thanks to New Rochelle Benefactors’ support.
In the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic, the population of Rukago Parish was desperate wondering what they could do to prevent the negative consequences of the Coronavirus. As they are very poor, the situation could have been aggravated if there had been no benefactors ready to come to the rescue of those vulnerable people.
As immediate response, the Salesian mission in Rukago Parish worked closely with the Planning and Development Office and came up with the preventive project against COVID-19 , which was fortunate to get funded by benefactors from the Procure of New Rochelle (New York, USA ).
This project was funded at the appropriate time to enable the people of Rukago to put into practice individual and community hygiene measures.
Father Raphaël Katanga, Economer of the Salesian Community in Rukago explains : “This project benefits about 65,000 Christians of the parish of Rukago. In particular, we have supported some vulnerable families from the indigenous group, who were at risk of facing food shortage due to the limited circulation of goods and people.”
The Funding for this project helped Salesians to achieve the objectives set, where eight churches, fifteen schools and the Don Bosco Oratory got hand washing facilities, which are
an effective means of fighting the Coronavirus pandemic.
Father Katanga added that they encountered difficulties based on daily habits. Some people did not digest well the new practice of washing their hands before entering the classroom, the office, the church … But, with several awareness sessions, and through sensitization given by the church, and through social networks and messaging systems (SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook …).the population has accepted this practice. Currently, the people of Rukago are used to washing their hands before entering church, class, office …” he noted .
Ange de la Victoire Dusabemungu
