#internationalcooperation | Salute e Sviluppo

SOLAR PANELS AT THE INSTITUTE SUPÉRIEUR PRIVÉ DE SANTÉ SAINT CAMILLE IN OUAGADOUGOU

A few months ago, during a mission in Burkina Faso, we had the pleasure of attending a ceremony at the Institut Supérieur Privé de Santé Saint Camille de Lellis in Ouagadougou, in the presence of the Burkinabé Minister of Health and other high state and city officials. On the occasion of this celebration, the great value of the Institute was repeatedly emphasised: a centre for nursing studies, which has established itself on the country’s health scene for the high specialisation it offers its students, who come not only from Burkina Faso, but also from 12 other African nations.

Burkina Faso still remains an extremely poor nation, where the majority of the population lives in a precarious state and without access to basic sanitation, health and education services. In recent years, the situation has worsened further due to terrorism that has targeted the country.

Cultivating and specialising in health and nursing appears to be a priority, and the school in Ouagadougou offers one of the best study paths. To support the centre and strengthen our support for the Burkinabe population, we inaugurated on 1 March the ‘Installation of solar panels at the Institut Supérieur Privé de Santé Saint Camille de Lellis’which will be completed at the end of August and includes the purchase and installation of a number of solar panels and a system for injecting energy directly into the consumer grid during these six months. The aim is to ensure that the institute can become energy self-sufficient through renewable sources.

We are happy to be able to contribute to the further improvement of this centre of excellence, in the hope that it will continue to be an important training centre, not only for its country, but also for neighbouring countries, as it is today.

FIGHTING CHOLERA IN HAITI

Haiti is sadly known for the earthquake that struck it in 2010, killing more than 200,000 people. The consequences of the earthquake were very serious: in addition to the many dead and injured, most of the country’s houses and infrastructure were destroyed. Millions of displaced persons were forced to assemble in relief camps, living in temporary dwellings, lacking basic services. This precarious state triggered a violent cholera epidemic, which soon spread throughout the island.

Cholera is caused by a bacterium that affects the small intestine, causing severe discharges of diarrhoea and subsequent dehydration in those who contract it. The patient must be immediately rehydrated orally, following the right prophylaxis. The disease is more easily spread in unhygienic environments and is often caused by contaminated water. In Haiti, in 2010, the consequences of the epidemic were very serious, considering that the lack of infrastructure made it impossible to adequately care for all those affected.

Thirteen years have passed and the situation on the island is still disastrous: the many billions received for reconstruction have not been properly utilised, people continue to live in shanty towns where tin shelters have been built and dilapidated wells dug, the only real help to the population comes from humanitarian organisations and international cooperation. Also disastrous is the political situation in the country, which in recent years has had to cope with numerous coups d’état and the violence of various armed gangs fighting each other.

In this delicate scenario, Madian Orizzonti Onlus promotes and follows health projects, such as the construction of a hospital and the treatment of particular diseases, such as cholera, which has never ceased to be a danger to the population.

Salute e Sviluppo has decided to intervene alongside Madian Orizzonti Onlus for the ‘Cholera’ project: from 1 January to 30 June we will help the Hopital Foyer Saint Camille di Port-au-Prince, run by the Camillian community, to fight the spread of this disease. We will both treat those who are currently affected and prevent the spread with frequent sanitisation and the right prophylaxis against the disease. Awareness-raising will also be of primary importance: the project – in fact – envisages several meetings to be held in schools, with the aim of educating the youngest about cholera and how to prevent and avoid contagion, in the hope of averting the risk of a new epidemic.

We hope, also thanks to our contribution, to be able to give concrete help to a population that continues to find no peace, despite the 13 years that have passed since that tragic event that irretrievably changed the face of the island.

THE BELL RINGS IN GARANGO, CLASSES BEGIN!

Our project ‘Construction of a kindergarten in Garango’ funded by the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), which we have told you about several times over the past year, has recently come to an end.

