The Saint Camille de Lellis Association has been working for more than 20 years in the region of Bouaké to free young people and adults who, as a result of mental illness, are chained to blocks of wood and trees by their parents or village chiefs. Destroyed by the war, Bouake’ currently houses 2 Reception Centres providing shelter for about 500 people and 4 rehabilitation centres accommodating about 200 patients.
During the war the patients of these Centres prepared food and supplied more than 70,000 hot meals to civilians who had lost everything they had.
Precisely because they were used by both civilians and rebels, these Centres are now in a pitiful state. All the toilets and services requiring mains water have ceased to function and the hygiene situation is very precarious. A lot of money needs to be invested in order to allow the existing Centres to resume their original functions.
Over this period ACTA (www.acta-ticino.ch) an NGO located in Italian-speaking Switzerland,has, with the help of a group of ten or so patients, been building a Centre for women and children. AIDS is in fact present in the Reception Centres and the local Association wants to have separate rehabilitation facilities. Furthermore, the new Centre will provide the women with opportunities for professional training, to make them more independent when they return to their original townships.
The Swiss Saint Camille de Lellis Foundation, set up for the purpose of supporting the activities of the Saint Camille Association in both the Ivory Coast and Benin, collects funds to help and support both the Reception and Rehabilitation Centres in Bouaké and the new Centre for women and children.
The needs of these people are enormous: in addition to their need for a roof over their heads and a plate of rice to eat, the patients also require medicines to help them recover from their fragile state of health. The local Saint Camille Association can assist the 700 patients if it is supported and helped by other Foundations or Associations. This is the mission of our Foundation.