural and 95 percent of urban populations having sustainable access to safe drinking water, according to the World Bank.

At the Don Bosco Centre for Learning in Kura, a new training facility focuses on job training in developing technologies concerning water – ranging from plumbing and sanitation to developing efficient methods for utilization and analyzing existing systems for efficient transportation of water. The courses are designed for youth who have previously left school in order to help them enter the job market.

RWANDA

In Rwanda, food insecurity is a major issue, according to the World Food Program. At least 22 percent of households (2.2 million people) are food-insecure, and another 24 percent are highly vulnerable to food insecurity.

Today, Salesian Missions includes agriculture in its vocational training programs – to ensure that youth of Rwanda learn better agricultural practices as well as keep the school self-sustaining in the face of the country’s food shortages.

PERU

Rebuilding efforts continue after an 8.0 magnitude earthquake in August 2007, which killed more than 500 people in the central coastal cities of Chincha, Pisco and Ica, and injured hundreds more. Years after the quake, Salesians are still helping with ongoing reconstruction efforts in Peru, such as the development of “Mary Help of Christians Village” in Chinca – comprised of 22 small homes with running potable water.

BOLIVIA

In Bolivia, families now have access to safe drinking water in their homes through community water distribution projects. For example, in the town of “19 de Agosto” in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the new distribution brings water directly to 106 families who previously had to carry potable water from the town well to their own homes. In addition, the distribution system greatly improves the sanitary conditions of the drinking water. And, in the town of “Las Parabas,” 50 families now have water distribution directly into their homes.

In Bolivia, training in agriculture practices inspires transformation of communities. At the Muriyana Agricultural School, more than 600 high school students and 100 advanced students are receiving training while learning to integrate their work into the local community. An estimated 20,000 people in the communities benefit directly from this program as a result of the school’s extension and community outreach programs.

LIBERIA

Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world, according to the World Bank. After a devastating civil war, orphans, street children and adolescent ex-combatants are facing – with little education or skills – adult responsibilities.

The goal of the Don Bosco Rehabilitation and Skills Training Program in Liberia is to reach youth through rehabilitative skills training and counseling. By attending classes, youth can make up for the years lost as a result of the war by gaining marketable skills that they can then contribute to the rebuilding of the country. Teenagers to young adults in their mid-twenties are able to receive agricultural training in addition to carpentry, masonry, plumbing, auto mechanics, metal works, and electricity. The program was founded in 1991 through a joint initiative with UNICEF.

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WORLD WATER DAY: Bringing Attention to Connection Between Water, Food Security

MissionNewswire — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:39:41 +0000

(MissionNewswire) The international community celebrated World Water Day on March 22 – which is recognized annually as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. World Water Day 2012 was coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating March 22, 1993, as the first “World Water Day.”

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater – this year’s theme is water and food security.

“Agriculture is by far the main user of freshwater,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in an address highlighting World Water Day on March 22, 2012.

“Unless we increase our capacity to use water wisely in agriculture, we will fail to end hunger and we will open the door to a range of other ills, including drought, famine and political instability,” Ban Ki-moon continued.

“In many parts of the world, water scarcity is increasing and rates of growth in agricultural production have been slowing,” he said. “At the same time, climate change is exacerbating risk and unpredictability for farmers, especially for poor farmers in low-income countries who are the most vulnerable and the least able to adapt.”

Two weeks prior to this year’s World Water Day, UNICEF and World Health Organization report showed conclusively that poor people in rural areas are overwhelmingly those without these most basic necessities for life.

As the world commemorated World Water Day, UNICEF called on governments to pay particular attention to those who are being left behind in their countries’ progress, especially with regard to access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

“Governments must make sure that their resources achieve real results for the poorest people,” said Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF’s chief of water, sanitation and hygiene. “Otherwise they risk leaving large portions of their populations, particularly children, increasingly vulnerable to disease.”

The report, Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation 2012, says the world met the Millennium Development Goal target for drinking water at the end of 2010, when 89 per cent of the world’s population, or 6.1 billion people, used improved drinking water sources.

However, it says that rural dwellers are several times more likely than their urban counterparts to be without access to safe drinking water. According to the report, globally there is an almost universal disparity of access to safe drinking water in rural areas compared to urban areas.

Of the 783 million people still without improved sources of drinking water in 2010, 653 million are from rural areas. The picture is even worse for sanitation, where globally, 79 per cent of the urban population use an improved sanitation facility compared to 47 per cent of the rural population. Fully 72 per cent of those without access to improved sanitation, or 1.8 billion people, live in rural areas.

UNICEF says the rural-urban divide for safe drinking water is particularly acute in poorer countries. In sub-Saharan Africa the gap between urban and rural is 34 percentage points. On average in Least Developed Countries, ninety-seven out of every 100 rural dwellers do not have piped water on premises.

Overwhelmingly, it is women and girls who are bearing the brunt of the water burden, UNICEF says. Surveys conducted in 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa found that in 71 per cent of all households without water on the premises women or girls are mainly responsible for water collection. Each household typically requires at least one trip a day, and often more, for water collection. It is estimated that women spend a combined total of at least 16 million hours each day collecting drinking water; men spend 6 million hours; and children, 4 million hours.

“Safe drinking water must reach everyone”, says Wijesekera. “We cannot celebrate progress until those who are hardest to reach can also turn on a tap, or go to a well or pump and get enough safe drinking water for their daily needs.”

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UN Photo/Martine Perret

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Programs that Empower Women Through Education, Opportunity

MissionNewswire — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 22:30:43 +0000

(MissionNewswire) International Women’s Day—created by the United Nations and celebrated by organizations and countries around the globe—is observed each year on March 8.

According to the United Nations, “it is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.”

It is also a day for celebrating organizations and people who work year round to empower women and girls in an effort to make the world a better place. It is work that too often goes uncelebrated.

Salesian programs empower girls in impoverished countries around the globe by helping them build a sense of dignity and self worth, says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

“Education builds self esteem and opens the door to opportunity,” he says. “By providing girls with the opportunity to learn life skills and a trade, they become self sufficient and are able to care for their families. When girls have access to education, families are made stronger and have more opportunities to remain together—breaking the cycle of poverty and improving entire communities.”

Salesian Missions has programs helping the poor in more than 130 countries around the globe, including programs to empower women and girls. Here are some examples of that work:

BOLIVIA

In Bolivia, women face more difficulties finding good education and productive jobs, according to the 2003 Human Development Report on Gender. In addition, education of women and girls impacts the health and education of their children.

