Support ranges from immediate aid to plans for long-term support.
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (Dec. 2, 2024) People who were victims of a devastating fire in Bo City, Sierra Leone, received support and resources to ensure their safety, thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Many of the people have a disability, such as blindness or a physical disability, and do not have jobs.
With donor funding, Salesians were able to provide shelter, health and hygiene support, education, and livelihood resources for 34 people including 15 children. Salesians were able to help the children enroll in school, cover their tuition and help with school supplies.
Mariama, who is blind and in her 40s, has spent most of her life asking for money on the streets of Bo City to help support her family. After the fire destroyed her home, she and her two children were left homeless and forced to seek shelter in an unfinished school with other families. The living conditions were poor, and they were at risk of violence. Salesians were able to provide immediate aid with nutrition for her family and medical support.
A Salesian noted, “To ensure that families will have ongoing support, we also strengthened our collaboration with local authorities and organizations to help families access health care, food and educational services. The goal is to provide for these families beyond the initial aid, so their lives are permanently changed for the better.”
Salesian missionaries have been serving in Sierra Leone since 2001 when they began working to rehabilitate former child soldiers through the organization Don Bosco Fambul. Young people in the country face significant challenges in accessing education. With too few teachers and many school buildings destroyed in the war, resources are thin. Persistently high illiteracy rates mean that an estimated 70% of Sierra Leone’s youth are unemployed or underemployed.
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Salesian Missions is headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, and is part of the Don Bosco Network—a worldwide federation of Salesian NGOs. The mission of the U.S.-based nonprofit Catholic organization is to raise funds for international programs that serve youth and families in poor communities around the globe. The Salesian missionaries are made up of priests, brothers and sisters, as well as laypeople—all dedicated to caring for poor children throughout the world in more than 130 countries and helping young people become self-sufficient by learning a trade that will help them gain employment. To date, more than 3 million youth have received services funded by Salesian Missions. These services and programs are provided to children regardless of race or religion. For more information, go to SalesianMissions.org.
Contact:
Laura Perillo
media@salesianmissions.org
908-406-3413 (text messages OK)
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Press room: SalesianMissions.org/press