(ANS – Juba) – South Sudan, the world’s newest country suffers the consequences of civil war, while many war-lords terrorize the innocent civilians in different areas of the country. Based on current projections, the overall refugee population is expected to grow by over 56,000 to an estimated 2.33 million refugees at the end of 2022. The young country is still at risk for humanitarian emergency and Salesians keep to do the best for the people.
(ANS – Kuajok) – Only three years ago the large compound of Don Bosco Kuajok was a bare land even with not much of agricultural use. Now the Don Bosco Kuajok, the youngest Salesian community in South Sudan (2020 canonical erection) with 3 Salesians (Rector Fr. Leo Aorckianathan) becomes a soul of this part of Kuajok, the capital of Warrap State in South Sudan.
(ANS - Khartoum) - After 12 years the three Salesian communities in Sudan (El Obeid, Khartoum-Parish and Khartoum-Vocation Training Center) celebrated their re-connection with the world-wide Salesian community and the Successor of Don Bosco through the Extraordinary Visitation in the days of March 13-22, 2022.
(ANS - Gumbo) - The Salesian Missionary Foundation "Don Bosco", based in Warsaw, Poland, (Salezjanska Fundacja Misyjna "Don Bosco", in original language), started operating only in mid-2020 but has already fulfilled several important projects in Zambia, Kenya, Peru, Madagascar, and South Sudan. In the latter country, specifically in Gumbo, a few kilometers from the capital Juba, it has already built a school building last year in favor of the area’s many children and has provided food aid to hundreds of children and poor families. This year it is relaunching its activities, always putting itself at the service of people most in need.
(ANS – Gumbo) – Salesian missionaries from “Don Bosco Gumbo”, who are hosting more than 10,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in a camp in Juba, Gumbo, South Sudan, received food aid thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Salesians are providing food, shelter, sanitation facilities, medical care and education.
(ANS - Juba) - The Salesian missionaries from the "Don Bosco" camp in Gumbo have distributed food rations, personal hygiene products, and other basic necessities to internally displaced persons in the Juba refugee camp. The relief items were made possible thanks to donors in the United States who gave to Salesian Missions, the U. S. development office for the Salesians of Don Bosco.
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.