(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in Ghana focus on education and the growing demand for skills training to help youth gain the skills needed to find and retain stable employment. The Don Bosco Technical Institute in Ashaiman, a large town in the Greater Accra Region of South Ghana, has been developing new programs to meet the needs of local youth. Early on, the center expanded to include training in a wide range of skills from carpentry and metal work to graphic arts. Salesian missionaries have also developed a credit program to aid training center alumni in financing new businesses.

In 2018, several developments took place in support of youth attending the school. A development project, which was funded by the German International Development Cooperation, the Korea International Cooperation Agency and Samsung Ltd, and supported by the Council for Technical and Vocational Educational Training, targeted support for young women looking to study electronics. A state-of-the-art facility has been established fully equipped with all the necessary tools to enhance learning. As a result, more women have become interested in the program.

Young women at the Don Bosco Technical Institute have also been trained in mobile phone repairs. These classes are carried out in collaboration with Ghana Telecom University. Both of these programs are designed to assist young women who face adversity and are vulnerable to migration and human trafficking. Almost all are living in conditions of poverty, have been deprived of a basic education and have little or no support to learn how to become independent in society. Program participants have been rescued from various vulnerable situations all over Ghana.

“These educational programs are ensuring young women have the skills training needed pursue a stable livelihood,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “There are many barriers to education for young women and girls, but Salesian programs around the globe work to eliminate those barriers and provide education and skills training to all.”

The Don Bosco Technical Institute has also launched a new agriculture training program which is promoting sustainable, green and innovative agriculture education for youth and women. To date, 47 people have been trained on courses focusing on organic crop production, management, business planning and marketing. The program is also helping to support entrepreneurial youth farmers.

The Salesian agriculture training also provides relevant knowledge and hands-on experience related to biological organisms and how to combat pests and diseases. This training helps support good cropping systems that are green, sustainable and economical.

In addition, Salesian missionaries established a Solar Training Center at the Don Bosco Technical Institute for training trainers in West Africa. The courses are offered in both in English and French. The project is offering training at the Don Bosco Technical Institute Ashaiman, the Don Bosco Technical Institute Sunyani, the Don Bosco Centre Tatale and the Don Bosco Technical High School Monrovia. The project is expected to last from July 2018 and December 2021.

While Ghana’s economy continues to improve, nearly 45 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day, according to UNICEF. Ghana ranks 139 out of 188 countries on the United Nations Development Program’s 2015 Human Development Index. Rural poverty remains widespread in the dry savannah region that covers roughly two thirds of Ghana’s northern territory. Small-scale farms suffer from a lack of infrastructure and equipment, both of which are needed to shift from subsistence farming to more modern commercial farming which would yield greater incomes and a chance to escape poverty.

###

Sources:

Don Bosco Youth Network West Africa Annual Report 2018

UNICEF – Ghana