#cooperation | Salute e Sviluppo

SENÌ PROJECT: ANOTHER MILESTONE SURPASSED

We often talk to you about the Central African Republic, one of the poorest countries in the world, and about our projects, most of which focus on improving the capacity of the John Paul II Hospital in Bossemptélé, the main health centre in the Ouham – Pendé region. For more than 20 years, this centre has operated with courage and determination, representing – for the local population – the only possibility of access to adequate medical care.

On 30 June, the project “SENÌ- Health and Hygiene for Bossemptélé Communities“financed by FONDATION ASSISTANCE INTERNATIONALE (FAI) with the aim of building the new infrastructure needed for the hospital, supplying medicines and medical consumables, recruiting health personnel and promoting basic hygiene and health education among the local population.

Thanks to this project, we were able to improve the hospital by building a well, adequate to meet the entire water needs of the health centre, and installing photovoltaic panels to ensure a stable supply of electricity. Now that the activities have been concluded, both the well and the panels are fully operational.

In these 30 months, we have also provided the hospital with the medicines and medical supplies it needed to guarantee care for all patients and awareness-raising – pivot of the project – gave excellent results with more than 5000 people who attended weekly meetings focusing on specific topics such as nutrition, vitamins, tobacco, alcohol, personal hygiene, vaccinations and environmental hygiene. Thanks to the mobile clinic team, neighbouring villages were also visited on a regular basis and were able to attend these meetings.

The last objective included in the project was the training of new health personnel for both the John Paul II in Bossemptélé and the health centres in the north of the country. The young people’s interest in this type of training has gradually grown: while in the first year 11 people took part in the training courses, the following year there were more than 30, 25 of whom passed the entrance test to become an assistant de santé.

We at Salute e Sviluppo are very happy to be able to update you on the success of this intervention, and we trust that the many other actors who have been involved, such as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Higher Education, Association pour les Œuvres Médicales des Eglises en Centrafrique – ASSOMESCA and the Order of Carmelite Sisters of Bossemptélé, as well as the Camillian delegation in the Central African Republic, which runs the John Paul II hospital in Bossemptélé – will work to ensure that the mission of awareness-raising does not end with this project, but can continue to be carried out, producing long-term benefits for all those in the most difficult circumstances.

JUVENANT SAINT CAMILLE IS ONLINE

It has not been many months since we told you about the project ‘Construction of a well, installation of a drinking water pumping system and installation of a computer room with 24 computers’ at the Juvenant Saint Camille institute in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, now that the project has come to an end, we are pleased to update you on the milestones we have achieved.

The Juvenant Saint Camille is a school centre that gives many children in the capital of Burkina Faso – Ouagadougou – and in many neighbouring areas, the opportunity to have access to a comprehensive education, in a serene environment, despite the many shortcomings and difficulties of the country itself.

By the end of last year, the need for the facility to proceed with further modernisation had become apparent. In particular, the need for a well and a pumping system capable of providing enough drinking water for the needs of the children and the school was emphasised, and it also seemed essential to proceed with the installation of a computer room.

We at Health and Development were very happy to be able to contribute and from 1 November 2022 we decided to start work. Now the well has been completed and is functioning regularly, providing the school with drinking water, and the computer room has been equipped with no less than 24 computers and a projector.

The computer room was strongly desired by the school to give the children access to an almost infinite amount of knowledge, do in-depth research on school topics and develop manual dexterity and skills with technology, a fundamental component of our lives today.

Now that everything is complete, we are happy to have achieved our goals and renew our willingness to support and back all those projects designed to improve the living conditions of those in need in developing countries. We wish all Juvenant students good use of their new tools, improving and learning more and more.

ALONGSIDE THE DAIVALAYAM- ST. CAMILLUS ASHRAM

We have recently started the ‘Project for the structural needs of Daivalayam – St. Camillus Ashram, Hyderabad’: we are still in India and, again in synergy with the Camillian Province and the Sneha Charitable Trust, we have decided to contribute to the realisation of all the structural improvements necessary for this medical centre.

The Daivalayam – St. Camillus Ashram is the only health centre of excellence in the entire Hyderabad region, dedicated to children from 3 to 18 years of age with physical and mental disabilities who need special care and help. Daivalayam means ‘Dwelling Place of God’, a name chosen to emphasise care and respect for these little patients.

Over the years, the centre has been able to accommodate up to 30 children and young people, but now the need has arisen to expand the facility to also accommodate those who, after the age of 18, continue to need care and assistance. The project includes the construction of several more rooms for both patients and the specialised medical staff who constantly follow the children on their rehabilitation journey.

