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ITALY: People with reduced mobility have new transportation source

Don Bosco Social Works in Sesto San Giovanni receives vehicle to help transport those with reduced mobility

ITALY

(MissionNewswire) People at risk of social exclusion because of reduced mobility will have a new source of transportation thanks to Salesian missionaries. The Don Bosco Social Works in Sesto San Giovanni, a commune in Milan, Italy, has received a specially equipped vehicle thanks to PMG Italia and the support of the municipality of Cinisello Balsamo. The project is known as “Guaranteed Mobility” and is made possible by collaboration with local businesses.

“This patronage means sharing an idea that is a virtuous example of collaboration, commitment and willingness to support the frailties that exist in society and that are increasing today due to the concomitance of various factors, also resulting from the pandemic,” said Mayor Giacomo Ghilardi and Riccardo Visentin, councilor for the Third Sector and Centrality of the Person.

Father Elio Cesari, director of Don Bosco Social Works, emphasized the importance of this gift to the organization and how much it will impact the local community. Of the 2,700 youth at the large Salesian complex, many are from the municipality of Cinisello Balsamo.

Don Bosco Social Works also has a vocational training center that is providing youth with a chance at employment. At the end of 2019, the vocational training center created a special program to begin teaching its students repair work on Yamaha two-wheeled vehicles, thanks to a collaboration with the Yamaha Technical School. Yamaha is providing tools and resources, such as laboratories, classrooms and technical equipment, to raise the professional, technological and operational skills of both its teachers and students.

As part of this partnership, during the fourth year of study, the best students are offered training internships at Yamaha and in the Yamaha Assistance Network to create and foster their experience in the workforce.

Italy, Europe’s third-largest economy, has close to 2 million children living in poverty, according to UNICEF. The poverty rate has risen in the wake of Europe’s economic crisis. Unemployment is at its highest level since the late 1970s with the overall jobless rate at 12.5 percent and youth unemployment as high as 41 percent.

According to UNICEF, a growing number of youth are living away from their families in temporary shelters and within government and charity programs because of inadequate support from or neglect by their families. Salesian programs work to combat these challenges by providing shelter, nutrition, education and workforce development services for youth in need.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Italy – Launch of “Future Traveling”, dedicated to fragile people and families

Salesian Missions – Italy

UNICEF – Italy Poverty