Don Bosco Boys Home provides environmental training and activities

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Boys Home, located in Sunyani, Ghana, provides social support and education to young boys in the care of Salesian missionaries. Recently, the International Voluntary Service (VIS) contributed funding for materials, textbooks, and uniforms for youth to attend school with the supplies they need.

VIS also launched an environmental education and organic agriculture training program. As part of this initiative, VIS brought 52 young boys to the Boabeng Fiema Monkey Sanctuary and the Kristo Buase Monastery. The guides facilitated an exploration of the rainforest, century-old trees and huge rock formations.

In addition, agronomists conducted training in organic agriculture and helped youth start an organic garden. The boys are cultivating maize, tomatoes, zucchini, salad greens and peppers. The garden complements the other the farm facilities, improving the self-sufficiency of the center with organic vegetables. Youth are also able to have hands-on practice with sustainable agriculture techniques.

“Youth at Don Bosco Boys Home have been given a chance to get out of the classroom and engage in educational activities that focus on the environment,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Many Salesian programs have launched projects to help youth understand their environmental impact and improve agriculture and other practices for greater sustainability.”

While Ghana’s economy continues to improve, nearly 45 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day, according to UNICEF. 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.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Don Bosco Child Protection & Youth Empowerment Projects Newsletter July – Sept. 2022

Don Bosco Child Protection & Youth Empowerment Projects Newsletter July – Sept. 2022

Salesian Missions – Ghana

UNICEF – Ghana