Through the innovative “Girls in the Vanguard” initiative of Salesian Missions and USAID, more than 1,000 girls in five key countries – including Bolivia – were given the opportunity to receive training and obtain jobs in the private sector. Training focused on jobs with advancement potential, in areas that were often male-dominated. Special business advisory councils and past pupil associations were formed at each site to provide additional assistance. The program took place from 2001-2006, giving girls and young women in Bolivia the skills needed for a better future for them, their families and their communities.

CAMBODIA

In Cambodia, education for girls opens doors to opportunities. With basic education, girls are better equipped to face the daily dangers of human trafficking, child prostitution and substance abuse. Today, more than 2,000 girls who live in poverty have access to basic education through the Don Bosco Children’s Fund. In addition, with vocational and technical education, they see possibilities for jobs and independence. Hundreds of students at four specialized schools for girls/young women will open new doors with skills in printing, electronics, secretarial skills and sewing.

COLOMBIA

The “Right to Dream” program for many poverty-stricken children in Medellin, Colombia. One such child is Alejandra – who now has access to social support and educational program previously unimaginable to her and her siblings as they worked on the streets to help their family survive. One hundred students ages 7-18 receive vocational training and hot meals.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

In the Dominican Republic, women striving for a better life find support with the “Madres Project” in Santo Domingo. The project addresses the root causes of street children by working with mothers. By learning skills to earn a living wage in the workforce, women in charge of families can improve their living conditions and keep their children off the streets. Women complete courses in literacy, post-literacy, health care and various modules of computer studies. All training modules include lessons in human rights. The program is a partnership with Salesian Missions and the International Volunteer Movement for Development. In addition, they run a training program for youth in the poorest areas of the city called “Boys and Girls with Don Bosco.”

GHANA

Girls in Ghana find less opportunity than boys to improve their lives through education. In many cases, girls are expected to contribute to the family’s income – which takes priority over attending classes.

Through a boarding school for girls in Odumase, girls have the opportunity to continue their studies while learning job skills that will also help their family.

GUATEMALA

More than 21% of Guatemalans 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 house hold and community decision-makers.

INDIA

In India, education can help overcome inequities in jobs and income that are related to gender. Nisha’s story is an example of how one woman’s achievement helps contribute to the community as a whole:

Nisha, strong and confident, works in her beauty salon doing manicures, styling hair and doing facials in Pune, an Indian town with more than a million inhabitants. “Finally I am able to work for my own living and to offer my children a good education,” Nisha says. But it was not always so. Married as a young girl, Nisha worked as a maid and had to take care of her husband after a severe accident. Her life took a new direction after she became acquainted with the self-help groups founded by the Salesians of Don Bosco and now supported by Jugend Dritte Welt, an NGO affiliated with the Salesians. “Suddenly I wasn’t alone and found a new perspective for my life,” says Nisha. After completing a cosmetics course, Nisha opened her own beauty salon. Today she is able to repay her microcredit loans that she owed to the support group. More than 900 women participate in the microfinancing and skills training groups.

KENYA

At the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, girls and women receive training opportunities and learn about the important role they play in society and the community. The microfinance program funded by UNHCR and Caritas Italiana offers graduates, women and other refugees an opportunity to establish small business ventures using skills learned.

MEXICO

The Salesians in Mexico are directing their efforts toward the country’s at-risk population, including girls and young mothers who face severe dangers on the streets. Innovative programs are preventing poor children from dropping out of school and are providing important opportunities to keep their lives on the right track.

PERU

The number of women in the Peruvian workforce is increasing, according to the Pan-American Health Organization. So, too, is the need for job training for marketable skills that will help women support themselves and their families.

Since 1982, Salesian Missions has offered training for girls at a vocational school in Yanama. Currently, more than 300 students enrolled in these schools, which are now located in parts of Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador, as well as Peru. Girls are trained in using alpaca and sheep wool to make sweaters, rugs, gloves and other articles, which are marketed locally and abroad. On graduating, they receive a weaving machine as the first step in the new career.

PHILIPPINES

In the Philippines, drop-out rates double as children reach secondary school, according to UNICEF, and there are more than 11 million out-of-school youth.

Salesian Missions’ Tuloy Foundation provides another chance for at-risk youth to succeed in school. Street children are able to take part in an alternative learning module with five levels of instruction in six subjects. Children progress from first grade through high school. Older youth pursue vocational training in a variety of technologies, including automotive, electrical, welding and woodworking. The school developed specialized classes focused on female students, including bag making courses.

SOUTH AFRICA

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.

TANZANIA

When a Salesian Missions secondary school opened in Didia, Tanzania, it was the first secondary school within a 40 mile radius. Just as important, girls had the opportunity to take part in classes at the co-educational facility.

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(IRIN) GLOBAL: Fighting for the Rights of Child Soldiers

MissionNewswire — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:08:47 +0000

(IRIN) – At the end of November 2011, Somalia and the Central African Republic became the latest countries to commit to end the use of child soldiers – a move seen as “encouraging” by the UN, albeit with the proviso that the situation in both countries remains volatile.All sides to the Somali conflict have reportedly been recruiting children. An official working with an NGO that monitors the state of children in the country told IRIN that although the exact number of child soldiers was unknown, his group suspected between 2,000 and 3,000 children were in different armed groups.

Up to 300,000 children are still involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

In April 2011, the UN listed dozens of groups that continued to recruit or use children in its annual report on children and armed conflict. This bid to “name and shame” countries into cooperating with the law has only a limited effect, however. While fewer children are being used as child soldiers today, it is thanks to conflicts having ended, not the practice of recruiting and using children.

“Despite some examples of progress, the bigger picture remains essentially unaltered: the recruitment and use of boys and girls by armed groups remains widespread,” according to the latest report by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers in 2008.

Gender is no protection, as girls are recruited into armed groups or abducted for forced labour or sex. Age also proved no barrier; in Columbia, the FARC militia announced it would recruit all children over the age of eight, reported the UN Secretary-General in April 2011: “In one characteristic use of children, a child was used by FARC-EP to carry out an attack against a police station using explosives. The explosives were attached to the child and activated as he approached the police station, killing him instantly.”

Defenseless

“Many children have few alternatives to, or defenses against, joining armed groups,” states the 2008 Coalition report. It cited poverty, discrimination and social exclusion, lack of access to education, and limited job prospects as some of the factors pushing minors to join armed groups.

