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Syria is commerating the 12th anniversary of the outbreak of war amid a critical humanitarian situation, aggravated by the aftermath of last month's earthquakes in the north of the country.
Poor youth gaining their education through Don Bosco Bombo schools, located in Bombo, Uganda, had access to better nutrition thanks to a partnership between Salesian Missions and Rise Against Hunger, an international relief organization that provides food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable. The rice-meal shipment was distributed in the second quarter of 2022.
The region, like the rest of East Africa, saw big economic changes in 2022. Prices of basic commodities, especially fuel and food, increased and impacted the management of Don Bosco schools. In particular, prices of basic food staples have almost doubled due to the economic crises after the COVID-19 pandemic and the change of weather that caused food scarcity.
Salesians operate a secondary school, vocational training center, boarding house and parish in Bombo. The local community is mainly poor and relies on agriculture and informal businesses. Salesians provide education and pastoral programs.
“Our community needs basic support to be able to fulfill our educational mission,” explained Father Thomas Cyprian, rector of Salesians of Don Bosco Bombo Namaliga mission. “Rise Against Hunger meals helped us to manage the food crises in our institutions and greatly assisted in making the last quarter successful. The impact of the food crisis was not felt so much as a result. Our beneficiaries continued their teaching and learning activities without interruption.”
Martha Nafuuna, age 18, was one of the recipients. She is from a poor family that is not able to afford private schooling and chose to join Don Bosco Vocational Training Center in Bombo to gain an education. Nafuuna recalled her life before receiving Rise Against Hunger meals. “Before this donation, I could not see my future in this school. Many students were worried and forced to drop out because the school had reached its capacity and was not able to provide housing or food to the students.”
Nafuuna gratefully acknowledges the impact Rise Against Hunger meals have had on her life. Receiving the meals saved her from having to drop out and she can continue working toward her career aspirations. The meals provided her with a balanced lunch and have improved her general well-being. Her concentration in class has improved and she feels fuller for longer periods in the day because of the nutritious diet the meals offer. She and her classmates, with whom she shares the meals, found the meals delicious.
Nafuuna added, “Thanks to Rise Against Hunger meals, I can focus on my coursework so that one day I will find employment to sustain my family and improve their livelihoods. I want to be a professional fashion designer and I have confidence that I will.”
Nearly 21 percent of the population in Uganda lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. This number rises to 33 percent for those living in the northern region where poverty is greatest. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its United Nations Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 159 out of 189 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.
With thanks to ANS for this story
To find out more about the incredible work the Salesians do around the world, Click Here!
Poverty, illiteracy and inequality in the world unfortunately continue to have a female face. The commemoration of International Women's Day aims raise awareness of these issues and achieve true equality by highlighting the crucial role of women in society. This year, International Women's Day proposes to reflect on the impact of the digital gender gap on the growth of social and economic inequality. It also highlights the importance of protecting the rights of women and girls in digital spaces and addressing violence against them in social networks.
This year's celebration of International Women's Day celebrates and pays tribute to women who are fighting for the advancement of transformative technologies and access to digital education. Under the theme "DigitALL: innovation and technology for gender equality", it calls for the inclusion of women and traditionally marginalized groups in education and technology to promote equality.
Women make up half the world's population, but these more than 3.9 billion girls, adolescents, young women and older women live in very different conditions depending on where they are in the world. Seventy percent of the nearly 800 million people living below the poverty line are women; there are 129 million adolescent girls and girls who are not in school; of the nearly 700 million illiterate people in the world, two-thirds are women.
These are numbers, some will say, but there are so many more issues, and even these are not positive: early marriage, violence, genital mutilation, wage inequality, discrimination... That's why, on International Women's Day, Salesians, starting with "Misiones Salesianas," the Salesian Mission Office in Madrid, denounce the injustices that many women suffer because they are denied access to education and technology. Most importantly, they want to make their work visible and demand equal rights, opportunities and development so that women receive due recognition for the leadership they exercise.
The Salesians have a strong history of improving equality for young women
The Salesians want women to have a voice and to participate in decision-making processes. For this reason, they reiterate the importance of comprehensive education as one of the keys to overcoming differences and inequalities. The life of a woman who has access to education and technology has nothing to do with the life of a woman who is deprived of this universal right.
Integrating a gender approach to innovation, technology, and digital education in a transformative way will help women and girls become aware of their rights. Advances in digital technology also offer new opportunities to solve humanitarian and development challenges and are important for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
An educated girl will marry freely and at an appropriate age, have children responsibly, provide better care and nutrition for her family, and take part more actively in her community. Access to education and technology for girls breaks the cycle of poverty. Women's education and economic independence are two key factors in the development of the community in which they live.
Throughout the world, Salesians are involved in literacy programs, access to technology, rescuing minors from prostitution; providing spaces for teenage mothers, training young women leaders and helping orphaned girls living on the streets; providing shelter, food and a comprehensive education so that their future can be transformed and they can lead the transformation and the future in an inclusive world; and finally, in line with the theme of this year's International Women's Day, developing courses in schools against hate speech and to promote equality in social networks.
With thanks to ANS for this story
More than 9,600 vulnerable people in Peru received nutritional support thanks to a partnership between Salesian Missions and “Feed My Starving Children”, a non-profit Christian organization committed to “feeding God’s children hungry in body and spirit.” A shipment of rice-meals was provided to the Don Bosco Foundation in 2022 and distributed throughout the year to 10 civic and religious programs serving people who are sick and elderly, at-risk youth, and other marginalized populations.
Organizations that received the donation include the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Forsaken Elderly in Breña that serves a population of 500 poor elderly people. The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity is a home for 100 youth with terminal cancer and others serious diseases who are receiving treatment. The Brother Thomas Helm Center is a day shelter for youth who are in school. There are approximately 60 boys who participate. The Civic Action with the Joint Command of the Armed Forced provides basic needs for 4,550 people. Hogar San Camilo provides support to people with HIV. It serves approximately 280 people.
The rice-meal shipment also helped volunteers who distributed the meals. Sabina, age 26 and from Lima, delivered meals to the most poverty-stricken and dangerous area of Callao, the port of Lima. Within Callao is the Los Barracones neighborhood, which is known for gang violence. When Sabina arrived to distribute the donations of fortified rice packages, she noticed the lack of police presence in the community and anticipated a hostile atmosphere while distributing food to the households.
However, Sabina was surprised to see how welcoming and warm the beneficiaries and their relatives were when dropping off the meals. She said, “Going door to door, offering rice, being welcomed in the homes of the beneficiaries and exchanging some kind words” was an experience of regaining hope.
The volunteers were grateful for this experience and expressed their gratitude to the Salesians for giving them an opportunity to be active members in their local communities.
Peru faces high levels of income inequality and has more than a quarter of its population living in poverty, according to the World Bank. Poverty levels are significantly higher in rural areas but urban areas struggle most with inequality, most notably metropolitan Lima. Poverty in the country is made worse by a shortage of productive farmland and a lack of job skills among women entering the workforce, as well as a lack of adequate housing, nutrition and education
With thanks to ANS for this story
To find out more about the incredible work the Salesians do around the world, Click Here!
Called "Trano zaza maditra," ("Home for Naughty Boys") it is the state-run rehabilitation center that houses over one hundred children and youths in Anjanamasina, a suburb of Antananarivo, the captial of Madagascar.