Outreach helps connect youth to services, education

(MissionNewswire) The Don Bosco Child Protection Center, located in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, provides temporary alternative child careand works to promote and defend children’s rights. The center provides accommodation and education for youth in vulnerable situations.

One of the first ways youth connect with the center is through its outreach patrols. This allows Salesian staff to maintain a presence on the streets and gives staff a first-hand assessment to how many youth are in need each day.

Once a youth connects with the center, staff engage in significant research to understand the youth’s background including their current educational level, family situation and what they have experienced living on the street.

A Salesian noted, “It’s important for us to gain a better understanding to better provide an individual with care and ensure they have what they need to thrive in the center.”

While at the center, Salesians provide activities that play a vital role in the overall rehabilitation. This is especially important for youth who have been living on the street and have been trafficked, abused or neglected. These activities help reduce trauma, build self-esteem and resilience, promote teamwork and discipline without coercion, prevent risky behavior by channeling energy in a positive way, and create safe spaces conducive to building trust, and providing psychosocial support.

Once youth are at the center, reuniting them with their family becomes a goal. The Salesian noted, “Family reunification is a complex process. We provide capacity-building workshops for guardians to equip them with knowledge of child psychology and current child protection legislation. This is followed by short stays with the family. The aim is to give the youth, now reintegrated into their family, every opportunity to develop in a peaceful environment.”

According to the World Bank, 46% of people in the Ivory Coast live in conditions of poverty — with 12% of the population living in severe poverty on less than $1.25 a day. The Ivory Coast has one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in West Africa.

Salesian missionaries continue their work providing shelter, education and social development services to youth and their families. They also work with the victims of war to heal the country’s deep wounds. They listen, help victims seek compensation and work for social reconciliation between opposing groups. Salesian missionaries are also providing training for youth, some who had been aggressors during the war.

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Sources:

Embrace Newsletter January-March 2026

Salesian Missions – Ivory Coast

World Bank – Ivory Coast