Ethiopia - News from the Salesian mission in Pugnido

28 December 2016

(ANS - Pugnido) - In the Salesian mission in Pugnido, Ethiopia, all activities are in full swing and the Salesians carry on their work with the usual enthusiasm. Fr Filippo Perin, who works at the mission, says that the present situation gives many reasons for satisfaction, but also presents many difficulties.

The Sunday Mass and catechism are well attended, and there is also the possibility of an evening Mass every day. The morning kindergarten has many children, almost 200.

Thanks to the provision of breakfast and lunch, many children attend school and so learn to read, write and do arithmetic. Most importantly, this prevents the malnutrition which many of them would otherwise encounter.

Then there are 65 students, boys and girls, who make use of the Salesian Hostel and attend the Government High School. We have started activities with them: study in the library in the afternoon and evening, evening prayer, a computer course and a sewing course.

In the mission there is also the afternoon oratory, with various football and volleyball tournaments, the new basketball court where every afternoon many young people play, and the new water fountain, enjoyed by both the young people of the oratory and the children of the morning kindergarten.

 Outside the mission there is also all the work in the chapels of the villages around Pugnido. There are eleven of them, plus another six in the two refugee camps attached to our mission. Every week we try to reach as many chapels as possible for the celebration of Mass, the sacraments, catechesis and to meet the various needs of the people and the villages.

Although recently the situation here in Ethiopia has improved, many refugees continue to arrive from neighbouring South Sudan for assistance in the refugee camps in the region of Gambella, because in their homeland they have not grown anything in the rainy season and now in the dry season they have nothing to eat. Currently the situation is such that in the Gambella region there are more refugees than indigenous inhabitants.

Greetings to all of you. Let us pray for one another.

 

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