The Don Bosco School, which is part of the Don Bosco Salesian Educational Center (CEDES) and has more than 400 students, was represented by 16 students who are taking courses at the school’s center of technology. The first team, a finalist in the competition, designed two futuristic cities that reflect emotions, colors and fun. The second team, which received an honorable mention, created an eco-friendly residential complex with accessibility and eco-terraces to encourage sharing among families.

In addition to the competition, students also created and launched an application known as Quimera, which aims to reduce school abandonment. This is particularly relevant in Costa Rica. According to data from the Ministry of Public Education, in 2018, 10,211 students left secondary school without graduating. Created by five students, the project was a finalist in the regional competition Latin Code Week and was promoted by Junior Achievement.

Quimera is a cross-platform application that utilizes games and tests to motivate young people to enjoy studying and reinforces learning interactively. The objective of Quimera is to interactively link academic subjects and schools, allowing students to gain greater knowledge of the subjects, tackling them in a more dynamic way. Moreover, it will allow teachers to track student progress in order to provide extra support to help them stay in school.

These competitions provide a great way for students to use the skills they have learned in the classroom,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “In Costa Rica and in countries around the globe, Salesian missionaries help young people take responsibility for their own lives and provide them with both the technical and life skills needed to succeed in the workplace.”

According to the World Bank, more than 1.14 million Costa Ricans live in poverty, which is more than 21 percent of the population. While the poverty rate has dropped slightly from 2014, extreme poverty has been on the rise and has reached its highest recorded rate in the last six years.

In addition, poor Costa Ricans are more likely to live in a single-mother household and have a higher than average number of children under 5 years old as well as other dependents living in the same home. Dependents include other children under 14 years old or adults over 65 years old. More than 77 percent of poor Costa Ricans work in the informal sector and have roughly three years less schooling than their peers who are not living in conditions of poverty.

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ANS – Costa Rica – Students of “CEDES Don Bosco” are finalists in educational projects in Latin America

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Costa Rica

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VENEZUELA

(MissionNewswire) Despite the ongoing political, social and economic challenges in Venezuela, Salesian missionaries continue providing education at 18 educational centers across the country so that students are able to prepare for the future. The schools also help support teachers who remain in a vulnerable situation in the country.

The population in Venezuela faces daily despair due to food scarcity. The currency is so devalued that a month’s salary is just enough to buy a chicken. The educational sector has been abandoned and schools have lost many teachers. In the last school year, the Maduro government left schools without teachers, students and resources.

Salesian missionaries in Venezuela believe that education is the first resource for the country’s moral revival. Salesian education is aimed primarily at poor children and older youth, as well as those who might need a second chance at education in a less formal setting.

People in Venezuela also receive the support of the entire Salesian congregation led by Rector Major Father Ángel Fernández Artime. To the people of Venezuela, he has said, “You are not alone. From the different parts of the Salesian world, we are attentive to what you experience and we are aware of everything that happens.”

Msgr. Jhonny Reyes, Salesian and apostolic vicar of Puerto Ayacucho, points out that in many rural schools in the Venezuelan Amazon teachers are heroes. He said, “With the difficulties that exist, they refuse the job offers and salaries that come to them from the other side of the border, from Colombia, and decide to continue to take care of children and young people. That’s why we must continue to help them and do our part for the future generations of the country.”

Salesian missionaries continue their work in the country providing education, workforce development and social development services to poor youth and their families despite volatile conditions.

More than 3 million Venezuelans have fled the country since the crisis began, many of them on foot. International Monetary Fund (IMF) experts estimate that inflation in Venezuela will reach 10 million percent in 2019. Products that at one time cost the equivalent of $1 will now cost the equivalent of $10 million. Many Venezuelans’ monthly salaries cannot cover the cost of a single gallon of milk.

Venezuelan unemployment is estimated to surpass 44 percent this year and will likely hit the 50 percent mark by 2020. The state, however, has not released an official unemployment figure since 2016, when it noted a 7.3 percent unemployment rate.

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ANS – Venezuela – Even amidst an emergency, Salesians focus on education

Markets Insider – 9 mind-blowing facts about Venezuela’s economy

Salesian Missions – Venezuela

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.

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PAPUA NEW GUINEA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in Papua New Guinea provide primary and secondary education as well as technical skills training to prepare youth for the workforce. Missionaries also help to ensure that basic needs like shelter, food and water are met so students are able to focus on their studies.

At Don Bosco Technical Secondary School in Rapolo, a populated area in East New Britain, Salesian missionaries are grateful for the efforts and commitment of lay people who serve poor youth and their families. Every weekend, lay volunteers lead Catechism classes for the young children attending the newly established parish.

Every Sunday, lay volunteers also visit different communities and offer basic checkups on blood pressure and sugar levels for the people of the villages. This helps people to focus on their health so that they may live long and healthy lives.

Other lay volunteers dedicate themselves to working directly with youth in classrooms and courtyards. They offer children assistance and provide them supportive adults to listen, interact with them and be good role models.

This year, Stephen Stafstrom, who is 21 years old and from Florida, and Matthew Nguyen, also 21 years old and from Texas, are part of the Salesian Missions Lay Missioner program working in Papua New Guinea’s capital city of Port Moresby.

Salesian Lay Missioners make a one- to three-year commitment and are assigned to a Salesian mission, typically a school, youth center or parish, in one of the 132 countries where Salesian missionaries are active around the globe. Missioners spend time teaching, guiding and counseling children and their families, as well as learning about different cultures and communities. They become part of a close-knit team of Salesian missionaries, volunteers and lay staff working together to bring hope to poor youth and their families.

Papua New Guinea has a population of approximately 7.5 million. It is a resource-rich country with oil, gas and gold reserves as well as fertile land capable of producing high crop yields. Despite this, an estimated 40 percent of Papua New Guineans live below the poverty line of $1.25 per day, according to the World Bank.

Close to 50 percent of adults are illiterate and 25 percent of children are unable to attend school in Papua New Guinea. Part of the problem with getting to school, work and hospitals has to do with the country’s infrastructure. In rural areas, where nearly 88 percent of the population resides, there are few roads or means of transportation to get to schools or places of employment.

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ANS – Papua New Guinea – The universal call to the Mission

Salesian Missions – Papua New Guinea

World Bank – Papua New Guinea Poverty

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ECUADOR

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian Polytechnic University campus in Quito, Ecuador, has opened its doors to welcome and assist more than 3,000 indigenous people from all over the country. The economic and social crisis that has intensified in Ecuador in recent weeks has triggered a wave of protests and repression by government forces. Thousands of indigenous people have come to the country’s capital, Quito, to defend the rights of those most in need.

Money from the International Monetary Fund that was provided to alleviate the severe economic crisis in exchange for harsh economic measures by the government has turned the country into a powder keg. The population has taken to the streets to demonstrate against these measures that damage the most vulnerable.

The transport strike, which paralyzed the country, and the mobilization of more than 40,000 people from the various indigenous communities of Ecuador have put the government on the rails, which has moved the country’s capital to Guayaquil and decreed a curfew in various areas to try to curb citizens’ mobilizations.

Salesian missionaries, who have been living and working in Ecuador since 1888, have long distinguished themselves by the care and support they show to the indigenous communities, fostering efforts to preserve their culture and their traditions. Missionaries have opened the doors of the Salesian Polytechnic University to accommodate people in its gardens and gym so they can have a place to rest.

“Solidarity initiatives have been organized to obtain mattresses and blankets, take turns in the makeshift infirmary for the occasion and to cook food for them,” said one of the members of the educational community.

These people arrive at the Salesian center already tired from their long marches, and many of them are also injured by tear gas, which the police have used in response to their protests. Initially the gymnasium of at the university was utilized for the protesters, but the massive arrival of people in recent days has made it necessary to furnish the courtyards, the gardens and any place available to offer rest and shelter to those who want to peacefully claim their own rights and defend their country.