Not all children associated with armed forces are used as fighters. Minors have been seen manning checkpoints, acting as scouts and guides in battles, running errands, cooking and cleaning for forces during the Côte d’Ivoire election conflict, according to government social workers, UN agency and NGO staff, as well as direct testimonies from children. Social workers in Duékoué, in the west, told NGO Save the Children they saw children involved whom they estimated to be as young as 11.

Suicide bombers

Children have also been made to carry explosives between Afghanistan and Pakistan, conduct military operations in the DRC, Philippines, Myanmar and Somalia, carry out arson attacks and collect kidnap ransoms in Haiti; they were used as suicide bombers in Iraq, according to the Secretary-General’s 2010 report, as well as Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Photo: Guy Oliver/IRIN

Augustin Habyaremye was forcibly recruited into one of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) armed groups, the Mai-Mai PARECO, at 15, and tasked with quizzing local villagers about the movements of militia forces because of his knowledge of Kinyarwanda, an official language of Rwanda. He cannot remember how many skirmishes and battles he was involved in during his six years with them, but in July 2011 he managed to slip away and was brought to the demobilization camp in the eastern DRC city of Goma, in search of “a normal life”.

According to a Foreign Policy Association blog: “The use of child suicide bombers appears to be increasing, and while many children are educated and reared into this deadly fate, many are thankfully saved or removed before their actions have deadly consequences. Many have seen the images of infants and toddlers dressed in mock suicide bomber outfits in Palestine, and while they may not commit such acts when they grow up, their fate is one undoubtedly leaning towards violence.”

Laws not applied

There are various instruments outlawing the recruitment and use of children for combat in human rights law, humanitarian law, labour law and criminal law – but a chasm exists between these standards and their application. The Coalition report cites ineffective government and a lack of enforcement mechanisms as reasons why armed groups continued to operate with relative impunity.

Although child soldiers are used all over the world, the largest numbers are in Africa, despite the 1999 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the only regional treaty in the world that prohibits the use of child soldiers.

Most observers agree that the practice continues because children make for cheap and obedient fighters, easily frightened or brainwashed into compliance. The accessibility of light weaponry has also fed into the problem, making it possible for very young children to bear and use arms.

“Any country that has an active armed conflict can expect that troop-hungry commanders will use children to fill their ranks,” said professor, author and psychologist Michael Wessells in a United States Department of State webchat in June 2008.

But all agree that the most obvious reason armed forces take on children is because they can. Despite the regulations outlawing the practice, most of those who violate the conventions and international agreements are not prosecuted.

Children who have been displaced or separated from their parents, have limited access to education, or who have suffered an injustice or emotional abuse, are more vulnerable to recruitment, according to UNICEF.

Among other things, protection involves addressing these vulnerabilities, and identifying non-violent ways for them to contribute to their families and communities. Resources and capacity are particularly needed to extend education and vocational training, as well as to revive agriculture and provide other economic opportunities, according to the UN.

Demobilizing, reintegrating and rehabilitating children who have already participated in armed conflict is as difficult as protecting them. “Children who transition successfully into civilian life are less likely to continue the life of the gun, with its inherent dangers. However, instability in the post-conflict environment can put children at grave risk of re-recruitment and thwart their reintegration,” Wessells wrote in his 2006 book, Child Soldiers: from violence to protection.

The effects on children

Child soldiers are subject to ill-treatment and sexual exploitation. They are often forced to commit terrible atrocities, and beaten or killed if they try to escape. They are subjected to brutal initiation and punishment rituals, hard labour, cruel training regimes and torture. Many are given drugs and alcohol to agitate them and make it easier to break down their psychological barriers to fighting or committing atrocities.

Some speak of having been forced to witness or commit atrocities, including rape and murder. Others speak of seeing friends and family killed. Susan, 16, captures the brutalization children suffered at the hands of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda in the following testimony:

“One boy tried to escape but he was caught. His hands were tied and then they made us, the other new captives, kill him with a stick. I felt sick. I knew this boy from before; we were from the same village. I refused to do it and they told me they would shoot me. They pointed a gun at me, so I had to do it… I see him in my dreams and he is saying I killed him for nothing, and I am crying.”

“Fighting groups have developed brutal and sophisticated techniques to separate and isolate children from their communities. Children are often terrorized into obedience, consistently made to fear for their lives and well-being,” wrote the UN’s Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. “Sometimes they are compelled to participate in the killing of other children or family members, because it is understood by these groups that there is ‘no way back home’ for children after they have committed such crimes.”

Many child soldiers report psycho-social disturbances – from nightmares and aggression that is difficult to control to strongly anti-social behavior and substance abuse – both during their involvement in war and after their return to civilian life. Others, who held high ranks and were feared and respected by other children, find it difficult to go back to classrooms or family dwellings where they are expected to be subservient.

For that reason, according to UNICEF, successful demobilization and rehabilitation programs not only involve taking the guns out of children’s hands but finding ways to reunite and resettle the children with their families and communities, and provide for their psycho-social care and recovery.

In Burundi, for example, the lucky ones among the country’s 3,421 former child soldiers who went through a demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) process returned to school but most languish in poverty, with little to do, officials told IRIN.

Cyprien Ndayishimiye, supervisor of former child soldiers in Bubanza province, said the situation for many former child soldiers was “dangerous” as even those who underwent vocational training during reintegration had yet to find gainful employment or set up income-generating activities.

“Many have even sold the materials they got from the DDR program, such as sewing machines for those who learned sewing, and planes for those who hoped carpentry would help them,” Ndayishimiye said.

Photo: ICRC/W. Lembryk/cd-e-00562

Female combatants are especially stigmatized upon their return from war, especially if they have children by their captors

Tougher for girls

Girls – especially orphans or unaccompanied girls – are especially vulnerable because they are often sexually exploited, raped or otherwise abused, subjected to human trafficking and prostitution, and forced to be “wives” by other combatants. This, in turn, can result in physical and psychological trauma, unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV/AIDS) and social stigmatization.

“Girls are mostly used by armed opposition groups, paramilitaries and militias, but they are also used by government forces,” wrote Dyan Mazurana and Khristopher Carlson in a paper for the UN. “Worldwide estimates suggest girls may account for between 10 to 30 percent of children in fighting forces.”

Girls returning from war are often stigmatized and ostracized by their communities, especially if they return with children.

“Girl soldiers are exploited in all the ways that boys are and carry the added burden of gender-based violence,” wrote Wessells.

Girls in particular continue to be excluded from official demobilization, disarmament, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration (DDRRR) programs, despite their special post-conflict needs.