In order to further expand the capacity of the centre, road connections need to be improved: Daivalayam is located in an area that is quite difficult to reach with few roads connecting it to neighbouring towns and, in the rainy season, these roads flood and are difficult to navigate. The project aims to improve the existing connections and to create a drainage system that allows water to drain efficiently from the roads.

Many of the guests at the centre have severe disabilities so they are forced to use wheelchairs, but the outside of the facility is not built to suit their needs. The project also aims to resurface the outdoor paving, so that all patients can spend days outside in complete safety, even with a wheelchair.

In order to safeguard the health of the patients in every respect, Daivalayam also wants to make the land around the facility cultivable, so that the guests can be offered the genuine and healthy products of the earth grown on site.

We at Health and Development are very happy to be able to contribute to the realisation of all these works, which over the next six months will be completed and will make the lives of the children and young people at the centre a little easier and more peaceful.

SCHOOL SUPPORT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN OUAGADOUGOU

Burkina Faso is a very poor country where living conditions are even more precarious following the escalation of violence and attacks since 2014. In this context, the Camillians who daily try to intervene to improve the living conditions of the Burkinabé are many, including Fr Jean Paul Ouedraogo.

P. Jean Paul decided in 2006 to start a project for orphaned and vulnerable children in Ouagadougou and their mothers, which included one summer camp per year until 2013. From the following year, when the unrest in the country worsened, he decided to organise one meeting a month of sharing, play and dialogue. These occasions highlighted the urgent need these children had for help and support in their educational, human and professional development.

Thus, the Notre Dame de la Plenitude Association was born, with the specific aim of giving orphaned and vulnerable children the opportunity to resume and continue their education, from kindergarten to university or vocational school, providing them with the foundations to embark on a path of autonomy and self-determination.

We at Health and Development have decided to intervene in support of the Association’s activities: the project ‘School support for 20 orphaned children’ started in March this year and will last six months, in which Health and Development will undertake to financially support the education of 20 children – aged between 6 and 20 – who will be able to continue attending school and finish the school cycle they started.

We are very happy to be able to help these young people in need to continue their education and improvement. We will keep you updated on all developments and milestones that we – together with the Notre Dame de la Plenitude Association – manage to achieve.

RECYCLED WATER FOR SNEHADAAN HOSPITAL

Last week we told you about the recently inaugurated project concerning the purchase of an ambulance and dialysis equipment for the Snehadaan Hospital in Bangalore, India, but this is not the only activity that we at Salute e Sviluppo have decided to carry out in favour of the new Camillian hospital.

Again in synergy with the Sneha Charitable Trust, from this week a new three-month project will start that will see us in the front line to finance the construction of a rainwater well and a wastewater treatment plant: all that water that has already been used, for domestic or industrial use, needs specific treatment to be used safely again.

All our activities are designed to be sustainable and in line with the principles of the UN 2030 Agenda. Water – in particular – has been the focus of many of our projects, all designed to emphasise the weight and importance that this element has for human life and for the wellbeing of the individual, who must have safe access to this fundamental source. Recycling water and treating it appropriately so that it can be reused within the hospital itself is our goal, to reaffirm once again our commitment to our planet and the importance of this element.

In September, when the project is completed, both the well and the treatment plant will be completed and fully functional and available to the hospital. We are very happy to be able to contribute to the achievement of this goal in line with our values, always standing by the Camillians at Snehadaan Hospital.

SUPPORT FOR SNEHADAAN HOSPITAL

For many years now, Salute e Sviluppo has been funding and supporting projects in India, all with the precise objective of improving the living conditions of those most in need: in particular – in recent years – we have been involved in activities concerning HIV-infected children who would be forced to remain on the margins of a society that is still reluctant to accept them, were it not for precise support and care programmes carried out by the Sneha Charitable Trust.

Once again we reaffirm the synergy between us at Salute e Sviluppo and the Sneha Charitable Trust, to support the brand new hospital run by the Camillians, Snehadaan Hospital, which opened its doors less than a month ago. This medical centre was set up with the intention of providing the local population of Bangalore with a state-of-the-art health centre, with specialised doctors and state-of-the-art machinery, to enable everyone to receive proper treatment and diagnosis.

In order to help and support this new facility, we at Health and Development also wanted to contribute by financing the purchase of an ambulance and equipment necessary for the hospital’s dialysis department. At the end of the project – in mid-September – all instruments and medical equipment will be up and running to serve the needs of Snehadaan Hospital.

Our support for the facility will be continuous over time and aimed at a progressive growth of the hospital and its capacities, in order to increasingly improve the health conditions of those who – most in need – need help.

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