(MissionNewswire) The Salesian-run Don Bosco University in San Salvador, El Salvador has received the 275 chairs it needs to turn two classroom lecture halls into auditoriums thanks to a recent donation made possible by an ongoing partnership between Salesian Missions and the Institution Recycling Network (IRN), an organization that matches surplus items with organizations and people who need them.

Close to 35 percent of El Salvador’s population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank. Youth in the country are confronted not only with poverty, but with instability, high levels of violence and inadequate access to educational opportunities. Despite ranking high for economic indicators, the need for practical education is more important than ever with 12 percent of youth ages 15-24 unemployed and 41 percent underemployed.

Don Bosco University provides opportunities for advanced education and employment for disadvantaged youth in El Salvador. Approximately 6,000 students are enrolled at the University which maintains a strong link to the local employment sector through research, technology transfer programs, continuing education courses and consultancy services. Degree programs include engineering, social sciences, humanities, economics, technology and aeronautics.

The donation by IRN provides seating for two new auditoriums, one seating 175 people and the other 100. Once completed, the auditoriums will have new floors, new glass doors and windows, new ceilings, a fresh coat of paint on the walls and air conditioners. The space will be utilized for classes and events. The University has received donated items from IRN in the past, including a shipment of new school and office furniture last year that improved working and learning environments for students and faculty.

In addition to these donations, Salesian programs around the globe have received school and office furniture as well as workstations thanks to the partnership between Salesian Missions and IRN. Since the partnership began in 2012, shipments have been sent to Salesian sites in Haiti, the Philippines, Liberia, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Togo, Burundi, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone.

“IRN donations have furnished Salesian schools and development offices in Central America, South America, Africa and Asia,” explains Jessica O’Connor, international development programs officer for Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “We plan to continue working with IRN because they are a reliable partner who is eager to assist in our mission and provide quality donations to our programs.”

The Institution Recycling Network was founded in 1999 to match surplus items that need to be recycled with organizations and people who need them. Every educational, commercial and healthcare organization in the U.S. has surplus furniture and equipment. Hundreds of millions of people living in poverty or recovering from natural disasters worldwide are in desperate need of the kinds of surplus goods these very organizations are discarding. IRN makes the match and facilitates the distribution of the surplus into the hands of the organizations and people who need it most.

Salesian missionaries are known for their education programs for youth around the globe. With countless elementary, secondary and university level educational centers as well as training and certification programs, Salesian programs are helping to provide a direct path out of poverty for many youth and their families. Programs rely on donations such as those provided by IRN to keep facilities functional for students and staff.

“There is a clear match between Salesian Missions’ need for furniture and equipment for their worldwide projects and the supplies of surplus to which IRN has access,” says Mark Lennon, principal of the Institution Recycling Network.

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Sources:

Don Bosco University El Salvador

World Bank – El Salvador

Institution Recycling Network