For example, some 3,000 girl soldiers in Liberia were officially demobilized while as many as 8,000 were excluded or did not register, according to the 2008 Coalition report. In the DRC, only about 15 percent of the girls believed to have been involved in the conflict were officially demobilized as the national programme drew to a close.

For the girls who do not go through the official programs, there is no formal support at all.

Society pays a high price

Military recruitment is not only harmful to the children themselves but to societies as a whole. Children’s lost years of schooling reduce societies’ human and economic development potential. The educational system is further damaged when violent attacks are aimed at schools. The UN reported in 2010 that such attacks are becoming a “significant and a growing trend”.

Tensions may also be high between children returning from combat and those who stayed behind, especially when social support and reintegration programmes are aimed at ex-combatants, seeming to reward participation in violence.

Though child soldiers have committed and continue to commit some terrible crimes in wartime, they are still entitled, as children, to special provision and protection.

Besides criminal proceedings, “other, more age- and culturally-appropriate options exist, including truth and reconciliation commissions, community-based rehabilitation and reintegration programmes and the traditional practice of cleansing rituals”, wrote Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

There is no international consensus on the minimum legal age for criminal responsibility, said Coomaraswamy. International Criminal Court (ICC) Article 26 prevents the court from prosecuting anyone under the age of 18, but not because it believes children should be exempt from prosecution for international crimes, “but rather that the decision on whether to prosecute should be left to states”, says Coomaraswamy’s office [ Working Paper Number 3: Children and Justice During and in the Aftermath of Armed Conflict, September 2011 ]. “[The] exclusion of children from the ICC jurisdiction avoided an argument between States on the minimum age for international crimes,” it noted.

There are substantial challenges in healing and reintegrating children into their communities when they have been instruments of brutality and atrocities, and whole societies must sometimes be involved in communal healing and acceptance of the returnees.

Somehow, the differing needs for justice and the reintegration in society of former child soldiers have to be accommodated.

Progress update

The past decade has seen a steady commitment to ending the use and abuse of children in conflict, and a strengthened framework to protect minors and bring perpetrators to justice.

By 2010, 129 countries had signed up to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict while 143 had also ratified it.

The Protocol outlaws recruitment of children under 18 years of age, obliges states to ensure that members of their armed forces under age 18 do not take direct part in combat, raises the minimum age for voluntary enlistment into armed forces to 16 years and includes specific measures requiring proof of a wish to enlist.

In 2006, integrated disarmament, demobilization and reintegration standards were created, and the Paris Principles and Guidelines on children associated with armed forces or armed groups were created in 2007 to protect children from being recruited, and helping those who already were. A 2009 policy directive mainstreamed the protection, rights and well-being of children affected by armed conflict within peacekeeping operations.

Photo: Tim Freccia/ENOUGH Project

The UN’s Zero Under 18 Campaign seeks universal ratification of the convention protecting children from armed conflict by end-2012

Local approaches to justice and reconciliation are increasingly playing a role in transitional justice strategies, building upon traditional norms to strengthen the protection of children in communities.

In addition, the UN says more attention is being paid to understanding the root causes of child soldiering in an effort to provide more insight into children’s vulnerability and decision-making. There is, for example, increasing recognition of the role that notions of masculinity play in enticing or coercing children into armed groups.

The UN Security Council passed resolutions 1539 in 2004; 1612 in 2005; and 1882 in 2009, which together created a working group and a monitoring and reporting mechanism to systematically monitor, document and report on the recruitment, abduction, killing or maiming of children, rape and sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access. It also led to systematic listing of parties that recruited or used child soldiers, in the Secretary-General’s annual report.

This public humiliation may be effective: in the last two years, five armed groups have signed special Action Plans with the UN, the first step in being de-listed from the annual report.

“However, the gap between what governments say and what they do remains wide,” says the 2008 Coalition report.

The UN does not monitor and report on every country where children are being used in fighting or these grave violations occur. For example, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is not on the official list of countries monitored by the UN Security Council task force for recruitment of children, yet, as cited earlier, social workers told Save the Children they saw children involved with armed groups who they estimated to be as young as 11.

Other parties pledge to change but do not, despite the “naming and shaming” of the annual report. “More must be done to systematize and activate the full range of options available to the international community to ensure more robust action against recalcitrant violators,” said the Office for the Special Representative for the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict. “There are, for instance, 16 such persistent violators who have been explicitly named and listed by the Secretary-General for five years or more and the lack of action against them undermines accountability initiatives.”

And of course, national governments are only part of the problem. The Optional Protocol outlaws the recruitment or participation of anyone under 18 in insurgency groups and rebel forces, but “a wide array of armed groups – with diverse aims, methods and constituencies – continue to use children as soldiers and they have proved resistant to pressure or persuasion to stop the practice”, says the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers.

“Despite progress, the overall picture is one of armed groups that have ignored international law and standards, that renege on commitments, are resistant to pressure and persuasion, or have so far proved to be beyond the reach of efforts to end the involvement of children in conflict and political violence,” said the Coalition’s 2008 report.

Higher political profile

The UN said national and international tribunals were setting important precedents in the fight to end impunity for grave child rights violations, serving as a deterrent for commanders and warlords all over the world and creating leverage for their compliance with international norms.

Of the 12 individuals publicly indicted by the International Criminal Court at The Hague, seven have been charged with war crimes against children such as using child soldiers. They include Lord’s Resistance Army leaders Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti (since deceased) and Okot Odhiambo. Also on trial or in the pre-trial stage are cases against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a militia leader from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who is on trial for recruiting children under 15. The ICC also has open cases on DRC commanders Bosco Ntaganda, Germain Katanga and Matthieu Ngudjolo Chui for their crimes against children.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone is nearly finished trying a case in The Hague against Liberia’s Charles Taylor for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including conscripting or enlisting children into armed forces or groups and using them to participate actively in hostilities. The trial of a former president is a strong message to the world that even leaders of nations are not beyond the reach of international law when it comes to protecting the rights of children.

Photo: Cornelia Walther/UNICEF

Felix, 15, a demobilized child soldier in Bukavu, DRC, wants to become a lawyer “to defend those who can’t defend themselves”

Calls for future action

Tackling impunity remains a key priority for the international community. “Concerted emphasis must be maintained on fighting the impunity of perpetrators,” said Coomaraswamy’s office.

It is also strengthening the data collection and reporting on sexual violence, in the hope it will allow for better identification of perpetrators and better analysis of trends on sexual violence against children. The proliferation of small arms is another issue that the UN would like to see addressed in order to make sure weapons do not end up in the hands of children.