“The Salesians have opened their doors from the heart, as they have also done on previous occasions of conflict, in favor of the indigenous communities of the Amazon, the Sierra and the Afro-Ecuadorians, as one big family. We do not want there to be bloodshed, let alone deaths, but that peace and social justice are imposed as arguments against purely economic interests,” said one of the young people helping as a volunteer.

The Salesian Polytechnic University is the largest of all Salesian universities with more than 24,500 students. In 2019, for the first time, the university ranked within the top 100 universities in Latin America competing with 4,000 in the region. Across its three campuses, the university offers 27 degree programs and 10 doctorate programs, 62 research groups, 10 educational innovation groups and 98 Salesian Association of Universities groups.

Salesian missionaries in Ecuador focus on providing education, social programming and workforce development to help the country’s most vulnerable citizens. Technical and vocational education is also provided to help youth gain the skills needed to find and retain long-term stable employment.

Ecuador’s poverty rate was 36.7 percent in 2007 and dropped to 22.9 percent in 2016. These results show that 1.4 million Ecuadorians escaped poverty within nine years. However, many Ecuadorians still live in impoverished conditions. Ecuador is one of the most inequitable societies in the world, according to UNICEF. The richest 20 percent of the population receives almost 50 percent of the national income, while the poorest 20 percent receives only 5 percent. According to the World Food Program, almost 26 percent of all children under age 5 have stunted growth, increasing to 31 percent in rural areas and 47 percent in indigenous communities.

Close to 20 percent of Ecuador’s population is people of indigenous heritage. For poor, rural and indigenous youth, education provides the best opportunity for finding employment, reducing inequities and breaking the cycle of poverty. Salesian missionaries have been providing education and other social programs for disadvantaged youth across Ecuador for more than 125 years.

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ANS – Ecuador – Faced with an unprecedented crisis, Salesians open their University doors to welcome 3,000 indigenous people

Salesian Missions – Ecuador

Salesian Polytechnic University Ecuador

UNICEF – Ecuador

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SYRIA

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries working in Syria are starting construction projects to open programs for youth and their families in the remote district of Jaramana, which is located an hour away from the current Salesian youth center in Damascus. Many families, even during the most dangerous heights of the war, traveled by bus to attend programs in Damascus. Now, Salesian missionaries are launching new programs locally.

Despite ongoing conflict and instability, Salesian missionaries and nuns have continued their work with youth in Syria. Since the outbreak of civil war in March 2011, Salesian missionaries have operated three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Opened well before the start of the war, the centers have been providing educational classes, meeting space, and social development and sporting activities for youth and their families. They also offer trauma counseling, emergency shelter, nutritious meals and medical referrals to those in need.

For years, bullets and the blast of bombs have marred Jaramana. The war destroyed this part of the city and its traces are visible. Most of the youth who participate in the activities at the Salesian Youth Center in Damascus come from this area. Now that the war seems to have calmed down, Salesian missionaries are constructing a new youth center, a church and a vocational training center.

The Salesians are working to hold activities for youth as close as possible to these remote and needy populations. At the height of the war, families with young children and older youth alone would get on the buses, in the middle of the bombings, and run a terrible risk to get to Salesian programs.

“On many occasions, we had to suspend the bus lines. We had to communicate with the educators and then to inform the families,” said Father Alejandro León, superior of the Salesian Province of the Middle East. “The objective of the Salesians is to move to this area, which has a Muslim majority, so that youth have programs in these difficult times.”

Fr León also noted a great lesson he received from some of the children in this district. He recalled, “One day when, due to the bombing, we suspended the route of the buses that took the kids to the youth center. I saw that at two o’clock in the afternoon an educator and several children from that neighborhood showed up at Mass. They had walked in the middle of the bombardments for more than two hours. At the end of the Mass, I told them that I was very angry because they had disobeyed and had put their lives in jeopardy. The educator, very serene, gave me a lesson in theology and faith at the same time when he asked me who I was to forbid them from going to Mass on Sunday.”

Now, with the help of many benefactors, the new Salesian youth center, church and vocational training center will be established to educate and support thousands of young Syrians affected by the war.

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

ANS – Syria – Syria transformation continues: from Damascus battlefield to new Salesian youth center

Salesian Missions – Syria

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.

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Located in Sierra Leone’s capital city of Freetown, Don Bosco Fambul is one of the country’s leading child-welfare organizations and has been on the forefront of efforts to help rehabilitate street children and reunite them with their families. The organization is directed by Salesian Father Jorge Mario Crisafulli and has a staff of 120 including Salesian social workers who go out to the streets, slums and marketplaces to engage with vulnerable youth and encourage them to join Don Bosco Fambul’s successful program.

Many of the youth who are contacted during this time fill out the required questionnaire and those most at-risk are admitted into the program. Salesian missionaries seek out youth who have few other options and are most in need. This includes orphans, victims of physical, emotional and sexual abuse and those who have spent longer on the street or who are sick and weak. After evaluation, participants are assigned to appropriate educational levels, are given thorough medical exams, necessary treatment and housing. Participants also engage in listening sessions and counseling, group discussions, prayer, talks, sports and recreation, all of which are a part of the rehabilitation process.

The success of Don Bosco Fambul’s street children rehabilitation program is credited to its holistic approach which focuses on meeting basic needs (food, clothing, a safe place to sleep) in addition to personalized medical, psychological, pedagogical, social and spiritual care. Rehabilitation is a gradual process that includes formal classes, daily games, sports, music, singing, drama, dancing, counseling and prayer. The parents and extended families of participants are contacted several times by social workers before final reunification.

On reunification day, an agreement is signed between parents and Don Bosco Fambul in order to secure a safe environment for the children to continue along a path of personal growth, including ensuring they will have the food, clothing, shelter and education they need. Social workers continue to visit the children and their families until they finish secondary school.

“Education helps break the cycle of violence and poverty,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “This program helps youth come in off the streets where they face poverty and are at-risk for exploitation, and have a chance at a better life. The aim is to help them live safely while getting the emotional support they need and the education that will help them live independently.”

The UN World Food Program reports that over half of the population in Sierra Leone lives under the national poverty line of approximately $2 per day. According to the 2016 Global Hunger Index, Sierra Leone also faces an alarming level of hunger with nearly 38 percent of children younger than 5 years of age suffering from chronic malnutrition.

Young people face significant challenges in accessing education. With too few teachers and school buildings destroyed in the war, resources are thin and persistently high illiteracy rates mean that an estimated 70 percent of Sierra Leone’s youth are un- or under-employed.

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ANS – Sierra Leone – Street children of Don Bosco Fambul reintegrating into their families

World Food Programme – Sierra Leone

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The event was organized by Sport for Development in Africa (S4DA). In addition, sports programming in the TVET centers is organized by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Development Cooperation in collaboration with the Addis Ababa TVET Bureau.

The Sport for Development TVET Championship promotes the importance of sports in teaching youth important life skills and preparing them for the labor market. The tournament is part of the overall Sport for Development in Africa program. This program also supports the “More Space for Sport – 1,000 Chances for Africa” initiative, which was launched in 2014 by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The initiative aims to use sports as an important tool to bring positive changes in sub-Saharan Africa.

Further, the initiative provides framework in which various partners can work together to open up new opportunities for disadvantaged youth. Sports are used in programs to promote education, health, development and peace across the world. It helps young people acquire important life and social skills, boost their confidence and increase willingness to take on responsibility.

To date, the Sport for Development in Africa program has helped more than 100,000 children and older youth have access to sports by rehabilitating 35 sports grounds throughout the country. It has also provided sports for development training to 65 TVET teachers.

Sport for Development in Ethiopia focuses on promoting vocational education. Salesian centers in Ethiopia have had a new sports field constructed and maintenance work to older fields completed as part of this program.

