(ANS - San Benito) - The construction of a new Youth Centre, the distribution of ecological filters for water purification and AIDS prevention and care for those with AIDS are new projects that are being undertaken by the Salesians at San Benito in Petén, Guatemala.

"After so many battles with the municipality to get the ground to build our Youth Centre, we are finally starting work. We have cleared the land, made measurements and started to level the ground. Next we will build the fence and this will already be a great achievement," says Fr Giampiero De Nardi, a Salesian missionary.

He added, "Don Bosco had to struggle hard to find a site for his oratory. Now I really understand how much his heart must have been filled with joy when he finally found a home for his children. I'm waiting for the architect to prepare the final plans and make our dream something more concrete (...). We are hoping that people will help us financially in this work for the good of the young people at risk in Petén."

Meanwhile, in the parish, with the help of a group of Italian benefactors from Veneto, we are engaged in the distribution of ecological filters that make the water drinkable. In this area the water is not drinkable, and poor families cannot afford to buy water because of its high cost. Drinking untreated water causes dysentery and disease.

The filters last five years. Each one costs 300 quetzales (about forty euro), and produces enough drinking water for five or six families. The people have been tested in the laboratory before and after treatment of the filter and their purifying effect was readily seen. Thanks to our benefactors we have already distributed twenty filters and by next week we will have distributed another thirty.

We continue our efforts for the prevention of AIDS and care for the sick, despite the fact that the project that financed this work has ended. AIDS is a big problem in Petén, which is the third worst region for incidence of this disease in the country. "The reason is very simple, infidelity is very widespread and because prostitution is legal, the disease is spreading," says Fr De Nardi. Although there are no funds, the Salesians continue to work for some of the people of the parish who are infected with this virus, with the hope that some organization will help them to begin a new project offering quality care. Meanwhile, the Office for the Prevention of AIDS of the Episcopal Conference of Guatemala is running some prevention programmes for women.

Among other activities, we continue to run the Oratory and to distribute food to the poor of San Benito.

Published 18/06/2015