In 2010, Coomaraswamy, with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, UNICEF and the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, launched the Zero Under 18 Campaign: a two-year initiative to achieve universal ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict by 2012. The push is premised on the belief that the strongest defence against impunity for child rights violators is to have an international moral consensus that no child should take part in armed conflict – and a strong enforcement mechanism to back it up.

“I think the political will is there. What is lacking is the momentum, and that is what we hope to achieve in this campaign,” said Coomaraswamy.

Ending child soldiering remains a daunting challenge. “The military imperatives of the group and the political, economic and social factors that drive conflicts and cause children to enlist – often underpinned by local cultural attitudes towards the age of majority – can outweigh legal and moral arguments,” said the 2008 Coalition report.

The report analyzed 21 conflicts where children were used or deployed and found that children will “almost inevitably” become involved when armed conflict breaks out.

And no matter how strongly the international community pushes for stronger protection and decreased impunity, national laws have to reflect the same in order for change to take place.

Governments must also remember that the problem has deeper and more human roots than the conflict du jour. Because children are more likely to be drawn to armed groups if they have experienced human rights violations or other forms of violence, “governments and societies that fail to prioritize the promotion and protection of children’s rights – economic, social and cultural, as well as civil and political – share responsibility for driving children into the ranks of armed groups”, says the Coalition report. Understanding these deep-seated drivers of child involvement in conflict will be essential in devising a plan to protect them, and punish those who do not.

For more, visit IRIN’s in-depth on child soldiers

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This report does not necessarily reflect the views of Salesian Missions (the sponsor of this newswire).

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GLOBAL: UNICEF Calls for Children with Disabilities to be Included in All Development

MissionNewswire — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 18:17:18 +0000

(UNICEF) Marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, UNICEF today called on the global development community to focus greater attention and investment in helping children and young people with disabilities to realize their rights, and renewed the call for universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

“Children with disabilities have the same rights as all children, and they deserve the same chance to make the most of their lives and to make their voices heard,” says Anthony Lake, UNICEF executive director. “We need to break down the barriers that prevent full participation of children with disabilities – from programs that ignore their needs, to prejudice that discounts their ability to contribute.”

Children with disabilities are among the most marginalized and excluded groups of children. Compared to their peers, they are routinely denied access to health, education and social services. They are often excluded from opportunities to participate in their communities, and are more vulnerable to violence and abuse.

Girls with disabilities also face additional discrimination because of their sex. In addition to marginalization within the family, community, school and wider social circles, girls with disabilities are often at greater risk of violence, injury, abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment and exploitation.

And children with disabilities are less likely to receive necessary healthcare, be taken to clinics, receive medication or be immunized. They are also often the last to receive information that would help them to stay safe, including how to avoid HIV/AIDS, and how to tell adults when they feel endangered. Such information is rarely available in formats accessible to blind or deaf children or those with intellectual disabilities.

Discrimination against children with disabilities stems from multiple sources, including ignorance, prejudice and cultural norms, which in turn lead to stigma and entrenched social exclusion. Their participation is further limited by multiple barriers, including lack of access to the physical environment and to information and communication; lack of adequate legislation, lack of public policies and monitoring mechanisms; and lack of training for teachers and other service providers.

One of the chief barriers to improving the lives of children with disabilities is the paucity of reliable data. When children with disabilities are not included in data collection efforts, they are equally absent from policy discussions and budget allocations.

The situation of children with disabilities is improving, but there are still extraordinary gaps, especially in places where poverty and inequality are more prominent. As the global community works together to achieve the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals with greater equity, it must do more to create effective legislation to protect the rights of children with disabilities, to establish programs and services to support children with disabilities and their families at the community and national levels, and to dispel stereotypes, fight stigma and change attitudes towards disability.

“UNICEF is committed to working with our partners to overcome the barriers that stand between children with disabilities and the full realization of their rights,” says Lake.

Photo by Albert Gonzalez Farran – UNAMID

Sources:
UNICEF

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GLOBAL: World Aids Day 2012

MissionNewswire — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:53:04 +0000

(United Nations) As the world heads into the fourth decade of AIDS, it is finally in a position to end the epidemic, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, leading a chorus of United Nations officials in calling for the political will, investments and determination to reach this goal.

“Momentum is on our side. Let us use it to end AIDS – once and for all,” Mr. Ban said in his message for World AIDS Day, observed on Dec. 1 each year.

“The progress we have made so far is proof that we can realize our vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths,” he added.

The number of new HIV infections has fallen by more than 20 per cent since 1997, Mr. Ban noted. New infections are continuing to decline in most parts of the world. In addition, treatment has averted 2.5 million AIDS-related deaths since 1985, saving 700,000 lives last year alone.

“But, to end AIDS, we need to deliver even greater results,” stressed the Secretary-General. “We must build on the political commitments, investments, energy, activism and determination that have brought us to this turning point.”

Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), noted it has been a year of achievements, of collective action, of resilience and of courage. Despite the economic downturn that has stretched the AIDS response to its limits, millions of lives have been saved, as HIV treatment and prevention efforts continue to show results, he said.

“Never before in the history of AIDS have we reached a moment where we are able to stand up and say with conviction the end of AIDS is in sight,” he stated in his message.

“The road before us is clear and we can accelerate ahead with smart investments, capitalizing on scientific advancements and evidence and respecting human rights,” Mr. Sidibé said, calling on countries, donors and others to reach the global investment target of $22-24 billion for the AIDS response. “Only together can we secure the future and provide greater and long-term dividends.”

In a related development, Mr. Sidibé welcomed China’s decision to fill its HIV resource gap by increasing domestic investments. The new commitment from China comes at a crucial moment, according to UNAIDS, as resources for AIDS are declining and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is facing a major setback in resource mobilization.

The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is “Getting to Zero,” which reflects both optimism and the need to do much more, the President of the General Assembly said in his message, noting that the challenges ahead are “sobering.”

While more than 6.5 million people now receive life-saving treatment, 7.6 million still have no access to it, said Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser. In 2010 alone, 1.8 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses, and there were 2.7 million new HIV infections.

“We cannot allow hard-won gains to unravel,” said Mr. Al-Nasser. “I call on all stakeholders to uphold their commitments, and to work together to sustain and accelerate the progress.”

A number of other senior UN officials issued messages, adding their voices to the call for sustained action to finally rid the world of the epidemic. They include the Executive Director of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov; the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova; and the Director-General of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Juan Somavia.

