8 Salesian centers to participate in environmental education, impacting more than 5,000 youth

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Jugendhilfe Weltweit, the Swiss Salesian Missions Office, has provided support for an environmental education project for youth. The project, which will be implemented in eight Salesian centers in southern Argentina between 2022 and 2024, is known as “Our Common Home: with boys, girls and youth toward a sustainable environmental mindset.”

The project will provide training for more than 5,000 youth, and it will indirectly impact teachers, site staff and more than 400,000 people in the local communities. After the training, youth will be encouraged to form teams to continue to focus on the environment in their schools and communities. The goal is to raise awareness, reflection and knowledge of environmental issues.

The project was preceded by a survey that was conducted in December 2021. All Salesian centers were invited to participate in a three-month preliminary diagnostic and planning phase, during which they received advice from an environmental expert. The project was then launched based on the information and data collected in the survey.

The project will focus on waste management, composting and gardening, communication, and networking, as well as promoting good environmental practices and improving internal environmental management systems.

Salesian missionaries around the globe have been launching environmental and sustainable projects. These activities are in response to Pope Francis’ 2020 Laudato Si’, which underlined the importance of education and training that will help youth foster environmental responsibility. Rector Major Father Ángel Fernández Artime noted the importance of concrete initiatives in the care of the environment.

“This project is among many started at Salesian schools and centers,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “It’s important for youth to understand their environmental impact and the ways that they, their schools, families and communities can work together to make improvements and focus on greater environmental change.”

More than a quarter of the people in Argentina live in conditions of poverty with no formal employment and poor-quality education, according to the World Bank. The country’s high school dropout rate is close to 37 percent and youth account for a third of those unemployed. Almost 12 percent of children ages 5-17 are working instead of being in school and 20 percent need government assistance. Many face malnutrition, a lack of clean water and sewage, and inadequate housing.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

ANS – Argentina – With boys, girls, and young people toward a sustainable environmental mindset

Salesian Missions – Argentina

World Bank – Argentina