BRAZIL: Salesians provide new social service program for 200 youth
Activities offered free of charge to families
BRAZIL
(MissionNewswire) The Salesian Institute Santo Antônio launched the Don Bosco Social Service Project to welcome and care for 200 youth, in partnership with the Nossa Senhora da Guia Parish in the Coxipó neighborhood of Cuiabá, Brazil. Youth between the ages of 6-17, from the nearby Coophema district, will take part.
The project activities will take place at the Santa Maria Goretti church and include recreational time, meals, and religious programs. The goal is to provide a welcoming environment for youth in vulnerable situations. The Salesian Province has invested in the construction of classrooms and the renovation of the kitchen. All services and activities will be offered free of charge to families.
Father Ricardo Carlos, provincial of the Salesian Province St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori of Campo Grande, said, “We hope this home will receive children, teenagers and youth, allowing Don Bosco’s dream to be realized ― to form good Christians and upright citizens.”
Priority for admission will be given to those in greatest need. Social workers will oversee the selection process based on family income and living conditions. To join the project, youth must be enrolled in school and maintain regular attendance. Those who attend school in the morning will take part in the social activities in the afternoon, and vice versa. The project has received community support from the Canopus group.
Fr. Marcelo Fujimura, parish priest, noted, “This is a way of showing that these children matter to us. They are not only the future — they are already the present.”
In 2023, Brazil reduced the rates of poverty and extreme poverty to the lowest levels since 2012, when the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics began conducting annual surveys on the subject. The number of people living in poverty declined from 67.7 million to 59 million in just one year. Researchers attribute this to the expansion of social assistance programs, such as Bolsa Família, targeting those in extreme poverty.
Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country and specifically focus on children with disabilities within several programs. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of youth who are poor and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty and lead productive lives.
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Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
Salesian Missions – Brazil
World Bank – Brazil