“Sports programs teach youth both on and off the field,” says Father Mark Hyde, the director of Salesians Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Learning and playing team sports encourages leadership skills as well as teaches youth to work as part of a team. Students also learn important social skills and have opportunities for growth and maturity.”

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with more than 35 percent of its population living in poverty, according to Feed the Future. Close to 85 percent 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.

The country has 4 million orphans which account for nearly 12 percent of all children, and according to UNICEF, more than half a million of these were orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS crisis that has affected the country. Thousands more children run away each year seeking a better life on the streets.

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ANS – Ethiopia – Sport for Development: Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Championship

Feed the Future – Ethiopia

UNICEF – Ethiopia

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This year’s theme “Change the future of migration. Invest in food security and rural development” aims to bring attention to how migration and levels of hunger intersect. FAO notes that more people have been forced to flee their homes than at any time since World War II due to increased conflict and political instability. Many migrants arrive in developing countries, creating tensions where resources are already scarce, but the majority, about 763 million, move within their own countries rather than abroad.

FAO reports that a large share of migrants come from rural areas where more than 75 percent of the world’s poor and food insecure depend on agriculture and natural resource-based livelihoods. Creating conditions that allow rural people, especially youth, to stay at home when they feel it is safe to do so, and to have more resilient livelihoods is a crucial component of any plan to tackle the migration challenge, FAO notes. Through education and training and increased business opportunities, youth will have better opportunities to remain and contribute back to their home communities.

Salesian Missions’ programs are dedicated to facilitating agricultural and technical education and providing feeding programs in more than 130 countries around the globe. Operating primary schools, technical training centers, agricultural schools, youth centers, orphanages and programs for street children, Salesian missionaries are on the front lines of the battle against hunger.

Salesian missionaries also work around the globe with migrants and refugees who seek a better life and hope for the future. Missionaries are assisting close to 400,000 refugees and internally displaced persons whose lives have been affected by war, persecution, famine and natural disasters such as floods, droughts and earthquakes. Salesian programs provide refugees and migrants much needed education and technical skills training, workforce development, health care and nutrition.

This World Food Day, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight programs that invest in food security and rural development

GHANA

Youth in Ghana have been positively affected by the Salesian-led Stop Human Trafficking campaign that was launched in October 2015 by Salesian missionaries in Italy. The campaign raises awareness of the dangers of youth migration. With a focus on youth leaving countries in Africa in search of a better life in Europe, the campaign aims to prevent young migrants from becoming victims of crime and exploitation. The campaign is part of an initiative promoted by the Salesian-run International Voluntary Service for Development and the Don Bosco Mission Association in Turin, Italy.

Ghana’s rural Brong Ahafo region is one of the areas most affected by youth migration. Through the Stop Trafficking program, Salesian missionaries are putting a program in place to offer youth the opportunity to remain in the region and earn a living through sustainable agricultural projects. Salesian missionaries are working with local people to help launch the project.

MEXICO

Since 1987, the Salesian-run Tijuana Project has been providing services to migrants and poor youth living on the border between Mexico and the United States. The goal of the project is to create an extensive educational network in areas where poor youth are at risk of social exclusion. The project took shape through Salesian oratories and educational centers where children grow up learning to share faith, culture and sports within their communities. Currently, the Tijuana Project is serving more than 9,000 people in six Salesian oratories, a parish and a public dining hall which serves food to close to a thousand homeless and migrant people every day. The entire project is facilitated by six Salesian missionaries with the help of volunteers, local collaborators and benefactors in both Mexico and the U.S.

VENEZUELA

For more than 30 years, Salesian missionaries have operated the San José Agricultural School in Barinas, Venezuela. The Salesiana de Barinas Center, as it is known in the area, began as an agricultural school in Naguanagua, in the state of Carabobo in 1934, and moved to the western plains of Barinas in 1984. The center itself has a long history among Venezuelan camps with hundreds of students who have graduated from its agricultural studies program.

The center offers its students an opportunity to combine theory with practice. The young students learn through a hands-on approach and learning in a classroom. They are able to take their classroom skills and put them directly to work on the farm fields that are a part of the center. Students are taught theoretical and practical courses in greenhouses, growing vegetables, cereal crops, gardening, animal husbandry and veterinary sciences and breeding, and about milk, cheese and other dairy products.

The mission of the school is to provide young farmers with a basic education as well as advanced studies in the latest agricultural practices and modern technologies while moving toward efficiency in farming by exploring and testing new techniques in agriculture, horticulture, floriculture and animal husbandry. Salesian missionaries hope the agriculture degree program will entice more local youth to choose agriculture as their long-term livelihood.

ZAMBIA

Salesian Missions recently provided funding for Salesian missionaries work in Lufubu, Zambia to help support a clean water project and food production that impacted local Salesian programs. In the poor remote community of Lufubu, Salesian missionaries provide a youth center that serves 200 local children aged 4 to 20 and a church parish. In addition, missionaries operate an agricultural boarding school for 53 students, aged 18 to 30.

The government of Zambia asked Salesian missionaries to start the agricultural school in Lufubu with the goal of establishing an alternative to fishing. The local community was over-fishing the lakes and needed a new source of food security that would combat hunger while preserving the environment. The school includes a working farm where the students gain hands-on experience with animal husbandry and the cultivation of vegetables and maize on a personal plot of land designated for each student. The farm includes 400 hectres of land, five of which are currently cleared. There is a river near to the farm that provides a reliable source of water year-round.

Salesian Missions also provided funding to help support food production at the farm. Brother Robert Malusa, a Salesian priest in Lufubu, noted that eggs were a desired commodity of the agriculture school, but besides these few local chickens, the only other way for people to get eggs is to go and buy them in the neighboring city 50km away. People in the local community simply cannot afford to travel to make this purchase. The new funding to purchase chickens with both provide the eggs needed in the community and give Salesian teachers an effective way to teach this kind of farming in the agricultural school.

Funding was also utilized to buy goats for the farm. Salesian missionaries wanted the goats in order to experiment with different kinds of cheese to vary the Lufubu diet of strict corn and fish as well as the occasional goat meat and chicken. Both projects help to increase the productivity of the Salesian campus and helped to make it more sustainable.

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FAO – World Food Day 2017

Salesian Missions

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By providing analysis and research on the real reasons for migration, informing potential youth migrants about the risks of the journey and the real chances of success along with giving individual guidance to those who want to leave, the campaign is working to deter young people from leaving countries where people are most at risk of human trafficking such as Senegal, the Ivory Coast, Ethiopia and Ghana. In collaboration with Salesian missionaries in Africa, the campaign will also raise funds to help with program development in targeted countries in Africa.

The campaign has already found success in Senegal after research there has shown that nearly 40 percent of youth leaving the country are leaving in search of better educational opportunities. With that knowledge, funds now are being raised through the campaign to provide scholarships to students in Senegal so they are able to access educational opportunities within their own country.

One young student that was helped by this program is 20-year-old Ahmed Ndiaye, who grew up in Linguere, a city located northeast of the capital city of Dakar is in Senegal. Ahmed left Linguere in 2009, to live with his brother in Dakar. He worked as an apprentice in a tailor shop and for years, grew up in conditions of poverty was forced by those who sheltered him and his brother to beg in order to reach every day the daily quota required to maintain them. They were beaten if they did not reach the target.

Ahmed lost his father a few years ago and he says that his mother has a lot of hope for him. As not to disappoint her he started to learn a trade and to study French. Many young Senegalese do not speak French, since they study only Arabic. Now Ahmed has joined the literacy course organized by the Don Bosco Center, which helps many young people to study and make up for gaps in their education, improving their employment opportunities.

But the literacy course is only a first step. Ahmed would like one day to attend a professional course, preferably an evening course, so that he can keep his day job. Ahmed has a dream to become a good tailor and a great business man. He lacks the money to start, but does not stop hoping and never fails to try because he does not want to disappoint his mother or himself.

