Mission News
Last month, the Don Bosco Past Pupils Association of Lawaan, Philippines, helped organize a free medical clinic for impoverished children and families who otherwise could not afford care. This annual one-day clinic was hosted at the Don Bosco Formation Center on the island of Cebu, and staffed by local volunteer medical professionals. Close to 300…
Earthquake Victims Urgently Need Your Help
April 19, 2016
By now, you have heard the heartbreaking news. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook coastal Ecuador on April 16th — ravaging the country’s already-fragile infrastructure. Across the nation, the powerful quake and hundreds of associated aftershocks flattened homes, collapsed roads and bridges, knocked out electricity and communications, and triggered mudslides that have stranded some of the most…
He Changed Their Lives
April 4, 2016
For nearly 50 years, Father Javier de Nicolo was a brightly shining light for thousands of gamines — “street children” — of Bogotá, Colombia. Despite the many challenges of his work, Fr. Javier’s decades of dedicated service remained firmly rooted in his deep conviction that all children have the right to be happy. Sadly, we…
An Act of Mercy in Ethiopia
April 4, 2016
Today in Ethiopia, a crisis is emerging. It is one that threatens access to clean water and food security for millions of people — many of them children. In fact, international experts believe the scale of this emergency, and its humanitarian impact, will far exceed that of the current Syrian refugee crisis. Without immediate intervention,…
A Remote Village, Powered by a Vision
April 4, 2016
Kami, Bolivia is a seemingly idyllic village nestled high in the Andes Mountains just beneath the clouds. It is also a place where physical isolation from the rest of the country — coupled with harsh living conditions, a persistently cold climate and the health effects of tungsten mining — means that the average life expectancy…
A New Beginning for Homeless Youth
February 29, 2016
For millions of homeless and abandoned youth around the world, it is but one of the many insidious and heartbreaking consequences of living on the streets: substance abuse. Facing the almost unimaginable daily horrors of physical and emotional violence, rampant exploitation, forced labor, poor health and little hope for the future, sniffing glue — or…
New Opportunities for Unemployed Youth in Spain
February 29, 2016
Today, to be young in Spain is to live a life far removed from the romance and hope its culture evokes. Facing a devastated economy and poor employment prospects, the aspirations of youth in the country are challenged by an uncertain future. Despite these obstacles, however, Salesian missionaries in Madrid are committed to reigniting their…
In Sierra Leone, a Village is Reborn
February 29, 2016
In the aftermath of the devastating Ebola epidemic that swept through West Africa last year, new hope is blooming in a particularly hard-hit village of Sierra Leone. Nurtured by the safe, clean water of a newly installed well, this hope may prove transformational for the village’s tenacious survivors.
Salesian Missionaries: Always Ready When Disaster Strikes
February 8, 2016
This past August, an unusually active summer monsoon season unleashed nature’s full fury on the people of Myanmar. Relentless and torrential rains triggered devastating floods and destructive mudslides that killed more than 100 people and drastically changed the lives of one million more. While the events drew little international attention, Salesian missionaries living in Myanmar…
New Tools and New Hope for Haiti’s Youth
February 8, 2016
In Haiti, it often takes just one person to pull an entire family out of poverty — a fact that young James knows all too well. Having recently graduated from a Salesian-run vocational training program, he was fully prepared for employment in a profession that could truly transform his, and his family’s, future. Yet one…