(ANS - Madrid) - More than 20 million children have had to leave their homes due to armed conflict. In Syria alone about 9,000 children have been killed. Worldwide, over 52 million children suffer from malnutrition; 57 million school-age children are not in school ... and to all this must be added the Ebola outbreak, which has left about 4,000 orphans, according to the latest data distributed by the United Nations.

"2014 was a very difficult year for children ... in addition to the usual enemies, such as lack of access to education and malnutrition, came more wars and Ebola," says Ana Muñoz, spokesperson for the Salesian Missions Office in Madrid.

The Salesians are working every day to improve the lives of over 800,000 children at risk. In Syria, for example, the Sons of Don Bosco support children and young people in Damascus and Aleppo. "We open the youth centre every day for children and young people so that they can have a safe place to play and enjoy themselves.  The centre is an oasis of peace," say the Salesian missionaries.

Also in the Central African Republic children are a priority for the missionaries. "We try to keep the schools open so they can continue to have a normal life, and especially to stop them leaving school,” say the missionaries on the spot.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa affects thousands of children. In Sierra Leone alone, about 200 children have died and nearly 800 were orphaned. "These are children who have to face the trauma of illness, death, and social stigma," says Ana Muñoz.

The Salesian missionaries in Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone and Liberia are concerned about this situation. In Sierra Leone the Salesians have already opened a home for these children, at the request of the government,. The Salesian Mission Office in Madrid is launching a campaign called "SOS. Hijos del Ebola" (SOS - Children of Ebola) to support the missionaries who are caring for orphaned children and those who are sent away from their families.

Thursday 20 November is International Day for the Rights of the Child. To mark the occasion, the Mission Office in Madrid is asking, now more than ever, that the protection of children be made a priority for the international community.

Published 18/11/2014