The fight against malnutrition of the most vulnerable children is a commitment of Sant'Egidio. For this reason, in recent days, after a long preparation and involvement of various institutions - Guardia di Finanza, Customs Agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs - twelve containers with about 500,000 kg of pasta of excellent quality have just left the port of Genoa. Specifically, the pasta was donated to the Community.
The recipients are children who live in El Salvador, Peru, and Libya.
In El Salvador, the pasta will be distributed in the country's rural schools as part of the "Alimentarse bien para estudiar mejor" project. Malnutrition represents a problem not only for children’s health but also for their ability to learn. These juveniles cannot follow a regular course of study due to hunger and exertion in which the latter is caused by long walks.
The school is supposed to provide the children with one meal a day, but the economic crisis, which has long affected El Salvador, has reduced this to just one glass of milk per pupil. The Youth for Peace will help with allocation.
In Peru, the pasta will be used to support the social canteens that are open in some elementary schools, especially after the floods that violently rocked the country in March and April. These canteens are run by religious congregations. Moreover, the negative effects of the floods, which caused more than 100 deaths and about 18,000 displaced persons, are unfortunately still evident in many rural areas and the children of the most fragile families will continue, also thanks to this aid, to receive a meal after their days of study.
In Libya, the pasta will be allocated to the hospitals of Sebha and Gat, which are two important towns in the Fezzan region. Furthermore, two containers of medicines have been already distributed in the area. Therefore, we continue to follow up on the agreement that was signed at Sant'Egidio in 2016 by the main tribes of the south. The accord’s goal is the free movement of humanitarian aid. Through the delivery of food and medicines, the Community of Sant'Egidio wants to sustain the functioning of the most important health centers that are located in the southern part of Libya. It wants even to meet the needs of the most fragile individuals who are suffering from the instability of the country.