The UN World Food Program (WFP) marked the Day by emphasizing the importance of providing food and nutrition support to people living with HIV and their families.

“Poor nutritional status and HIV can reinforce each other in a vicious circle,” said Martin Bloem, WFP’s chief of nutrition and HIV/AIDS policy. “WFP works with communities and health centers around the world to ensure that people affected by HIV and AIDS receive comprehensive support that nourishes and strengthens their bodies.”

In 2010, WFP supported 2.5 million people in 44 countries through its HIV and tuberculosis programs, providing food and nutrition support to some 1.3 million people living with HIV as part of their anti-retroviral treatment (ART) or TB treatment and another 1.2 million people affected by these diseases. It aims to reach about the same number of people this year.

Yesterday, the UN World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UNAIDS released their report on the global HIV/AIDS response, highlighting the fact that there is a very real possibility of getting ahead of the epidemic.

This can only be achieved, however, by both sustaining and accelerating the current momentum over the next decade and beyond, the agencies stressed.

Meanwhile, a UN Development Programs (UNDP) study released today says that households in Asia that include people living with HIV exhaust their savings and liquidate assets at a disproportionately high rate, often plunging into “irreversible poverty.”

Catastrophic health care costs, stigma, unemployment, and bad credit also mean these households – which start out with fewer assets – consume less food of lower quality and keep fewer children in school, said the report, which calls for urgent mitigation measures, including HIV-sensitive social protection to help tens of thousands of households in the region.

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Learn about how Salesian Missions is working to fight HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia through a project funded by USAID.

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UNICEF REPORT: More Resources Needed to Maintain Relief Effort in Horn of Africa

MissionNewswire — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:46:50 +0000

(UNICEF) The massive humanitarian response to the food crisis in the Horn of Africa has eased the suffering of thousands of people, but more resources are needed to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in famine-hit areas of Somalia, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a progress report on the crisis released on Oct. 21, 2011.

“We have saved many children, in Somalia, in the refugee camps in neighboring countries as well as in the other regions in Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti hit by prolonged drought, escalating food prices and conflict,” explains Elhadj As Sy, the UNICEF regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, releasing the report entitled Response to the Horn of Africa Emergency.

“Due to the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis, we have to increase our immediate response and at the same time lay the foundation for long-term development to prevent a similar catastrophe from happening again.”

He called for the scaling up of integrated interventions in health, nutrition, food security, water and sanitation, education and child protection.

A total of 13.3 million people needed assistance in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti as a result of what aid agencies said was the worst drought in the region in six decades.

More than 450,000 Somalis have fled to refugee camps around Dadaab in north-eastern Kenya, including 100,000 since June. Another 183,000 Somalis entered Ethiopia. Some 20,000 other refugees from Somalia went to Djibouti. Famine was formally declared in six areas of Somalia.

Thousands of children have already died, and more than 320,000 – half of them in central and southern Somalia – are suffering from life-threatening malnutrition.

Thanks to international support over the past three months, UNICEF and partners across the Horn of Africa have achieved important results on which to build, according to the report.

Over the past three months, UNICEF has delivered 10,000 tons of assorted life-saving relief supplies to the Horn of Africa by air, land and sea, and supported the treatment of 108,000 severely malnourished children in therapeutic feeding centers. Some 1.2 million children have been vaccinated against measles, and an estimated 2.2 million people benefited from access to safe water. About 48,000 children were provided access to child-friendly environments.

In central and southern Somalia, where access for humanitarian agencies is limited, UNICEF has been able to reach 350,000 people with supplementary feeding and some 30,000 families with cooked meals while they were on their way to the refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia.

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Special Note: Salesian Missions is working to raise funds to support the aid efforts of Salesians in the Horn of Africa (Kenya and Ethiopia). The Salesians are part of the international Catholic response to the crisis, reaching approximately one million people currently. To make a donation, go to SalesianMissions.org, click on Donate Now and select “African Famine Fund.”

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UN REPORT: World’s Youth Facing Worsening Jobs Crisis

MissionNewswire — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:59:49 +0000

(United Nations) A new report by the United Nations labor agency warns of a youth jobs crisis in both developed and developing countries, with young people aged 15 to 24 finding it increasingly difficult to obtain decent employment and future prospects are dim.

As it released its Global Employment Trends for Youth: 2011 Update, the International Labor Organization (ILO) notes that the recent global economic crisis led to a “substantial” increase in youth unemployment rates, reversing earlier favorable trends over the past decade.

At the peak of the crisis period in 2009, the global youth unemployment rate saw its largest annual increase on record, rising from 11.8 per cent to 12.7 per cent between 2008 and 2009 – an unprecedented increase of 4.5 million unemployed youth worldwide.

The average increase of the pre-crisis period (1997-2007) was less than 100,000 persons per year.

The report says the absolute number of unemployed youth fell slightly since its peak in 2009 – from 75.8 million to 75.1 million in late 2010, a drop of 12.7 per cent – and is expected to decline to 74.6 million in 2011, or 12.6 per cent.

However, this is due more to youth withdrawing from the labor market, rather than finding jobs. This is especially true in the developed economies and the European Union region.

The agency warns of a “scarred” generation of young workers and growing frustration amid millions of youth worldwide who are facing a dangerous mix of high unemployment, increased inactivity and precarious work.

If youth unemployment were examined alone, states the report, one might wrongly guess that young people in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are doing well compared to the developed economies, when in fact the high employment-to-population ratios of youth in the poorest regions mean the poor have no choice but work.

“There are by far more young people around the world that are stuck in circumstances of working poverty than are without work or looking for work,” the report points out.

It also notes that the collective frustration among youth has been a contributing factor to protest movements around the world this year, as it becomes increasingly difficult for young people to find anything other than part-time and temporary work.

It adds that the “bad luck of the generation entering the labor market in the years of the Great Recession brings not only current discomfort from unemployment, under-employment and the stress of social hazards associated with joblessness and prolonged inactivity, but also possible longer-term consequences in terms of lower future wages and distrust of the political and economic system.”

“These new statistics reflect the frustration and anger that millions of youth around the world are feeling,” said José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, executive director of the ILO Employment Sector.

He noted that governments are struggling to find innovative solutions through labor market interventions such as addressing skills mismatches, job search support, entrepreneurship training and subsidies to hiring.

“These measures can make a difference, but ultimately more jobs must come from measures beyond the labor market that aim to remove obstacles to growth recovery such as accelerating the repair of the financial system, bank restructuring and recapitalization to re-launch credit to small- and medium-sized enterprises, and real progress in global demand rebalancing,” he said.

