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INDIA: Salesian Missions donors provide funding for new sewing machines, computers and training

(MissionNewswire) Thanks to donor funding provided through Salesian Missions, the Don Bosco Vocational Technical Center (Don Bosco Tech) located in Rangajan in the state of Assam in India, have five new sewing machines, five new computers and the funding to provide training to 30 additional students.

Don Bosco Tech provides educational opportunities for the underserved Adivasi tribal community. The school offers education and job placement courses in sewing machine operator and photovoltaic systems installation, operation and maintenance. Additional equipment was needed to allow more students the opportunity to learn vital job skills to help find livable-wage employment.

Short-term vocational training is offered in courses lasting three months. Students are able to gain technical knowledge from course materials prepared in consultation with industry experts and professionals. Courses include assignments, on-the-job training and field visits. Valuable life skills are also integrated into the curriculum through an interactive teaching process.

Some of the Don Bosco Tech programs focus specifically on helping women become financially self-sufficient and better able to care for their families. Salesian missionaries living and working in India and in more than 130 countries around the globe are focused on achieving gender equality through rights training, education and workforce development programs targeted specifically to women and girls. These programs strive to empower women and girls by helping them to become independent and safe from violence and exploitation through education and training opportunities that lead to livable wage employment.

“Many women and girls face disadvantages and barriers to accessing education and achieving financial independence despite their huge potential,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Women who are empowered through these skills training programs, along with education and workforce development assistance, are more often able to achieve financial independence and help support their families and communities.”

India has the world’s fourth largest economy but more than 22 percent of the country lives in poverty. About 31 percent of the world’s multidimensionally poor children live in India, according to a new report by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. A “multidimensionally poor” child is one who lacks at least one-third of 10 indicators, grouped into three dimensions of poverty: health, education and standard of living.

India’s youth also face a lack of educational opportunities due to issues of caste, class and gender. Almost 44 percent of the workforce is illiterate and less than 10 percent of the working-age population has completed a secondary education. In addition, many secondary school graduates do not have the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s changing job market.

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Sources:

Don Bosco Tech

Salesian Missions Projects

World Bank – India