ARGENTINA: Promoting well-being of youth, planet
Ceferino Namuncurá Salesian School educates youth on environmental responsibility
ARGENTINA
(MissionNewswire) The Ceferino Namuncurá Salesian School, located in Salta, Argentina, educates 1,250 youth who live in situations of vulnerability. Through its projects, the school seeks to promote the well-being of youth as well as the planet. Youth are encouraged from an early age to take part in environmental responsibility through different activities.
The school offers family gardens, clean energy projects and ongoing education. Recently the school installed two solar water heaters with the support of the National Institute of Agricultural Technology and the Salesian Vocational Training Center in San José.
With the family gardens, Salesians have an opportunity to educate youth while growing food for the community. The gardens also provide waste for composting. In addition, the school works with the National Institute of Agricultural Technology’s Prohuerta program to provide training and seed deliveries to families who have children in the school. This encourages them to start their own gardens.
Salesian organizations around the globe have been focused on environmental sustainability projects in response to Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ to raise awareness and increase action on the values of integral ecology. Salesians are working to create an environment that is safe and caring for all life on the planet while building up a new generation of environmentally committed citizens and leaders.
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 – Triple-Impact Point Education at Salta Salesian School
Salesian Missions – Argentina
World Bank – Argentina
