(ANS - Freetown) - "We feel very close to Spain right now, because we know what it means to be in quarantine, to be afraid to go out on the street, to see people die during the epidemic ... We lived with Ebola." These are the words of the Salesian missionary Fr Jorge Crisafulli, director of the "Don Bosco Fambul" work in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. The work he directs is prepared for the arrival of the pandemic, having had the experience of overcoming Ebola without ever ceasing to take care of the most needy children.
(ANS - Goma) - The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been fighting a new Ebola epidemic for over a year. Since 1 August 2018, more than 2,700 people have been affected by Ebola and more than 1,800 have died. Despite the authorities and health workers working tirelessly and talking about control, the population is still not aware of the true consequences of this disease.
"On 18 July the first case of Ebola was confirmed in Goma, one of the most populated cities in the DR Congo and the alert was immediately announced," explain the Salesian missionaries who work in the city. The victim was a 46-year-old man. Since then, there have been seven positive Ebola cases in Goma and the city's routine has barely changed.
(ANS - Monrovia) - Thanks to the generosity of many benefactors, the Salesians in Liberia can now equip a new scientific laboratory and expand the academic courses and fields being offered, so as to welcome new students into the "Mary Help of Christians" school in the Matadi district of Monrovia, capital of Liberia. In this way the center managed by the Salesians can continue to extend the structures and services offered to the needy population.
Freetown, Sierra Leone - 2016 - These are the faces of children left without parents, whom the Salesians look after and educate for life. They are "faces that speak of the future."
(Photo: Alberto Lopez, the Salesian Mission Office in Madrid)
(ANS - Lungi) - Fr Ubaldino Andrade Hernandez is a Salesian missionary who has worked in Sierra Leone. He was in Rome at the Generalate during the photographic exhibition: "Ebola, and beyond Ebola". His testimony is a sign of trust in God. He says that in those strange days of the epidemic they were living with "a real fear of death” but they decided to stay there as parents for many abandoned children." Looking at the pictures of the exhibition, the memories came to mind, and his eyes paused to remember his experiences. "Staying was the best option."
(ANS – Rome) – An exhibition to inform and sensitize on the consequences of Ebola, now that the world fear of the epidemic is over, was held in these days at the General House of the Salesians in Rome, after it had been launched about 7 months ago in Madrid. It is the photo-exhibition “Ebola beyond Ebola” (Ébola, más allá del Ébola) prepared by Alfons Rodríguez and sponsored by the Salesian Missionary Procure of Madrid.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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Italy – A Salesian on the front line of the war in Ukraine: "Being close counts, words come later"(ANS - Rome) - As he tells with a gentleness that does not seem to come from horror, he is "resting a little bit" in Rome these days. Fr Oleh Ladnyuk is a Ukrainian Salesian priest who is a military chaplain at the front, among the soldiers who fight in defence of their country and among the civilians who for over two years have seen their lives wiped out. He brings humanitarian aid where the missiles fall and from those places he helps with the evacuation of young people and adults - so far at least 500 people, but there are probably many more. These days the Salesian – who carries out his ministry in Dnipro and teaches History in a state school in the city – is in Rome to take part with two other priests and a dozen lay people from his country in the "Accompanying when Trauma Hits" course hosted by the Pontifical Salesian University in collaboration with the Faculty of Educational Sciences, with the DON BOSCO NEL MONDO Foundation and the Don Bosco Network. A project that aims to provide theoretical and methodological tools to deal with the traumas caused by war.
EDITORIAL
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Myanmar – Tragedy of Innocent Children in the midst of Armed Conflicts(ANS – Naypyidaw) - Myanmar finds itself immersed in profound grief and anguish as innocent lives, particularly those of children, continue to be mercilessly lost in the enduring armed conflicts. Families are left devastated by the tragic loss of their loved ones while the relentless violence shows no signs of abating. This week, a heartfelt plea from Myanmar reached our community, shedding light on the heart-wrenching death of a young girl Juliet in a military airstrike, prompting a unified call for prayers and action.
EVENTS
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Italy – "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of protection and prevention models": PGS conference with UPS(ANS – Rome) – The synergy between the Salesian Youth Sports Centres (PGS) and the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) in Rome gave rise to the conference on "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of models of protection and prevention", which will take place on 13 April, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., at the UPS facilities in Rome.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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United States – INT’L DAY FOR STREET CHILDREN: Salesian Missions highlights programs that provide shelter and support(ANS – New Rochelle) – Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins humanitarian and international organizations around the globe in highlighting the plight of homeless children on the International Day for Street Children. The day provides organizations and the millions of street children in countries worldwide with an opportunity to have their voices heard while ensuring that their rights are not ignored.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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I’M A SALESIAN AND I’M A BOROROTHE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB
Diary of a Happy and Blessed Missionary Day
Dear friends , I’m writing to you from Meruri in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. I write this greeting almost as if it were a journalistic report, because it has been only 24 hours since I arrived in the middle of this Brazilian state.