Polish Salesian priests working in Uganda have brought to Poland a group of Ugandan boys - street children who make the effort to live decent lives with the help of Christian missionaries on that continent. The boys from Uganda have come to Poland for several weeks, to meet their long distance adoption parents and also to stage music, dance and acrobatic performances, jointly with their Polish colleagues from local centers for street children.
Report by Joanna Najfeld
There is an estimated number of 90 million street children worldwide. The causes are many: children lose parents to wars and diseases, sometimes poverty forces them to look for work or shelter on the street. In Africa there are about ten million such kids. To protect them from engaging in criminality, numerable Christian missions on the continent try to organize accommodation and education. In a center run by Polish Salesian priests, rules are clear: if you want to come and stay, you need to attend school.
One of the reason why boys from Uganda are in Poland is to thank their distance adoption parents for financial support for them and their brothers back in the country. The needs are many. The work of the center depends to a major extent on the long distance adoption program, since the government of Uganda is not assisting at all.
To get involved, google for your local Salesian distance group adoption program. For Poland, this would be at www.misje.salezjanie.pl and www.caluganda.com.
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