“From awareness programs in communities to radio programs, the Stop Human Trafficking campaign is utilizing a number of different methods to reach its audience,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “The campaign is also using real stories of young people who have returned home after having been victims of human trafficking, which has been quite effective.”

As part of the campaign, the Don Bosco Center is also providing information on the risks of illegal migration including interviews with children who survived their migrant journey and returned home, videos, radio programs and local newspaper stories in addition to sponsoring forums, films and debates in rural areas.

“This campaign has been successful in reaching thousands of youth and creating awareness of the many forms of fraud, trafficking and exploitation facing those who venture on such migrant voyages while at the same time giving information on the possibilities for development that exist in these countries,” adds Fr. Hyde.

Sources

ANS – Senegal – The commitment to “Stop Trafficking”, for young people like Ahmed

Stop Human Trafficking Campaign

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The graphic and printing industry is very important and growing in the Ethiopian labor market, but at present there is no institution in the whole country that offers training for local workers in the field. The Salesian program is the first graphic and typographic arts to be offered in Ethiopia and is a showpiece of the Salesian presence in the capital.

The program was launched in 2014, and is the result of collaboration among Salesian missionaries, volunteers with the International Volunteers for Development (VIS), the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian Episcopal Conference, and the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia. The program was also able to open a new laboratory for students to practice their hands-on skills in graphic and typographic arts in 2015.

Currently, the program offers night classes for students, alternating between theory and practical sessions. These sessions are aimed mainly at workers and those employed in the printing industry, to help them upgrade their skills and improve their chances of new employment and increasing their skill level in current jobs. The courses in graphic and typographic arts are generally held by local experts, but there are also special lectures by experts from the renowned Italian technical schools of San Zeno in Verona and San Marco in Mestre, both in the Salesian Province of North-East Italy (INE).

Salesian missionaries have a long history of providing educational and supportive services to poor youth inn Ethiopia. Missionaries operate six primary schools, three secondary schools and six vocational training centers for older youth. At all these Salesian-run educational facilities, youth are able to gain an education while having access to supportive services, including family sponsorship and school feeding programs, that provide care for them and their families all with the goal of keeping youth in school as long as possible.

“Education is always our primary focus,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “We know youth in Ethiopia are dealing with much more than just having access to education. Salesian programs are tailored to meet the needs of the youth in the communities they serve. Homeless and malnourished youth are simply not able to focus effectively on their studies while they struggle to meet their basic needs. Our services provide food and shelter so youth are able to focus on the education provided.”

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with more than 38 percent of its population living in poverty, according to Feed the Future. Close to 85 percent 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.

The country has 4 million orphans which account for nearly 12 percent of all children, and according to UNICEF, more than half a million of these were orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS crisis that has affected the country. Thousands more children run away each year seeking a better life on the streets.

Sources

ANS – Ethiopia – “Print your future”

UNICEF – Ethiopia

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Salesian missionaries report though that other areas do not have the capacity to have wells dug that will be sufficient enough to help the people. Residents are attempting to collect the water in any way they can. But the rain was not without its challenges.

“There was a lot of destruction happened along with the rain. Many livestock drank the water and fell down dead because they were famished, so when they drank to become full, they died,” says Father Luke Mulayinkal, who oversees the Salesian missionaries’ work. “When it rained, there were small dams built or dug in several areas that have water now. People and animals use that water and so the number of people searching for water have reduced. But imagine people drinking the first rain water, which has flowed through the ground which did not get rain for over a year. The Sister who oversees the Don Bosco Dispensary has reported that soon people will come with all types of stomach problems due to drinking this water.”

In early May, Salesian missionaries provided food aid kits containing five kg of maize, two kg of beans and half a liter of oil to 3,490 families. A total of 65 villages have received food in this second distribution. In addition, 110 children were provided milk in the village of Lengima. One of the biggest challenges since the drought began is the lack of food available in the market and what is available has risen in price to the point where it’s no longer affordable. The value of livestock has also decreased and many have died or are very weak.

Salesian missionaries within the Don Bosco Mission–Korr work on a daily basis to reach the 85 villages near the mission, some require missionaries to travel distances of more than 150 km to reach the villages. With the recent rains, transport and communications were interrupted and some of the villages have not been able to be reached. Missionaries are waiting for additional funding for relief supplies and then will continue their aid distribution to some of these far away villages. The goal is to support 4,805 families in total.

In early March, Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the international Salesians of Don Bosco, launched an emergency fundraising effort to support missionaries assisting people affected by severe drought in Kenya. While the rain provides some water to local villages, it was still not enough to help food production and supplies available are still not enough to adequately help the local people. Salesian missionaries are relying on donations and financial support to assist with this crisis.

Salesian Missions has launched an emergency fund, the African Drought Crisis, to assist Salesian missionaries who are working to help poor youth and their families affected by this drought and food insecurity in Kenya. To raise money for the fund, the Catholic nonprofit aid organization is issuing an urgent appeal for donations. Donations can be made by going to SalesianMissions.org/African-Drought.

Sources

ANS – Kenya – Finally the rain, but much more is needed!

Salesian Missions – Kenya

The post KENYA: Salesian Missionaries Provide Food Aid and Assist with Water Collection After First Rain in More Than a Year first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The new music program was so successful that the number of musicians and the number of trumpets utilized increased until soon they were able to form a school band. Initially, the course was only on Sundays and lasted two hours. Some of the children that were learning the music liked it so much that they started to teach their friends the best way to play the trumpet. By the end of the school year so many students were learning that they were able to take part in a concert along with older and more experienced students.

As the students continued to make progress and their repertoire expanded, the band became increasingly skilled and other instruments were added. Today, the Don Bosco Band currently consists of a series of trumpets, trombones, tubas, a French horn, flutes, clarinets, drums, bass drums, cymbals and a saxophone. Salesian missionaries provide the instruments and the instruction as part of their overall educational program. The goal is for youth to develop their talents, gain self-confidence and enjoy the activity with their peers. The band is made up exclusively of students of the school and occasionally gives concerts to demonstrate the progress of the students.

“The Don Bosco Children and Life Mission is in a constant state of improvement to offer its students more diverse programming to help them discover and expand their talents,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “The progress that many of the band members have made has allowed them to take on the challenge of learning to play additional instruments, which  increases opportunities for students and the school to enhance the quality of the concerts, ensuring that the Don Bosco Music Band continues.”

Close to 67 percent of Ugandans are either poor or highly vulnerable to poverty, according to UNICEF. While the country has seen some economic growth as well as improvement in its Human Development Index ranking over the last 20 years, the country still ranks near the bottom at 163 out of 188 countries. After decades of war left many displaced, the people of Uganda face many significant challenges as they work to rebuild their country.

Uganda’s literacy rate has improved with 73 percent of the population literate but only 23 percent of Ugandans go on to acquire a secondary education. According to UNICEF, one of the biggest challenges in the country is combating the serious increase of HIV/AIDS that has left millions of children orphaned.

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SOURCES:

ANS – Uganda – Educating through music: the band of Don Bosco School in Kampala

Don Bosco Children and Life Mission

Human Development Report

UNICEF – Uganda

(Photo courtesy ANS )

The post UGANDA: Band Helps At-Risk Discover, Expand Talents first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“We’ve had a fantastic partnership with Don Bosco since 2004, working together on a series of initiatives that help develop the technical skills and experience of the TVET students, which leads them to even better career opportunities,” said Lance Mosley, Ford Philippines managing director, in a statement about the new facility.

During the course of their partnership, Ford has routinely recruited technicians directly from Don Bosco’s programs. In addition to student training, Mosley shared that the facility will also be used to conduct Ford’s factory certified training for its current technicians.

