Museum was created in 1941 inside the Don Bosco school in Rawson

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian Regional Museum in Rawson, Argentina, has received the Fitterling Fund, a collection of 500 ceramics, including intact pieces and fragments, made in Pre-Columbian times in northwestern Argentina. The collection reflects different cultures, techniques, and beliefs, including Ciénaga, Aguada, Aguada Portezuelo, Yocavil, Belén Vaquería, and Inca. The pieces were created approximately between A.D. 400 and 1480.

The collection belonged to a private individual who collected the pieces during the 1960s and 1970s. After his death, and according to the new patrimonial criteria established by the province of Chubut, his children decided to give the collection to the Salesian Regional Museum as the holder. The museum is responsible for conserving this heritage as well as promoting the knowledge of the Fitterling Fund to the community of Rawson and the surrounding area.

The museum was created as a school museum in 1941 inside the Don Bosco school in Rawson. A group of 6th-year students, together with their teacher José Morell, were tasked with collecting artifacts within the community and on educational trips. Today, the museum offers visitors over 6,000 exhibits that highlight regional history and Salesian history, which includes the installation of the first printing press, the first hospital, the Salesian school for boys and girls, and other historical projects.

“The Salesian Regional Museum is committed to supporting education and culture,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “It continues to grow and expand its collection to provide the local community and tourists with a part of history.”

Salesian missionaries in Argentina and around the globe provide education and social development programs to help poor youth and their families achieve self-sufficiency and have hope for a better life. Through schools, vocational and technical training programs, youth centers, medical clinics, and more, Salesians are ensuring youth have the services and programs they need to thrive.

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 – Rawson’s Salesian Regional Museum receives a new pre-Columbian collection

Salesian Missions – Argentina

World Bank – Argentina