(ANS – Madrid) – More than 123 million people have been forced to leave their homes due to armed conflict, extreme violence, or serious human rights violations. Once again, the number of displaced people has risen, and now 1 in 67 people worldwide are victims of forced displacement. Of these, nearly 43 million have had to flee to other countries, and over 49 million are boys and girls. The Salesians, present in more than 130 countries on every continent, assist more than 500,000 displaced persons and refugees.

The Salesians, as explained by “Misiones Salesianas,” the Salesian Mission Office in Madrid, are present in war zones such as Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Myanmar, and in refugee camps such as those in Kakuma (Kenya), Palabek (Uganda), or Pugnido (Ethiopia). They also offer help in emergency situations in displaced settlements, such as those in the Democratic Republic of Congo

But Salesian mission stations are also places of refuge, as in the case of Gumbo, in South Sudan. In addition, the Salesians are present on the borders of Mexico, Turkey, and Egypt, among others, in those places, that is, where efforts are made to respond to the needs of people forced to leave their lands.

‘In some refugee camps, like those in Kakuma or Palabek, we are the only organization whose members live permanently inside the camps. Salesian missionaries live with and like the displaced people, to give them support and comfort,’ explains Fr. Luis Manuel Moral, head of Misiones Salesianas. ‘In addition to offering basic necessities, we also have educational centers so that children, girls, and young people can receive a quality education and be trained to have the necessary tools for the future. In Kakuma alone, we train more than 2,000 children and young people each year in the seven centers we have in the camp. In all these years, more than 19,000 young people have graduated from one of our technical schools,’ Fr. Moral adds.

On the occasion of World Refugee Day, which is celebrated today, June 20, Misiones Salesianas appeals to humanitarian organizations and the international community to promote actions to improve the quality of life of these people. The Madrid Mission Office also, and above all, calls for work for peace and the defence of human rights, in order to curb these numbers, which continue to grow every year. In the meantime, Misiones Salesianas says, ‘we will continue to work in favor of people forced to flee their homes.’