“Ford’s thrust of going further aligns perfectly with our philosophy of helping youth become technically competent so they, too, can go further in their lives,” said Father José Dindo Vitug, technical director of the Don Bosco Manpower Skills Training Center.

Ford has also announced that it will be fully funding and sponsoring 25 deserving out-of-school youth with full scholarships. The scholarships will grant students the chance to attend a 15-month automotive technical course at the new facility. The program is part of Ford’s “School-to-Work” initiative. The American Chamber of Commerce Foundation will be the third-party administrator for the scholarship’s selection process. Don Bosco Technical Vocational Education and Training Center will help screen candidates, monitor student performance and find employment opportunities for graduates at Ford dealerships.

“We’re looking to invest in 25 highly-capable students at Don Bosco who show a lot of potential and are interested in automotive careers. We’re providing these scholarships to support them and to facilitate getting a start in the automotive industry,” added Mosley.

More than one quarter of the population of the Philippines live in poverty, according to UNICEF. Poverty is most severe and widespread in rural areas where 80 percent of the population—close to 88 million people—make their home. The poorest Filipinos are indigenous populations, small-scale farmers who cultivate land received through agrarian reform, landless workers and fishermen. In addition, poverty rates are higher for women than men.

Access to education is a critical component to overcoming poverty. In the Philippines, drop-out rates double as children reach secondary school and there are more than 11 million out-of-school youth, according to UNICEF. Almost a quarter of the country’s population, including a large percentage of children, live in poverty.

Illiteracy and high levels of unemployment contribute to the elevated poverty rate. With more than 11 million out-of-school youth in the country and drop-out rates doubling as children reach secondary school, access to education becomes a critical step in breaking the cycle of poverty.

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SOURCES:

ANS – Philippines – Ford PH inaugurates new Don Bosco training facility

UNICEF – Philippines

The post PHILIPPINES: Ford Launches Program at Don Bosco Vocational Training Center first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Salesian Father Pablo Mardoni from the Don Bosco Institute of Bahia Blanca began the program with support from a small group of teachers and students. Later they were joined by people from nearby districts who wanted to assist. Today, Don Bosco Boys provides outreach, a playground, an oratory and homeless shelter. Every Tuesday evening, volunteers bring food to about 30 people who are living on the street. As they deliver the food, volunteers are able to speak with the people, learn more about their situation and suggest programs and services they can access.

On Friday evenings, a meal is provided at the Salesian school for a large number of children and their families from three of the poorest local areas. Also on Fridays, the Salesian playground hosts close to 150 people from the area who come to access various recreational and sports activities. The oratory provides services for local children as well as opens on Saturdays to a larger group from the community. In addition, staff and volunteers with Don Bosco Boys help to build homes for those in need.

“We provide the material as far as possible, sometimes through donations, but often from the pockets of our families,” says Gastón Ruppel, one of the coordinators. “We work from a single standard plan for the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom, always in partnership with the family that will receive it.”

Salesian programs in Argentina are primarily focused on education. Salesian primary and secondary education in Argentina helps youth prepare for later technical, vocational or university study.

“Education is always our primary focus,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “We know youth are dealing with much more than just having access to education. Salesian programs are tailored to meet the needs of the youth in the communities they serve. Homeless and malnourished youth are simply not able to focus effectively on their studies while they struggle to meet their basic needs. Salesian programs provide food, shelter and the school supplies youth need youth to be able to focus on the education provided.”

More than a quarter of 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 aged five to 17 are working instead of in school and 20 percent need government assistance. Many face malnutrition, a lack of clean water and sewage and inadequate housing.

Access to education and training provides a foundation for youth to break the cycle of poverty and gain employment. Salesian missionaries have been working in Argentina to provide educational opportunities to poor youth through schools, technical and agricultural programs and other services that help youth learn skills to gain stable employment.

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Sources:

ANS PHOTO

ANS – Pibes de Don Bosco (Don Bosco Boys), an idea which is spreading

World Bank – Argentina

The post ARGENTINA: Don Bosco Boys Provides Shelter, Nutrition and Education to Assist the Poor and Homeless first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Within the entrepreneurship component, 31 business ideas were formulated and strategic alliances were made to manage seed capital and implement a percentage of their business ideas. In addition, eight youth were able to form social entrepreneurship and sustainable businesses under the Youth Social Entrepreneurs program and received support for their business ideas from the city of Barcelona, Spain in partnership with organizations Ayuda en Acción, ASHOKA and the Municipality of San Salvador Youth Institute. The project has benefited youth from the El Salvador municipalities of Soyapango, San Martin, Ciudad Delgado, San Salvador and Cuscatancingo.

One of the business ideas students developed was INTELCAR, which aims to improve automotive safety and driver comfort in various contemporary situations with the efficiency of new technologies. Students developed an app that controlled mechanical parts of the car such as the door locks, alarm system and engine ignition. Another project, FITNESS COMPANY, aims to create exercise machines that are easy to use for both men and women in the comfort of their own home. Its goal is to improve the health and wellness of individuals who might not be able to access a fitness center outside of the home.

“Education is a path out of poverty,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Youth in El Salvador who accessed this program and other Salesian educational programs are given an educational foundation, skill training and life and social skills to help them excel in the workforce. They are then able to break the cycle of poverty and become contributing members of their communities.”

Young Entrepreneurs in IT was implemented by five certified instructors. During the project implementation, 13 more instructors were trained and meet the necessary skills to convey the technical and practical knowledge to youth and thus ensure comprehensive learning. FUSALMO has a Cisco Academy that benefits youth in central El Salvador. A new academy has now been opened in the western part of the country and will provide educational services to youth in the region of the country.

Young Entrepreneurs in IT was a particularly relevant program given the 2015 International Labor Organization report that noted there are 1.7 million unemployed people across Latin American countries. Youth are more than three times more likely to be unemployed and often lack the educational and employment opportunities necessary to escape conditions of poverty.

The report noted that the labor market in Latin America will feel the impact of lackluster economic growth, giving rise to concerns that the economic progress made in the past few years could come to a halt or even be reversed. Faced with this gloomy economic outlook, Salesian missionaries in the region want to ensure that services remain robust and best meet the needs of youth and the local economies.

In El Salvador close to 35 percent of the population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank. Youth in El Salvador are confronted not only with poverty, but with instability, high levels of violence and inadequate access to educational opportunities. Despite ranking high for economic indicators, the need for practical education in the country is more important than ever with 12 percent of youth ages 15 to 24 unemployed and 41 percent underemployed.

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Sources:

World Bank – El Salvador

“Technical Report: Young Entrepreneurs in IT” – Salesian Missions

The post EL SALVADOR: Youth Get Technical, Entrepreneurship Skills for Long-Term Employment first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The course touched on subjects related to the proper management of human, material and financial resources of the educational centers needed to meet the new educational challenges faced by teachers in the education of young Ethiopians. No education institution can succeed without the provision of highly-qualified and motivated teachers and management staff. One of the biggest challenges in Ethiopia is having highly-qualified teachers in the classroom and people with the appropriate level skill leading the technical and vocational training institutions, which provide the skills necessary for youth to find and retain stable employment.

Salesian teachers face many challenges educating poor youth. Many of their students have faced severe poverty and often lack basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter. Some were previously living and working on the streets, and others have faced war as child soldiers or become refugees in war torn communities. Salesian teachers meet these challenges head on, providing education and hope for a brighter future.

“Salesian centers are dedicated to providing high-quality teacher training, safe working environments, professional development and the support they need,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. “The value of strong teachers can be seen in the accomplishments of youth that graduate from their classes. Salesian missionaries believe that access to education and highly-qualified teachers is critical to help youth learn job skills, improve their lives and find a path out of poverty.”

Salesian missionaries in many of the poorest places around the globe are dedicated to improving the working conditions and quality of training for teachers and management staff.