Garango is located in Burkina Faso – in the central eastern zone – within the diocese of Tenkodogo, one of the poorest areas of the country, with numerous health and educational deficiencies. We decided to intervene in an attempt to fill some of these gaps and in the hope of helping the local population to achieve a higher standard of living.

In particular, we were told of the absence of a kindergarten and – consequently – the impossibility for children in the area to be able to undertake a normal schooling and education preparatory to primary schools. To make up for this shortcoming, we decided last year to submit a project to build the school facility.

From the outset, it seemed an ambitious goal, considering the situation of political and social uncertainty in the entire country in recent years, but fortunately the project did not encounter any difficulties: the construction work on the structure was carried out swiftly and Within a year, we have not only seen this school come into being, but we have seen it filled with desks, chairs, games and everything necessary for the proper development of the young pupils.

The children were divided into three large classrooms according to age, creating a Petite Section, a Moyenne Section and a Grande Section. The first section consists of 27 pupils, 10 boys and 17 girls, while the second consists of 26, 14 boys and 14 girls, the last section has not been formed, but as early as next year it will be enlivened with all the children of the current Moyenne Section.

Numerous activities are planned each day: colouring, drawing, learning the basics of maths, starting to read, spending time on physical activity and, of course, playing. The facility has a large enclosed courtyard where the children, in complete safety, can spend carefree hours and, in addition, hosts a canteen that guarantees one meal a day for every pupil at the school.

If the primary objective was to build, furnish and activate the school, the secondary objective was to raise the awareness of the local population on the importance of education: in fact, it seems essential to get children started on a proper learning path from an early age to ensure their proper development. Thanks to the local staff working within the facility, even though our activities have ended, the school will continue to be a reference point for the entire community.

We are very happy to have completed the project, contributing to the realisation of this school that will give many children the opportunity to laugh, play, colour, and experience a peaceful childhood, understanding the value of sociality and sharing, in the light-heartedness that that age deserves, but that often – in similar contexts – cannot have.

AT THE MACO IN OUAGADOUGOU IN DEFENCE OF THE RIGHTS OF ALL

The MACO (Maison d’Arret et de Correction de Ouagadougou) is the largest prison in the capital of Burkina Faso. The conditions of the facility are quite precarious: overcrowding is the most obvious problem, in fact, not too long ago, it was even feared that the facility would collapse due to the excessive number of inmates.

With this in mind, it is not surprising that the living and health conditions there are well below standard. The Camillians of the prison chaplaincy realised the need to intervene as soon as possible to make the treatment more humane, allowing these inmates to experience prison as a re-education, with full respect for inviolable human rights.

The situation in Burkina Faso is difficult from several points of view: starting from the endemic poverty, to the terrorism that has been gripping the country in a vice for several years. Ensuring that inmates have a dignified life in prison is crucial to prevent further resentments that may later erupt into anger and violence.

In an attempt to pursue this goal, the Camillians of the prison chaplaincy proposed to Salute e Sviluppo to participate in the ‘Projet d’humanisation de la Maison d’Arret et de Correction de Ouagadougou (MACO)’. The project consists of providing more than 1600 inmates with the meals they need to maintain a proper diet, supplying monthly hygiene kits to about 100 women in the prison, distributing the soap needed for the hygiene of 1600 people, giving clothes to about 50 inmates – the most destitute – and buying all the medicines needed to supply the institution’s infirmary and to treat particular illnesses.

We at Salute e Sviluppo are happy to be able to contribute to this project: although those in prison have a sentence to serve, it is only fair that they receive dignified treatment, with full respect for human rights. Improving the living conditions of those in need is our primary goal in any field.

It will be a busy year, and the conditions in the country will certainly cause some difficulties for the smooth running of this project, but we are confident that within the set time frame, the objectives will be accomplished.

We will keep you updated on all developments!

HEALTH FOR ALL IN LIMA

Salute e Sviluppo has a clear mission: to improve the living conditions of every individual, especially the most vulnerable (children and women), by promoting fair and sustainable development processes in access to health and education services, social and economic empowerment.

