More than 11 million people reached in a year of pandemic in 121 countries
Gloria is 41 years old and lives on Sepúlveda Street in Cercado de Arequipa (Mexico). She lost her job because of the pandemic and was the only breadwinner in her household. When she went out to do cleaning work, she became infected herself and then passed it on to her children. She is trying to get by with the help of neighbours and Salesian missionaries. Linda from Cape Town also receives food from the missionaries. "Until then we have survived on rations of bread and black tea", she says. In Togo, in the Philippines, in Peru, in India... and so on up to 121 countries, the Salesian missionaries have set up programmes to distribute food and hygiene kits. "We have reached more than 11 million vulnerable people with our initiatives all over the world," explains Eusebio Muñoz, director of Salesian Missions.
"Saving lives has been our motivation since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, and there have been thousands of projects in 121 of the 134 countries where we are present," Muñoz adds. In Mbuji Maji, Democratic Republic of Congo, several water points were set up so that people could wash their hands. "Here the people don't even have water", said Mario Pérez in the first months of the pandemic. The Casas Don Bosco network in Venezuela has distributed more than 700 meals a day. More than 2.5 million people in India have been able to eat thanks to the food kits and prepared rations that have been distributed. In Lesotho, more than 2,400 "survival packs with food and hygiene kits" have been distributed. The gymnasiums of several Salesian educational centres in Latin America have become food warehouses during these months, which have been distributed to thousands of vulnerable families.
In Myanmar, 500 families have been fed thanks to food deliveries made by Salesian communities. In India, at least one million people have received food. Street children, as in Ethiopia, have been taken into safe confinement. In Togo and Côte d'Ivoire, work has also been done to support children at risk of exclusion. In the Philippines, Salesian missionaries and young people from Salesian educational centres distributed Personal Protective Equipment to front-line workers and managed to design ventilators for seriously ill patients. In Peru, they visited the people living in the rubbish dump. Don Bosco Radio Ghana has conducted awareness programmes on how the disease affects people and how not to become infected. In Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia, Sierra Leone... they have also focused on raising awareness among the population.
Salesian solidarity around the world has sent more than 6 million euros for initiatives against the coronavirus, but more than 2 million euros are still needed.
But the challenges of 2021 are many. Salesian Missions, together with the missionaries, is facing one of the biggest challenges: getting children and young people back to school. "The education of children remains our priority and we will not allow 24 million children to drop out of school," adds the organisation's director.
Young people are another priority. We cannot afford to lose a generation of young people. Many of them have seen their futures shattered. But we need to keep them dreaming, to make them look for a new path or not to lose hope in order to reach the one they were looking for. Salesian missionaries have been by their side all this time. This is the case of Mica who, from Argentina, does not lose hope of finishing her studies and being able to help her family. The same goes for Grace, in Ghana, who wants to be an electrician, or Joseph, in Bangladesh, who dreams of becoming a great chef. Bethlehem wants to be a teacher, Brithany hopes to graduate and go to university, Kent wants to be a doctor to help others... And Boniface, Rebecca, Thakur, Gloria, Shalima, Sadum, Huynh.... And so many other young people who have their dreams intact despite the difficulties.
Food security is another major challenge, as the pandemic will increase the number of people living in poverty by 150 million. Salesian missionaries have started agricultural projects in various countries such as Mongolia, the Philippines and Uganda to help people grow their own food. Seeds and tools are distributed and agricultural know-how is also provided. In some cases, even the mission grounds have been turned into actual cultivation areas.
After a year of pandemic, the Salesian Missions wants to give the world the dose of hope it needs with the campaign 'Let's go ahead' and asks that "leaving no one behind" becomes a reality.