“Quality education depends on well-trained teachers and functional schools and centers,” adds Fr. Hyde. “Salesian teachers help prepare students to easily transition from Salesian primary schools into continued higher education where they can begin to focus on finding a career path and learning the skills necessary to lead a productive life.”

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with more than 38 percent of its population living in poverty, according to Feed the Future. Close to 85 percent 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.

The country has 4 million orphans which account for nearly 12 percent of all children, and according to UNICEF, more than half a million of these were orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS crisis that has affected the country. Thousands more children run away each year seeking a better life on the streets.

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Sources:

ANS – Ethiopia – Management course for Salesian schools and Professional Centres

UNICEF – Ethiopia

The post ETHIOPIA: Salesian Missions Helps Fund Professional Training in Development Management for Teachers, Staff first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Despite Luapula province having vast rivers and lakes, residents face challenges accessing clean water. Salesian missionaries completed a water project that included drilling a new water well at the parish, which will provide clean, fresh water to the surrounding communities. Prior to the new well many youth could not participate in parish activities because they needed to spend the majority of their time in search of clean waters. The community was facing a health crisis because many were getting sick due to water borne diseases. It was also not uncommon that residents were also attacked by crocodiles when they went to the river for water.

UN-Water estimates that worldwide 768 million people lack access to improved water sources and 2.5 billion people have no improved sanitation. For those who have no access to clean water, water-related disease is common with more than 840,000 people dying each year from water-related diseases. Women and children often bear the primary responsibility for water collection in the majority of households and globally, spend 140 million hours a day collecting water. Children in these communities are forced to walk for hours to collect drinking water—water that often proves contaminated and seriously sickens those who consume it. Many others are unable to attend school regularly because they must spend time searching for distant wells.

“Having access to clean water is essential for life and brings a sense of dignity to the children and families we serve in our programs,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Improving water and sanitation facilities also ensures that teachers and students are working and learning in an environment that promotes proper hygiene and has safe drinking water, reducing the number of waterborne illnesses that can affect those in our schools keeping them away from important study time.”

The water project included digging a borehole 50 meters deep followed by the installation of a water pump. After that the tank and tank stand was completed. Salesian missionaries utilized 12 male students at the Salesian school to assist with digging and laying the water pipes around the church grounds. Students were able to apply some of the skills they learned in the classroom and gained hands-on experience. This allowed for four separate running water stations around the church grounds that provide water to the community. Now that the community has access to fresh water, students are able to fully participate in their educational programs and the other recreational programs provided at the youth center. There has also been a decrease in water borne illnesses within the community.

Poverty is widespread in Zambia with 64 percent of the total population living below the poverty line. For those living in rural areas, the poverty rate rises to 80 percent, according to UNICEF. Over the past three decades, incomes in Zambia have fallen steadily and people do not have enough money to meet basic needs such as shelter, nutritious food and medical care.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has taken its toll on Zambia’s children. More than 20,000 households in the country are headed by children whose parents have died because of HIV/AIDS. Many of these young children are desperate for adult support.

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Sources:

UN Water – World Water Day 2016

UNICEF – Zambia

The post ZAMBIA: New Water Project Provides Clean Fresh Water for School, Youth Center and Parish first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The United Nations has reported that more than 1,300 schools were destroyed during the earthquakes. Salesian missionaries with the Don Bosco Network have entered into an agreement with the government of Nepal for the reconstruction of 12 public schools in areas most affected by the earthquake including Ramechap, Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk and Lalitpur.

Missionaries visited the sites and conducted surveys of the conditions of the buildings and have started preparations for the procurement of materials and preparation of the equipment so that once the rainy season has passed, it is possible to start rebuilding these centers without delay. The goal is to allow youth in these more isolated areas to once again have access to education and class activities in suitable buildings that are free of hazards.

Immediately following the earthquake, Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, launched an emergency fund to assist Salesian missionaries in Nepal. The funding goes directly to support relief efforts on the ground in remote villages and affected communities, especially those in the Kathmandu Valley where Salesian missionaries operate two programs. Don Bosco Thecho is a technical school located in the Kathmandu suburb of Lubhu and Don Bosco Siddhipur, located in the Lalitpur district, offers both a primary and secondary school.

Salesian missionaries responded immediately providing food, clothing, medical aid and shelter for those in need. They also built 21 temporary learning centers in the months following the earthquake. Once the learning centers were completed, government officers and other non-government organizations acknowledged that the temporary learning centers built by the Salesian missionaries and students were of such high quality they could possibly serve as permanent school buildings.

Salesian missionaries are also assessing and addressing long-term training needs of the local residents, who have lost their livelihoods as a result of the earthquakes. Part of the Salesian plan for the reconstruction of the 12 schools is to utilize Salesian students and recent graduates of Don Bosco Thecho to help with rebuilding efforts, allowing them to hone their skills and have hands-on experience while giving back to their communities.

“Salesian missionaries living and working in Nepal are starting their long-term reconstruction efforts, helping communities to rebuild homes and schools,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. “One of the primary training efforts underway is helping to further the reconstruction efforts and put those in the community who have lost their livelihoods back to work. Salesian missionaries are using the technical school at Thecho to train young men and women in the building and construction skills needed to assist in reconstruction.”

Salesian Missions is urging the public to donate to its Nepal Emergency Fund. Go to www.SalesianMissions.org/Nepal for more information and to give to the relief efforts.

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Sources:

Salesian Missions – Nepal Emergency Fund

Don Bosco Thecho

The post NEPAL: Salesian Missionaries Rebuilding 12 School in Isolated Villages in 2016 first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The International Labour Office has reported that the agro-pastoral sector has the highest incidence of violations of fundamental rights of workers, high frequency of accidents, health problems at work and discrimination. Rural villages in the country remain behind in development. The Salesian Institute, which has trained thousands of youth at a national level, has always supported rural communities and the smaller farms within the villages. Today more than ever, those responsible for the Salesian Institute feel engaged in the economic development and production of the country and felt the time was right for this new training project.

The project will provide young farmers with a basic education as well as advanced studies in the latest agricultural practices and modern technologies while moving towards efficiency in farming by exploring and testing new techniques in agriculture, horticulture, floriculture and animal husbandry. The school provides both classroom education and hands-on agriculture and livestock training on a working farm on the school campus.

Salesian missionaries at the school hope the agriculture degree program will entice more local youth to choose agriculture as their long-term livelihood. With a long history of providing agricultural education, missionaries currently operate more than 90 agriculture schools around the world.

“Many of our students are the children of poor farmers in the area,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “We want to provide youth with new farming knowledge and skills they can make a good life for themselves while helping to support their families and community.”

Paraguay is among the poorest countries in South America. According to UNICEF, almost 23 percent of its population of 6.5 million people live in poverty earning less than $1 per day. The gap between the small upper class and the large lower class is extreme and offers virtually no social mobility. Conditions of poverty drive youth into early labor and a lack of literacy in addition to a weak educational foundation compounds the problem. Those in poverty face overcrowding, low quality housing and a lack of access to basic household services. Paraguayans who only graduate from primary school are twice as likely to live in poverty as those who have access to and complete secondary school.

Poverty in Paraguay is associated with lower education levels, female heads of households and migration. Agriculture is among the most important employment sectors in the country’s economy. Those in poverty face overcrowding, low quality housing, and a lack of access to basic household services. Those that only graduate from primary school are twice as likely to live in poverty as those that have access to and complete secondary school.

The Salesians have been working in Paraguay since 1896, beginning their work in the capital Asunción, near the port on the Paraguay River. There, they established a church and educational programs focusing on the arts and trades to help advance the skills and knowledge of the indigenous people.

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Sources:

ANS – Paraguay – The “Carlos Pfannl” Agro-Pastoral Institute launches a project for Poverty Reduction

International Labour Office – Paraguay

World Bank – Paraguay

The post PARAGUAY: Salesian Institute Launches New Agriculture Training Program for Rural Youth first appeared on MissionNewswire.