To carry it forward, there are many projects that we inaugurate each year with prestigious partners and donors, but there are also many initiatives that Salute e Sviluppo pursues on its own, funding support activities for those in need who ask for help.

A few months ago, the Asociación corazones & Manos Solidarias San Francisco, which has long been working on Peruvian soil to improve the health conditions of the young patients of the San Bartolomé and Cayetano Heredia hospitals in Lima, proposed to us to contribute to the ‘Health for All: Diazossido Project’.

Edrick and Samuel are two very young children (1 year old and 4 years old respectively) suffering from congenital hyperinsulinism (HC), a very rare endocrine disease that develops in the first months of life and can lead to severe health impairment in young patients, causing severe neurological problems, in some cases irreversible.

This disease in Peru is particularly compromising due to delays in diagnosis and administration of the right medication – the Diazoxide – which is not marketed in the country and which is prohibitively expensive, both for the hospitals themselves and for the poorest families, who do not have the possibility of importing it from abroad. The administration of the drug, in most cases, has to be long-lasting in order to ensure the children’s recovery, which makes it even more difficult to maintain a sufficient supply.

To make up for this serious shortage, the Asociación corazones & Manos Solidarias San Francisco has for years been searching for public and private donors who can contribute to the purchase and shipment of the life-saving drug. Salute e Sviluppo decided to respond affirmatively to this request and purchase the Diazoxide needed for the current and future care of little Edrick, Samuel and many other children who will need it in the next two years.

We at Salute e Sviluppo are very happy to be able to intervene in the first person, helping those in need, and in this case we hope that – also thanks to our contribution – the little patients in the hospitals of Lima suffering from this disease and their families can finally find hope again.

CURES AND TEACHINGS IN THE OHUAM PENDÉ

The site of most of the projects we have underway is the Ouham – Pendé region: about 400 kilometres from the capital Bangui, it is one of the poorest areas of the already destitute Central African Republic. The political instability of the entire nation, and the resulting violence, makes poverty endemic and basic rights inaccessible.

Our point of reference in the region is the John Paul II Camillian Hospital in Bossemptélé, which has been working with courage and determination for more than 20 years, representing a landmark for the population who can count on adequate care thanks to this hospital.

The SENÌ- Health and Hygienic Concepts for the Bossemptélé Community project, funded by FONDATION ASSISTANCE INTERNATIONALE (FAI), started on 1 January 2021 with the aim of building the necessary infrastructure for the hospital, supplying medicines and sanitary consumables, recruiting health personnel and promoting hygiene and health education for the local population.

Specifically, as far as infrastructure is concerned, the project aims to contribute to the improvement of the hospital by building a new well that can meet the hospital’s entire water needs and by installing new photovoltaic panels that can guarantee a stable supply of electricity. The well has been completed, is functional and can fully fulfil its function. The panels have all been installed and made operational.

The infrastructural result has been achieved, while the result focused on raising the awareness of the local population on health and prevention issues is ongoing with excellent results. The project includes a series of weekly meetings on specific topics such as nutrition, vitamins, tobacco, alcohol, personal hygiene, malaria vaccination and environmental hygiene. Meetings have already started and continue to take place regularly, both within the hospital and in the surrounding rural areas thanks to the mobile clinic team. To date, more than 4000 people have been involved in awareness-raising activities.

Although the end of the project is set for next summer, the many local actors involved – the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Higher Education, Association pour les Œuvres Médicales des Eglises en Centrafrique – ASSOMESCA and the Order of the Carmelite Sisters of Bossemptélé, as well as the Camillian delegation in the Central African Republic that runs the John Paul II Hospital in Bossemptélé – will continue to work to ensure that the mission of raising awareness among the local population is ongoing and can produce long-term benefits.
We will keep you updated on the progress of the project and the many good stories coming from the John Paul II Hospital in Bossemptélé.

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