More than 1,000 youth and their families in Amazon region receive support.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (Nov. 25, 2024) Salesian missionaries in the Amazon are better able to travel to remote villages to provide people pastoral support thanks to outboard motors that were purchased with donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. More than 1,000 youth and their families living in the Alto Rio Negro region of Brazil have been impacted by this donation.

Salesians aid the communities of São Gabriel da Cachoeira and Santa Isabel do Rio Negro, which are far from the Salesian headquarters and hard to access. With the new transportation, Salesians are more easily able to access these communities to visit families, identify problems they face, guide and inform them, and refer them to services. Salesians are also able to offer training to pastoral leaders and prepare youth and adults to receive the sacraments.

Salesian missionaries have been supporting this Indigenous region to provide pastoral support, meet basic needs and ensure access to education. The region faces several challenges that hinder the work being done, including the lack of roads due to its geography. As a result, the necessary support is carried out using small boats that transport Salesians to various remote locations. The acquisition of outboard motors has brought safety, practicality and reliability to travel for the various activities carried out by the Salesians in this area.

A Salesian said, “The local leaders of the communities have expressed positive feedback regarding the frequency of the visits. The Salesian priests are also feeling more confident in carrying out their missions, as previously, without an adequate and new motor, their journeys were challenging.”

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people fell into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that 12.8% of Brazil’s population, some 27 million people, are now living below the poverty line.

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