During the advance of rebel troops on Duékoué, murder, rape, mutilation and acts of humiliation were everyday occurrences. Only the Salesian compound was spared. Salesian Father Carlos Berro noted that the armed forces respected the nature of the parish and church and did not enter to commit acts of barbarity. The documentary filmmaker Raul de la Fuente observed the life of the missionaries in Duékoué and was able to tell the heroic story of some Salesians who changed the lives of thousands of people in the documentary 30,000.

“In Africa it seems the rain will wash it all away,” says de la Fuente. “At first glance people may not realize that there was recent armed conflict here, but when you stop to talk to people you find the dramas and see that it is still very present.”

During the war, Salesian missionaries provided safe shelter, food, and security for those who sought refuge on their grounds. Today, Salesian missionaries continue their work providing shelter, education and social development services to youth and their families in need. Salesian missionaries are also working with the victims of the war to heal the wounds. They listen, help victims seek compensation and work to reach some kind of social reconciliation between opposing groups.  Known for their work with child soldiers around the globe, Salesian missionaries are also providing training for youth, some of whom had been aggressors during the war.

“Salesian missionaries goal now that the conflict has ended and there has been time to reflect and heal, their goal is to bring the community together and provide youth a chance to earn a stable living,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Youth who are able to engage in productive activities, gain an education and eventually employment are able to positivity contribute to their families and communities.”

Those living in the Ivory Coast who are small-scale farmers have little or no access to land and are among the poorest, including youth and women who are particularly vulnerable. Women have limited or no decision-making power over the allocation of land, and they are dependent on men for access to it. Yet gaining access to land is crucial for women because their livelihoods depend largely on the production of food crops. According to the World Bank, 46 percent of those living in the Ivory Coast living in conditions of poverty with more than a quarter of the population living in server poverty on less than $1.25 a day.

The Ivory Coast has one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in West Africa. While the government has established a ministry to lead the fight against AIDS, and a wide range of national and international initiatives focus on HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and testing, the collapse of public health facilities in the north, as a result of years of conflict, has made the situation worse.

Salesian missionaries living and working in cities across the Ivory Coast focus their attention on working with youth and their families in need to provide education, food security, health clinics and workforce development services.

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Sources:

(ANS Photo)

ANS – Ivory Coast – Duékoué, the Salesian refuge that saved 30,000 lives

World Bank – Ivory Coast

The post IVORY COAST: Salesian Missionaries Bring Hope and Education to Those Affected by 2011 Civil War first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Currently there are 283 students in the primary school. Leah is 10 years old and belongs to a Masai family. She is the second of six children and lives in a tin shed with her parents, who are both unemployed. Leah is in second grade, is getting excellent grades, and dreams of becoming a doctor. Also in second grade is Stanley. He is originally from a rural area of Kenya and moved with his parents to Nairobi in search of a better life. He lives in the slum area of Kuvinda, which houses people from different tribes. Stanley wants to become a piolet. Both Leah and Stanley are just two of the many children starting their education with Bosco Boys.

Students who complete their primary education are then assisted with secondary education or are advised to choose technical training in sister institutions. The secondary education is most often provided at Don Bosco Technical Secondary School in the town of Embu, northeast of Nairobi, but can also be at another school close to a student’s home where they can be easily monitored.

“Don Bosco Technical Secondary School attracts youth that do not do well on national college exams and provides them an alternative opportunity to acquire marketable skills that can help them make a living,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “The tuition cost of the training is highly subsidized to make it affordable for the low income student population in Kenya.”

In addition to the education provided, youth in the program are given professional counseling to help them overcome any difficulties they may face in their lives. Through counseling and other activities, the program gives youth the tools to develop a positive healthy outlook on life and the education and training necessary to find stable employment.

Two-year technical training programs are offered through Bosco Boys in a wide variety of vocational skills including tailoring, car engineering/mechanics, carpentry, electrical work and welding as well as secretarial skills and a full spectrum of computer-related job skills. After graduation more than 80 percent of graduates are employed in their fields of study. Many students go on to attend university or establish their own businesses and become entrepreneurs in Nairobi.

“All youth deserve a chance at a better life,” adds Fr. Hyde. “At Bosco Boys, Salesian missionaries help young people take responsibility for their own lives and train them in the skills necessary to find and retain employment in order to support themselves and improve their communities.”

Despite the steady growth of Kenya’s economy, according to UNICEF, more than half of the country’s population lives below the poverty line on less than $1 a day. UNICEF also notes that Nairobi is home to 3 million residents, most of whom endure lives of extreme poverty in the city’s slums. The most vulnerable are families and children living in these urban slums and in areas of the country most affected by HIV/AIDS. Many do not have access to healthcare, nutrition, sanitation or education.

Youth living in Nairobi’s slums are at risk for exploitation, forced labor and other abuses. Few attend the later stages of school as compared to those living in Kenya’s more rural areas. The few schools serving this disadvantaged community are beyond the financial means of most families. UNICEF noted that while Kenya has free and compulsory education, youth in poverty still cannot afford to attend school resulting in close to 90 percent of children from poor households failing to complete their basic education.

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Sources:

ANS – Kenya – “Bosco Boys”: 283 stories of hope and love

Salesians of Don Bosco Province of Eastern Africa

UNICEF – Kenya Statistics

The post KENYA: Students Receive Primary and Secondary Education through Bosco Boys first appeared on MissionNewswire.

“IRN donations have furnished Salesian schools and development offices in Central America, South America, Africa, and Asia,” explains Jessica O’Connor, property and logistics officer for Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “We plan to continue working with IRN because they are a reliable partner who is eager to assist in our mission and provide quality donations to our programs.”

The Salesians are known for their education programs for youth around the globe. With countless elementary, secondary and university level educational centers as well as youth training and certification programs, the Salesians help to provide a direct path out of poverty for many youth and their families. Programs rely on donations such as those provided by IRN to keep facilities functional for students and staff.

The Institution Recycling Network was started in 1999 to match surplus items that need to be recycled with organizations and people who need them. Every education, commercial, and healthcare organization in the U.S. has surplus furniture and equipment they need to get rid of. Hundreds of millions of people living in poverty or recovering from natural disasters worldwide are in desperate need of the kinds of surplus goods these very organizations are discarding. IRN makes the match and facilitates the distribution of the surplus into the hands of the organizations and people who need it most.

“There was a clear match between Salesian Missions’ need for furniture and equipment for their worldwide projects, and the supplies of surplus to which IRN has access,” says Mark Lennon, principal of the Institution Recycling Network. “Salesian Missions has been an excellent partner.”

IRN partners with nonprofits who are known to be reputable and effective providers of relief and development assistance, and who are able to use the types of surplus that IRN can provide. The organization has a “wish list” from each of its nonprofit partners of the types and quantities of surplus they can use.

When a project comes to IRN, it makes a match against these wish lists and offers the surplus to the most appropriate nonprofits. At this point it is first-come-first-served; the first nonprofit(s) to express interest in the surplus project is the one to receive it. In many cases a single nonprofit will claim the entire project but in some cases, the surplus will be split among two or more nonprofits.

“There is almost infinite demand in the U.S. and worldwide for good quality surplus so IRN’s surplus program will continue to grow,” says Lennon. “The school or company that supplies the surplus pays IRN for the service of matching their surplus with our nonprofit network. In almost all cases they pay IRN much less than they would pay to bring in dumpsters and throw the surplus away.”

There is a three pronged benefit to the work that IRN does. The generating organizations profit by disposing of their surplus for less than the cost of throwing it away, while the recipient organizations profit from a very low cost source of quality furniture and equipment. Impoverished and disaster-stricken people benefit from furniture and equipment they otherwise would have no access to. And finally, the planet benefits from reuse of important resources.

