(ANS – Rome) – The alarm raised by the United Nations is bringing international attention to the Horn of Africa where the ever-present problems have become, perhaps only because of increased numbers, an emergency. Salesian involvement, by religious and lay people, is being renewed with aid projects and sharing the life of the people. We report two active experiences in Ethiopia and Kenya, two rays of hope.

Ethiopia
The Gambella region in the west of Ethiopia, wedged into Sudan, is suffering from a lack of rain. Here is the testimony of Gloria Paolucci, a volunteer with VIS (International Development Volunteers).

In the villages where the Salesians have begun their work of evangelisation, the population looks up to the sky each day, hoping and praying. The Bishop of Gambella, Bishop Angelo Moreschi, a Salesian who has been in charge of the Apostolic Prefecture since 2000, prays at Mass every evening with his parishioners that a little rain will fall and that not all of the crop will be lost. For weeks, in spite of this being the rainy season, the fields have remained dry. Many requests for help have been placed in the hand of the Bishop.

In Ibago, Ilea, Matar and Nignegnang, along the road which leads from Gambella into Sudan, the Salesians began by meeting the local population each week. Little by little the built a hall, with walls of wood and a roof of straw, where the children could have daily lessons and where those who wished could attend weekly catechetical classes. The Salesians are also trying to promote local initiatives, encouraging, for example, the setting up of small shops or involving the people in cultivating allotments of land.

The wells dug by the local authorities are, in general, not very deep. In the dry season they dry up, compelling the people to travel several kilometres to find water, usually from the river Baro. The water from the river, already dangerous on account of the crocodiles, is unhealthy and sickness spreads rapidly.

In the two villages of Ilea and Ibago, VIS, through the campaign ‘A well for Andrea’, has dug and opened in July two deep wells operated by hand pumps which will guarantee clean water even in the dry season. However the well is not sufficient to irrigate the four hectares of fields around Ilea where the 500 villagers hope to grow maize for their survival, and which are growing drier day by day. The village chief has asked the delegation from VIS, who came to the opening of the well, to finance the installation of a pump at the river Baro, a few hundred metres from the edge of the fields, and so use this water at least for irrigation.

In Negnegnang the queue of people drawing water from the well provided by the Salesians is continuous. In Matar there will soon be a well to allow about 4000 people to have daily access to a source of water; unfortunately it will not arrive in time to save the crop which is nearly dead.

Kenya
Missiones Salesianas, the Mission Office in Madrid, has put out a dramatic appeal on behalf of the refugee camp at Kakuma in the north of Kenya where waves of migrants are arriving from Somalia.

For several years the Salesians in the East African Province have been involved in helping refugees who arrive in the camp at Kakuma from various areas of Africa. The Salesians are the only organisation authorised to be present in the refugee camp. The religious community is in fact in the very centre of the reception area.

To the tens of thousands of refugees already in the camp, about 80 thousand, have been added others who have come from Somalia because of political unrest, famine or overflow from the Dadaab camp. It is estimated that there are about 20,000 Somalians in Kakuma.

"Entire communities have nothing to eat, and adults and children are dying", This is the tragic testimony of the Salesian missionaries, given in the report from Misiones Salesianas.

On the websites of VIS and of Misiones Salesianas it is possible to see the active projects and the needs for further intervention.

Published 5/8/2011