‘Clean Water Initiative’ continues to make supplying fresh, clean water a top priority.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (Nov. 19, 2024) Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins humanitarian organizations and the international community in honoring World Toilet Day. Celebrated each year on Nov. 19, the day brings the world’s attention to the global needs of sanitation and marks the founding of the World Toilet Organization on Nov. 19, 2001. The inaugural World Toilet Summit was held on the same day and was the first global summit of its kind.

Every year, U.N.-Water — the United Nation’s coordination mechanism on water and sanitation — sets the theme. This year’s theme “Toilets are a place for peace” focuses on the progress needed to ensure everyone has safe toilets and water by 2030. U.N.-Water notes faster action is needed to improve and protect people’s access to sanitation and calls on governments to ensure that sanitation and water services are resilient, effective, accessible to everyone, and shielded from harm. The organization has indicated 3.5 billion people still live without safely managed sanitation, including 419 million who practice open defecation.

U.N.-Water has provided three key messages for the day: “Toilets are a place for peace. This essential space, at the center of our lives, should be safe and secure. Toilets are a place for protection. By creating a barrier between us and our waste, sanitation services are essential for public and environmental health. Lastly, toilets are a place for progress. Sanitation is a human right. It protects everyone’s dignity, and especially transforms the lives of women and girls.”

“To ensure access to proper sanitation, Salesian Missions continues its ‘Clean Water Initiative’ to make building wells and supplying fresh, clean water a top priority for every community in every country in which Salesian missionaries work,” said Father Michael Conway, director of Salesian Missions. “Improving sanitation facilities ensures that youth are living in an environment that promotes proper hygiene. By doing this, Salesians help reduce the number of waterborne illnesses that can keep youth away from school and important study time.”

In honor of World Toilet Day 2024, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight Salesian programs around the globe that aid in the development of appropriate and effective water and sanitation systems.

BURUNDI

Don Bosco Ngozi High School in Burundi* is working to complete a sanitation project thanks to funding from the Salesian Missions “Clean Water Initiative.” The school has 1,248 students but has not been able to keep up with modernizing and increasing the number of toilets, even though the number of students has increased each year.

The “Clean Hygienic Facilities for a Big Smile” project will install water facilities, wastewater channels, and other necessary amenities to ensure that the facilities are clean, safe, and hygienic. Work was half-way completed at the end of July 2024.

A Salesian explained, “Before this project started, the toilet facilities were in a state of disrepair. The new upgrades made possible through this funding will play a crucial role in ensuring the health and safety of the youth who utilize them. Clean and hygienic facilities are essential for preventing the spread of diseases and promoting good hygiene practices. By providing these facilities, we are not only improving the physical well-being of the youth but also their overall quality of life.”

INDIA

Salesian missionaries with Don Bosco Yuva Spandana (DB YES), located in Ajjanahalli in the Ramanagara District of Karnataka State, India, have built new bathrooms in a building that is being refurbished for a new youth empowerment center. Once fully operational, the center is expected to provide training and empowerment programs for 400 youth each year. Funding for the bathrooms was provided by Salesian Missions.

In 2003, the Salesian Province of Bangalore started a project in the Ajjanahalli village to rehabilitate children living on the streets from the city of Bangalore who were also suffering from drug addiction. Over the years, more than 1,200 youth benefited from this center. Salesians are now able to accommodate the children in their Bosco Bangalore Center that offers eight care homes around the city. This left the building in Ajjanahalli village empty.

Salesians will use the building for the new DB YES empowerment center. A Salesian noted, “Youth empowerment is important for an inclusive development and peace building, particularly in light of the current issues among youth in the Karnataka State. In order to fill the vacuum left by the youth’s poor mental health, high prevalence of drug misuse and unemployment, it is vital to provide youth with support and guidance in their lives and help them on a career path.”

NIGERIA

Children who live at and visit the Don Bosco Child Protection Center, in Onipetesi, Lagos, Nigeria, have fresh, clean water thanks to donor funding from the Salesian Missions “Clean Water Initiative.” With the funding, the center was able to construct a borehole and tank stand, as well as provide maintenance for an old well.

The project is providing safe water for the 20 children who live at the center as well as the 80-100 children who visit it each day. Other members of the Onipetesi community who visit the center and Salesian staff at the center also benefit.

Salesians report that there are upwards of 100,000 children who live on the streets of Lagos. The center is a refuge for children who have nowhere else to go. Some of the children are orphans while others have been physically abused or accused of witchcraft and sorcery. Salesians provide them shelter, meet their basic needs, and give them psychological and moral support.

ZAMBIA

Youth living at Don Bosco Makululu and students attending the Salesian primary and secondary school have access to clean water thanks to a project funded in Zambia by the Salesian Missions “Clean Water Initiative.” More than 1,500 youth are benefiting from this project at Don Bosco Makululu, a home for children from poor areas who have nowhere else to live. Salesians ensure youth have their basic needs met and are able to access education.

The project included drilling a new borehole and the steel needed for a new water stand. A new water tank is connected to the existing water system so that even when the power is out, which can be up to 16 hours a day, Salesians can utilize the water pump and the solar power to ensure clean water access.

The entire area where the Salesian center is located suffers from poor sanitary conditions, including an inadequate water supply, bad drainage and poor air quality. This area of Zambia has also been experiencing frequent droughts. The new water resource is enabling Salesians to ensure that youth in their programs and schools have the water they need.

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