The report offers a series of policy measures for promoting youth employment, including developing an integrated strategy for growth and job creation with a focus on young people as well as improving the quality of jobs and investing in the quality of education and training.

Perhaps most important of all, according to the report, is to pursue financial and macroeconomic policies that aim to remove obstacles to economic recovery.

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SPECIAL NOTE: The Salesians are widely regarded as the world’s largest provider of technical and vocational training, operating in some of the most remote and poor places on the planet.

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AFRICA: UN Chief Calls For Greater International Support to Northeast Africa

MissionNewswire — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:56:24 +0000

(United Nations / FOCUS News Agency) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday said international assistance should be intensified to solve the increasingly worsened crisis that has been plaguing Northeast Africa, also known as the Horn of Africa.

Ban’s statement came at a ministerial mini-summit on humanitarian response to the Horn of Africa which was held on the sidelines of the ongoing general debate of the UN General Assembly ‘s 66th session.

“The Horn of Africa is in crisis, and that crisis grows deeper by the day,” Ban said. “In Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti, more than 13 million people need our help.”
According to Ban, there is a shortage of about 700 million U.S. dollars in assistance needed in 2011 for the region.

The food crisis in the Horn of Africa has been caused by drought and rising food prices. Saturday’s mini-summit is aimed at raising vital funds for needs in the African region.
Also at the meeting, Nassir Abdulaziz Al- Nasser, president of the General Assembly, called the humanitarian disaster in Northeast Africa to be on an “unimaginable scale.”

“As the world’s preeminent forum for international peace and security, it is our collective responsibility to provide moral and financial support to these highly vulnerable populations,” Al- Nasser said. “The rights to food, life and security are, after all, universal human rights.”

Al-Nasser said the General Assembly will focus on the humanitarian crisis there, pledging “we must also share the information and work closely and cooperative to ensure all needs are met” in addressing the complex issue.

“Underpinning our work must be the recognition that humanitarian issues are development issues, and that our success in protecting against natural disasters, such as extreme drought, will have a direct impact on the ability to fulfill the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” he said.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

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SOMALIA: 4 Million People Currently in Crisis, United Nation Reports

MissionNewswire — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 19:36:44 +0000

(UNITED NATIONS – OCHA) According to the latest report by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU), 4 million people are currently in crisis nationwide—3 million in the south of Somalia. Of these, 750,000 people risk death in the next four months if efforts to respond to the famine are not scaled up.

To date, six areas in Somalia are in famine, namely Bakool, Bay, Lower Shabelle, Middle Shabelle, the Afgooye corridor IDP (internally displaced persons) settlement, and the Mogadishu IDP community, all of which are in the south. FSNAU warns that the food security situation could deteriorate further in the absence of a massive scale-up in interventions.

Coupled with famine are massive displacements both within Somalia and to neighboring countries. Partners report that, over the past weeks, more than 1,200 people are crossing into Kenya daily.

Many also use alternate routes through Diif and Degelema on the Somali side and Dhadag Bulla in Kenya. Significant numbers of IDPs in both locations on the Somali side of the border are in need of assistance. Estimates are that more than 917,000 Somalis now live as refugees in the four neighboring countries: Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen. Approximately one in every three was forced to flee this year. Altogether, more than 1.4 million Somalis are displaced within the country, which means that a third of Somalia’s estimated 7.5 million people are displaced.

Not only is Somalia in need of greater access to food, but also safe water, sanitation, shelter and healthcare.

Somalia is facing outbreaks of cholera and acute watery diarrhea (AWD), malaria, measles and pneumonia, mostly in the south. Waterborne diseases are expected to increase with the onset of rains coupled with congested living conditions. Prevailing high levels of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and under-5 mortality magnify the risk among the most vulnerable population.

The situation requires a massive, multi-sectoral response to prevent additional deaths and the total collapse of livelihoods. Improved access to food to address health/nutrition issues, complemented by access to water and sanitation together with measures to preserve productive assets are among the interventions needed most urgently. Humanitarian partners need to step up efforts to arrest further deterioration in a fragile situation that is expected to persist into 2012. The humanitarian community acknowledges the need to scale up its response and has made some headway, since the declaration of famine in July, in meeting needs by expanding the provision of assistance, particularly in the border areas with Kenya. However, security remains challenging, and incidents like the death of about 100 people in Ceel Waaq, Gedo region following heavy fighting between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and Al Shabaab forces on Sept. 11 are a clear example of the volatile environment in which humanitarian organizations continue to operate.

Beyond immediate food relief, partners are also working with governments and other agencies to strengthen the resiliency of communities in drought-prone areas by supporting smallholder farmers and those most vulnerable to changing weather patterns through livelihoods programs.

UNOCHA Somalia Famine & Drought Situation Report No. 13 (Sept. 14, 2011)

SOURCES:

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GLOBAL: United Nations Marks International Literacy Day, Says Literacy Key to Fighting Poverty and Disease

MissionNewswire — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:25:34 +0000

(United Nations) With nearly 800 million people unable to read or write, the United Nations today marked International Literacy Day with a warning that illiteracy undermines efforts to eliminate a host of social ills such as poverty and sickness and threatens the very stability of nations.

“The costs are enormous,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message. “Illiteracy exacerbates cycles of poverty, ill-health and deprivation. It weakens communities and undermines democratic processes through marginalization and exclusion. These and other impacts can combine to destabilize societies.”

This year’s Day is being commemorated under the theme “Literacy and Peace.”

Ban noted that despite progress, illiteracy continues to afflict millions of people, especially women and girls. In 2009, roughly two thirds of the world’s estimated 793 million illiterate adults were female. That same year, some 67 million primary school-aged children and 72 million adolescents were denied their right to an education, he added.

“Literacy unlocks the capacity of individuals to imagine and create a more fulfilling future. It opens the way to greater justice, equality and progress. Literacy can help societies heal, advance political processes and contribute to the common good,” he declared.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) noted that more than half the adults in 11 countries are illiterate. These are Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Haiti, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.

“The world urgently needs increased political commitment to literacy backed by adequate resources to scale up effective programs,” UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said in a message.

“Today I urge governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector to make literacy a policy priority, so that every individual can develop their potential, and actively participate in shaping more sustainable, just and peaceful societies.”

