Overcoming the Odds in Peru: Children of Lead Project
April 23, 2014
As a young child living in the slums of Puerto Nuovo, Peru, little Alvaro happily played in the shadow of shipping barges -- never knowing the danger lurking in the air he breathed, or in the soil beneath his feet. These barges carried one of Peru’s largest exports, lead. And the nearby mines...
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Giving Hope & Dignity through Water & Electricity
April 23, 2014On March 22, global leaders, communities, and individuals marked World Water Day with a slate of activities highlighting the growing need for fresh, clean available water. More than 768 million people worldwide lack access to reliable water sources. This need is especially urgent -- and Salesian...
Empowering Girls to Live Independently
April 23, 2014In Mexico’s capital city, nearly 240,000 children -- many of them girls -- live in profound poverty on the streets. Robbed of their basic rights and dignity, and with little hope of attending school or earning a living, these girls face a bleak future. Through the “Yolia” program, Salesian...
New Industry and New Hope for Youth in Colombia
March 10, 2014In a country where six million people live in extreme poverty -- and where one in five children lacks access to school -- the youth of Colombia face futures with little opportunity. By fostering connections among vocational training, sustainable development and long-term skilled employment,...
Improving the Standard of Living for Child Slaves
March 10, 2014This month, in the lead-up to Ash Wednesday and the sacrifices of Lent, celebrants from around the world marked Shrove Tuesday with traditional foods, costumed parades, live music and jubilant displays of fireworks. Sadly, the euphoria inspired by these pyrotechnics easily masks the grave human...
Brighter Futures for Homeless Youth
March 10, 2014Today in Bolivia, more than 4,000 innocent boys and girls -- some as young as 6 years old -- live on the streets. Many have been abandoned by parents too desperately poor to feed them. Others have escaped violence at home or at school. At the Don Bosco Project in the capital of Santa Cruz, Salesian...
Salesians: Serving the Whole Person
February 12, 2014Every three seconds, a child dies from a preventable disease -- simply because of a lack of access to basic medical care. In fact, millions of people in impoverished countries remain vulnerable to illnesses that shouldn’t be fatal but are. In more than 200 medical clinics and hospitals operated...
From Violence to Hope: Empowering Young Women in Sierra Leone
February 12, 2014In Sierra Leone, violence against women runs rampant -- while sadly, its perpetrators often remain above the law. Beaten, trafficked, forced into marriage (or worse), girls as young as 13 regularly fall victim to what becomes a lifetime of torment and despair -- with no hope of protection. The...