#bambini | Salute e Sviluppo

OUAGADOUGOU IPSCA GROWS

Not long ago we told you about theIstituto Privé de Santé Saint Camille de Lellis (IPSCA) in Ouagadougou, a nursing study centre that 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 as many as 12 other African nations. The last project we were involved in involved the installation of solar panels, an activity that we completed and which gave the Institute the opportunity to take advantage of numerous benefits both economically and in terms of sustainability.

Now we at Health and Development have decided to inaugurate a new activity: ‘Creation of a crèche for female students/mothers and a health point within the IPSCA’. There are currently as many as 25 female students who have recently given birth or are expecting a child and, in the absence of concrete help, would be forced to abandon their studies, unable to reconcile caring for their child with continuing their education. To cope with this difficulty and to prevent most of them from being forced into this choice, we decided to support the construction of a crèche – within the school itself – dedicated to the children of female students. Thanks to this project, the IPSCA would confirm itself as a school centre at the forefront – not only by Burkinabé standards, but internationally – in terms of inclusiveness and support for its students.

In addition to the construction of the kindergarten, it was also decided to set up a small health point needed by the school to provide first aid to all sick students.

We at Health and Development are very happy to be able to support this project over the next six months, which is in line with our mission to improve the living conditions of the most fragile, in this case especially female students, by giving them the opportunity to continue their studies, further their education and be able to aspire to secure employment that in turn gives them the opportunity to increase their health capacities in a country that continues to suffer from precarious conditions.

We will keep you updated on all developments!

DIAZOXIDE PROJECT: GOAL ACHIEVED!

Not long ago we told you the story of the little Edrick and Samueltwo very young children (1 year old and 4 years old), unfortunately suffering from congenital hyperinsulinism (HC)a very rare endocrine disease that develops in the first few months of life and can lead to severe health impairment in young patients, causing them severe neurological problems that cannot always be resolved.

They are cared for by the Asociacion corazones & Manos Solidarias San Francisco, which has been working in Peru for some time in an attempt to improve the health conditions of the most fragile, including the young patients of the San Bartolomé and Cevetano Heredia hospitals in Lima, who suffer from this neurological disease.

It was with them that we decided to launch the ‘Health for All: Diazoxide Project’ in March. In Peru, congenital hyperinsulinism is a particularly compromising disease due to delays in diagnosis and administration of the right drug, Diazoxide. The latter is not marketed in the country and is prohibitively expensive, not only for families, but also for the hospitals themselves who have no way of importing it from abroad.

For these reasons, the Asociacion corazones & Manos Solidarias San Francisco has for years been searching for both public and private donors who can espouse this cause, contributing to the purchase and shipment of the life-saving drug. At the beginning of the year, we at Health and Development decided to step in and inaugurate this project, which gave us the opportunity to purchase Diazoxide not only for little Edrick and Samuel, but also for all the other little patients in the two hospitals.

Now that the project is completed and the necessary Diazoxide supplies have been delivered, we can say that we are happy to have been able to contribute to this activity and to have intervened on behalf of the most fragile.

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.

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.

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