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39086&Cr=Somali&Cr1=

Learn about Salesian Missions education programs fighting literacy around the globe in countries including: Angola, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Kenya, Liberia, Mexico, Mozambique, Peru, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Uraguay, Zambia

(UN PHOTO)

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HORN OF AFRICA: More than 300,000 Children at “Risk of Dying” from Malnutrition, Disease

MissionNewswire — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 21:00:53 +0000

(MissionNewswire) The United Nations reports that more than 300,000 children in the Horn of Africa are severely malnourished and “at risk of dying.” The region, also referred to as Northeast Africa, includes the countries of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia – all severely affected by a drought and subsequent famine. Neighboring Kenya is also affected due to the massive numbers of refugees fleeing starvation and violence in Somalia.

“The crisis in the Horn of Africa is a human disaster becoming a human catastrophe,” reports Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, the U.N.’s children’s agency.

According to Lake, 1.4 million children are affected in Somalia alone, with an estimated 390,000 suffering from malnutrition. His agency estimates that nearly 140,000 children in south-central Somalia are currently suffering from “severe acute malnutrition” and are near death.

On July 20, the U.N. declared a famine in two regions of southern Somalia, marking the first time since the early 90s that the U.N. has declared famine in Somalia. Across the region, nearly 11 million people are at risk according to UNICEF.

Malnutrition rates in Somalia are currently the highest in the world, with peaks of 50 percent in southern areas, according to Mark Bowden, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia.

Aid agencies have struggled to reach the most desperate parts of Somalia, where Al-Shabab extremists maintain control and refuse access to essential humanitarian organizations, including the U.N. World Food Program. As a result, tens of thousands are fleeing to refugee camps in neighboring countries Ethiopia and Kenya.

The children and people of the Horn of Africa face not only a threat of death from starvation, but from diseases that spread easily in overcrowded refugee camps. Men, women and children travel hundreds of miles on foot to make it to refugee camps where, sadly, they face another deadly threat.

Water-borne diseases are also a “lethal threat to children in southern Somalia,” according to an Aug. 18 report from UNICEF, which urges that a rapid response is needed as cholera cases increase. The report cites that 75 percent of all cases of highly infectious acute watery diarrhea are among children under five.

According to UNICEF, many of the Horn of Africa’s rural and urban areas rely on shallow wells, which – unless they are protected or treated with chlorine – can become a perfect breeding ground for water-borne diseases.

Therefore, aid must not only focus on providing food, it must also include plans for access to ongoing clean water, says Brother Cesare Bullo, executive director of the Salesian Planning and Development Office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

His office has put together plans to “rehabilitate” shallow wells to make them safe as well as dig new wells.

“We have located four water points that need to be rehabilitated and strengthened through the purchase of new pumps and additional excavations to find more water,” says Br. Bullo. “The new wells will be built in four areas for local communities very much in need of water at the moment. The wells need to be capable of providing a sufficient quantity of water during the droughts.”

In order to complete these projects, and provide life-saving food aid and water distribution, the Salesians have coordinated an international fundraising initiative. Salesian Missions of New Rochelle, NY, has put out an urgent appeal to U.S. donors to help raise the project goal of $850,000 that this initial response will require. To make a donation, go to www.SalesianMissions.org.

UN Photo/Stuart Price

Sources:

http://www.unicef.org/media/media_59585.html

http://www.unicef.org/media/media_59241.html

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SOUTH SUDAN: New Nation Formed, Humbling Realities Remain for Aid Agencies

MissionNewswire — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 21:16:56 +0000

(MissionNewswire) In a year that has been the most violent since the beginning of a peace treaty in 2005 – underscored with high levels of corruption and human rights violations – the people of South Sudan had something to celebrate as their country became Africa’s 54^th country and the globe’s newest nation on July 9, 2011.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joseph Hobson contributed to this report.

Photos courtesy of Salesians of Don Bosco Sudan.

Sources:

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

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

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

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

GLOBAL: New UN Resolution Includes Protection of Schools During Armed Conflict

MissionNewswire — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:25:58 +0000

(MissionNewswire) In many of the world’s poorest countries – where hunger and hopelessness is a daily reality for so many children – providing life-saving meals and educational opportunities is hampered by threats of violence. Security is one of the top concerns for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that operate schools in places where there would otherwise likely be none. To feed and educate children, they not only build classrooms and kitchens – they construct security walls and employ armed guards.

The U.N. Security Council’s new resolution to protect schools and hospitals during conflict was welcome news to the humanitarian world, including Salesian NGOs which operate schools in more than 130 countries around the globe – making them one of the world’s largest providers of vocational/technical education for youth.

Recent events in the Ivory Coast offer a chilling example of why the U.N. resolution is necessary. More than 30,000 displaced civilians fled to a Salesian Missions compound in Duékoué when the Carrefour district was looted and houses set on fire on March 29. At least 800 people were killed.

One month previously, armed robbers attacked members of the faculty of a Jesuit-run theology school in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan as the priests were preparing for dinner. Students had not been at the school for several months due to escalating violence in the area. The robbers entered school grounds by jumping over a security wall, quickly disarmed the guards on duty and attacked a deacon. This illustrates why U.N. forces have been guarding the Salesian compound where 15,000 displaced people still seek safety.

The troubling reality is that such violence happens in countries around the globe, and children are too often caught in the crossfire even when they are in school or seeking medical care at a hospital.

“These horrific attacks are not only a violation of international and humanitarian law, they are a violation of our common humanity,” said Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF. “The Security Council has taken a major step toward ending the culture of impunity and protecting children at their most vulnerable.”

The Security Council unanimously adopted the resolution on July 12 during its “Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict” at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The ruling means that attacks on schools and hospitals will be listed in the U.N. Secretary-General’s annual report on children and armed conflict. The Security Council says it will also impose targeted measures on those who violate children’s rights through such attacks.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, the special representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, told the council that schools and hospitals are increasingly targeted by armed groups.

“The promise of this resolution is very real,” she said. “During my visits to conflict areas, I have personally seen the devastation – schools completely destroyed, bombed or burnt to the ground. Attacks on hospitals are two-fold atrocities. Not only do they kill and wound girls and boys, but they leave children without access to treatment.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the measure would send a clear message that schools and hospitals should be spared from violence, building on seven previous Security Council resolutions dealing with children in armed conflict.

Lake urged that the Security Council, while it strengthens the legal framework to protect children in conflict, not consider children merely as victims but as resilient, resourceful and courageous citizens.

“They have hopes and dreams like children everywhere, even when virtually everything has been taken from them,” he said. “They don’t need our pity. They need practical support.”

(Photo: Rick Bajornas/UN)