The South American country is now suffering more than ever: it faces the biggest fuel shortage crisis in its history due to falling oil prices. “Right now people have to wait up to three days in a row to get 20 or 30 liters of gasoline. All this is not only serious for the mobility of people, but also for the shipment of food and medicine. The country is paralyzed,” say the Salesians, who do everything to help the population to ensure that every day is a little better than the previous one.
To get food you have to stand in long lines and it is impossible to keep the social distance. “The health emergency for COVID-19 has only aggravated a major humanitarian crisis that began in 2016 and from which no way out is foreseen. At the moment, coronavirus is the least of our concerns, even if infections and deaths increase without knowing the real numbers,” add the Salesians.
In the face of this tragic scenario, the Salesian missionaries have sided with the population and offer all kinds of support to children and their families. Thus, the civil association "Red de Casas Don Bosco", through its seven centers, offers more than 700 breakfasts and meals a day to children in vulnerable situations, along with hygiene kits. “If it weren't for this support, they would have nothing to eat. We have more and more cases of malnutrition among those who come to the centers to ask for help,” continue the spiritual sons of Don Bosco.
Leonardo Rodríguez, Director of "Red de Casas Don Bosco", explains: “Some children live in our homes because they are subjected to protective measures. Others, who live in very difficult conditions or are orphans, or whose parents have had to emigrate and have left them alone, participate in the programs we call the Open Courtyard.”
“Malnutrition in children under five causes irreversible problems in cognitive development.” For this, the "Red de Casas Don Bosco" has set up seven programs for the protection of children and adolescents in as many States in the Country.
The Salesians clearly perceive that many people “in addition to facing difficulties in accessing basic services, are experiencing profound despair.” And faced with this critical situation, they have no choice but to flee: all this allows us to imagine a new wave of migration.
Source: Misiones Salesianas