“We know of no other organization in the country other than IRN that is able to match large quantities of surplus with qualified recipients, and then manage the entire project to remove and load the surplus for shipment,” adds Lennon.

About Institution Recycling Network (IRN)

IRN is headquartered in Concord, NH and is a cooperative recycling organization that works with more than 350 colleges and universities, hospitals, K-12 schools and private companies to improve the performance and economics of recycling. IRN negotiates transportation, processing and marketing of recycled commodities and provides a single point of contact to recycle dozens of different materials. IRN handles over 75 commodities – everything from cardboard and fluorescent lamps to concrete and Astroturf. IRN is known particularly for its effective recycling of unusual and complex commodities such as electronic equipment, construction and demolition wastes and surplus property. For more information about IRN, visit www.IRNSurplus.com.

About Salesian Missions

Salesian Missions is headquartered in New Rochelle, NY. The mission of the U.S.-based nonprofit Catholic organization is to raise funds for its international programs that serve youth and families in poor communities around the globe. The Salesian missionaries are made up of priests, brothers and sisters, as well as laypeople – all dedicated to caring for poor youth throughout the world in more than 130 countries, helping them become self-sufficient by learning a trade that will help them gain employment. To date, more than 3 million young people have received services funded by Salesian Missions. To learn more visit www.salesianmissions.org.

The post GLOBAL: Salesian Missions Partners with Institution Recycling Network, Benefitting Programs Around the Globe first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The report noted that, “More than half of an estimated 3.9 – 5.3 million internally displaced people in Colombia are under 18, rendering them even more vulnerable to the threats that caused them to flee their homes in the first place.” Children in Colombia have been subjected to forced recruitment as child soldiers, sexual violence and rape, physical harm and death. Furthermore, they have been denied humanitarian assistance.

Education is at risk in Colombia. According to the report, schools have been used for military purposes. The national armed forces have occupied school buildings or camped nearby. Instead of being a refuge and a place for learning, schools have been utilized as a method of recruitment. In response, guerrilla groups have planted land mines around the schools without recording their locations, preventing children from attending school altogether.

Teachers are under attack as well. The report detailed that according to the teacher’s union in Colombia, “between 1991 and 2011, 871 teachers were killed, about 3,000 threatened, 1,070 forcibly displaced, and 60 reported missing.”

Without education, youth cannot advance their lives and break the cycle of poverty. They end up on the streets even more vulnerable to forced recruitment and physical harm.

The report goes beyond just identifying the severity of the problems facing children in Colombia. It also provides a series of recommendations to governments, NGOs and donors to help support youth and alleviate their suffering.

For nonprofit organizations like Salesian Missions, who has a long standing investment in humanitarian work in Colombia, the report suggests they should offer pyscho-social assistance and income-generating activities for children formerly associated with armed groups. They also recommend providing survivors of sexual violence, particularly in rural areas, adequate psycho-social, medical and legal care and support.

The report also suggests that programs should offer flexible schooling to allow children from rural areas, poor backgrounds, and those who were internally displaced an opportunity to continue to attend school by adapting the times and curriculum to meet their needs.

The report’s recommendations are work the Salesian Missions know all too well.

“The Salesians have been working with youth in Colombia for more than 40 years,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. “We have built schools in places that previously lacked access to education – like the remote village of Condoto. We provide services to homeless children at Don Bosco City in Medellin as well as focus on critical psycho-social and educational services to displaced youth in refugee camps across the country.”

Don Bosco City in Medellin is one of the oldest and largest programs for street children in Latin America. Beginning in 1965, Don Bosco City has served 83,000 boys and girls. It began in 1965 with 125 children, and today serves more than 1,500 children, youth and families per year. The program serves both boys and girls and goes beyond traditional homeless shelters by providing a three-stage program, culminating in vocational training.

Fr. Hyde says, “Through this model of education and rehabilitation, youth are able to learn the skills needed to support themselves and break the cycle of poverty.”

In Bogota, an internationally-recognized program helps street children overcome challenges – from where to find a nutritious meal to how to pursue an education and find a job. Through the Children of the Street program from the Salesians Youth Service Foundation, instructors who were once street children themselves provide the support and stability needed for at-risk children and youth to rebuild their lives.

With Salesian efforts that focus on providing educational opportunities to children and youth, students in refugee camps learn valuable job skills which will not only provide income, but also reduce the likelihood they will be recruited as child soldiers. More than 70 percent of graduating students are placed in jobs through Salesian Missions partnerships with community organizations and private sector companies.

“No matter the program or population of youth we serve in Colombia, our aim is always to provide market-driven technical vocational training, preventive and curative health treatment, and counseling services,” explained Fr. Hyde. “Our goal is to help alleviate current traumas and provide a foundation of supports and education that will assist youth in years to come and enable them to provide for themselves and their communities.”

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Sources:

Watch List Report – Children & Armed Conflict in Colombia

Salesian Missions – Colombia: Success stories of former child soldiers

Salesian Missions – Colombia

The post COLOMBIA: Watch List Report Highlights Needs of “At Risk” Youth, Salesians Provide Recommended Services first appeared on MissionNewswire.

While the civil war’s official end came in May 2009, the recruitment of child soldiers continues to rise according to Douglas Devanada, Minister for Tamil Social Services. He quotes reliable sources that say that the LTTE (the rebel group of the Tamil Tigers in the north of Sri Lanka) aims to recruit about 60,000 children in the north of the country.

The recruitment and use of child soldiers in the country’s civil war has gone on for years in Sri Lanka. Fewer children are attending school due both to fighting the war and the fear of falling into the hands of the rebel army on the way to school. Some children have limited defenses to resist recruitment efforts. Others faced with poverty, lack of education and few job prospects see little alternative to joining.

Child soldiers are used for various purposes in the civil war that has raged through the country for a little more than 20 years. While some are fighters, others act as scouts and guides and man checkpoints. Others run errands or cook and clean for the armed forces. Some of the most unfortunate are used as suicide bombers. Gender and age offer no protection against recruitment efforts. Some children have been as young as eight years old. And girls can face an even tougher time than their male peers.

Girls are used as soldiers in the same way as boys, but they also face gender-based violence. Reports of sexual exploitation, human trafficking and forced prostitution are all too common. In addition to the typical traumas of war, girls are subjected to unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and social stigma making it difficult, if not impossible, to reintegrate back into their communities.

In the wake of this ongoing trauma, the Salesians continue their work with child soldiers in Sri Lanka. A rehabilitation center in Colombo, which was first opened to assist “at risk” street children and young victims of sexual abuse has in recent years worked with child soldiers providing therapy and job skills training. Subsequently, other Salesian Missions rehabilitation centers have opened throughout the country working to help more and more child soldiers reintegrate back into their communities and move forward with their lives.

In addition, the Salesians operate Mary Help of Christians House in Negombo, Sri Lanka, which is home to 173 girl soldiers. This rehabilitation center is run by Salesian Sisters who realized that these girls had no place to turn. In addition to offering the basics of food, clothing and shelter, the sisters focus on the physical and psychological health of the girls. Their dedication and support has enabled the girls to come a long way in the past few years. Nearly half of them are attending classes between the 6th and 8th grade levels, while several of the older girls are taking professional courses.

Physical wounds heal over time but the emotional and psychological wounds that both male and female child soldiers face can take a lifetime to heal. The emotional support, education and job placement provided by the Salesians plays a large role in helping youth come to terms with their circumstances and preparing them for a brighter future.

Sources

Salesian Missions: In Sri Lanka: Giving Girl Soldiers A Better Life

ANS (Salesian Info Agency): Former child girl soldiers: the work of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians

WatchList: Sri Lanka

IRIN: Fighting for the rights of child soldiers

The post SRI LANKA: Giving Child Soldiers an Escape Route, Helping Girl Soldiers Overcome Trauma first appeared on MissionNewswire.