ETHIOPIA: Don Bosco Center in Zway opens nursery school
School located in missionary station in Hobe
ETHIOPIA
(MissionNewswire) The Don Bosco Center, located in Zway (Batu), a town in Oromia, Ethiopia*, has opened a nursery school in its missionary station in Hobe. The station has a chapel dedicated to the Most Holy Saviour and an oratory where members of the community, lay collaborators and animators organize various activities with youth from Hobe and the surrounding communities. The nursery is funded with the support of Together for Africa.
“Salesians understand the importance of early education for youth,” said Father Michael Conway, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Around the globe, Salesians have a focus on education as a path out of poverty. Early education lays the foundation for secondary school and later employable skills training.”
Education is at the heart of what Salesians do in communities like Zway. They have been instrumental in improving quality education, while also providing books and pens, repairing damaged classrooms, and paying incentive salaries for teachers who otherwise wouldn’t work. For children who have missed years of schooling, Salesians also provide informal classes and meet students where they are in their educational journey.
Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with more than 38% of its population living in poverty, according to Feed the Future. Close to 85% of the country’s workforce is employed in agriculture, but frequent droughts severely affect the agricultural economy leaving more than 12 million people chronically, or at least periodically, food insecure. In addition, more than two-thirds of the population is illiterate.
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Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
ANS – Ethiopia – Don Bosco Zway opens a new nursery school in the Hobe missionary station
Salesian Missions – Ethiopia
UNICEF – Ethiopia
*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.
