KENYA: Teachers improve their skills
33 Salesian staff graduate from Salesian Technical and Vocational Training Center management course
KENYA
(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries held an online graduation ceremony for graduates of the Salesian Technical and Vocational Training Center management course on Jan. 11. The course was specifically designed to improve the quality of vocational training and was divided into the four modules of organizational management, financial management, entrepreneurship, and green and sustainable approaches.
In delivering his congratulatory message on behalf of Don Bosco Tech Africa, Father George TJ, executive director, congratulated graduates for their perseverance and concentration. He expressed gratitude to the whole team of the International Training Center of ILO for their professionalism in conducting the educational sessions. Fr. TJ also thanked Don Bosco Mondo in Germany for its support and financing of the project.
The 33 participants in the training came from Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and South Sudan. On Jan. 25, 136 people started the course. This kind of training is important to improve the skills of those teaching in Salesian schools. Their work is vital to their students’ success both in and out of the classroom.
Salesian missionaries educate more than 1 million youth in over 5,500 schools and youth centers, and nearly 1,000 vocational, technical, and agricultural schools in more than 130 countries around the globe.
“Teachers are the backbone of the Salesian educational system and have had to quickly modify how they provide education during the pandemic—not an easy feat for many Salesian teachers,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian teachers face many challenges educating poor youth who have faced many barriers to education including severe poverty and homelessness, and the pandemic has only exacerbated these challenges.”
Despite the steady growth of Kenya’s economy, more than half of the country’s population lives below the poverty line on less than $1 a day, according to UNICEF. UNICEF also noted that Nairobi is home to 3 million residents, most of whom endure lives of extreme poverty in the city’s slums. The most vulnerable are families and children who live in these urban slums and in areas of the country most affected by HIV/AIDS. Many do not have access to health care, nutrition, sanitation or education.
Youth living in Nairobi’s slums are at risk for exploitation, forced labor and other abuses. Few attend the later stages of school as compared to those living in Kenya’s more rural areas. The few schools serving this disadvantaged community are beyond the financial means of most families. UNICEF noted that while Kenya has free and compulsory education, youth in poverty still cannot afford to attend school. Close to 90 percent of children from poor households fail to complete their basic education.
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Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
ANS – Kenya – Online graduation ceremony for Salesian TVET Center Management staff
Don Bosco Tech Africa Facebook
Salesian Missions – Kenya
UNICEF – Kenya Statistics
